“Sticks and Stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt you.”

There it is. The greatest lie we ever grew up with. I remember as a child thinking, well, that kind of rings true, but how come I feel so bad? Let’s talk about words and, while we’re at it, let’s talk about thoughts and emotions as well. While the sticks and stones thing was likely the chosen method of cultural conditioning we grew up with as children, we did learn about the big taboo of physically hurting another. I’m a-feared, however, that the remedy might be worse than the lesson.

Have you ever really paid attention to how you talk to yourself? I mean really paid attention!? I used to think that as long as negative thoughts about myself or others stayed inside my head it was no harm, no foul. In the privacy and sanctity of my mind, I could be as disagreeable and judgmental as I wanted. As long as I didn’t act on anything, I was safe! But safe from whom? When I was displeased with myself for any reason, I immediately launched into a self-attack and accused myself of being lazy, inattentive and unfocused among other lovely qualities. It wasn’t until I learned how utterly self-destructive and long lasting the effects of such thinking can become, did I actually start to pay attention to what I was doing in those quiet “mind moments”. Once you pay attention, you might just shock yourself.

Heavenly Hindsights spends a good amount of time on the topic of limiting beliefs, what they are and what they do to us. Often installed during childhood, limiting beliefs are created when we have a negative personal experience, such as a playmate calling you names. Many of us internalize the message we think we heard. “Don’t be a whuss when you throw the ball” can be easily misinterpreted to “You are a whuss”. If we attach ourselves to this thought over and over again, what will happen? We will turn into a whuss! If we carry this limiting belief with us for a couple of more decades, we will continue to refine the concept of “whuss-ness” until we have perfected it. And then we wonder why we aren’t happy or fulfilled.

As Edgar Cayce once said, “Thought are Things.” Thoughts are energy, just like everything else in this universe. One of the qualities of energy is the ability to change matter . . . all matter. As we continue to have negative personal thoughts and we continue to talk to ourselves in harsh ways, we are slowly but surely converting the thoughts we have into physical matter. Our bodies might change how it looks in order to reflect what we think. If our thoughts are negative enough and they create constant stress (long-term stress), we might create disease. Sadly, it is often at this time, we finally see how we went off course and don’t know how to correct it. The short remedy here is this.

• Pay attention to your thoughts … All of them!
• When you find yourself being unkind to yourself . . . Change!
• Replace that thought with something true and benevolent and continue to believe!

Stop the name-calling even when you do it to yourself. Remember the power we all have to change matter. After a time, when you get into the habit of self-encouragement and kindness, you will see much change in all aspects of your life!