Today’s Mandala Message: Be the Master of Your Words
This week I’m working through Principles #50 and #51 from Jack Canfield’s “The Success Principles” entitled “Tell the Truth Faster” and “Speak with Impeccability”. I set my intention today to ponder what it means to speak with impeccability. Canfield states: “To speak with impeccability is to speak from your highest self. It means that you speak with intention and integrity. It means that your words are in alignment with what you say you want to produce—your vision and your dreams.”
Cat Thompson published a full-length article on ExperienceLife.lifetime.life entitled “Walking Your Talk: The Path to Personal Integrity”. From it I’d like to share what he says regarding the first agreement from don Miguel Ruiz’s book “The Four Agreements”. The very first agreement is “Be Impeccable With Your Word.” Thompson states: “The word impeccable comes from the Latin im, meaning “without,” and pecatus, which means “sin.” So impeccable (which we generally think of as meaning “perfectly clean”) really means “without sin.” According to Ruiz, to sin is to go against yourself, in word or in deed. To speak something other than your highest choice and truth is a form of fragmentation.”
Thompson offers up three questions to ask yourself before “speaking your truth”:
One: Are you certain it’s true?
Two: Is it necessary?
And Three: Is it kind?”
I’ve also seen this line of questioning with two additional ones: “Is it for me to say?” and “Is it something that needs to be said right now?” I would definitely benefit from asking myself questions like these more often. I sometimes catch myself asking similar versions like “is it worth it to bring this up?” or “How important is it?” When I do filter myself with questions like these, most times I discover that it’s not worth it—it’s not going to improve the situation or make any real difference or it’s mostly ego-driven. I may explore Thompson’s article further in another MotD this week.
A good mindfulness practice would be to pause before speaking your truth to run it through the filter of questions like these.
So how about you? Do you just blurt out what you have to say when speaking your truth? Do you take time to consider whether it’s the appropriate time, place, and/or audience? Would asking these questions be of benefit to you?
“…once you realize
— Cat Thompson
the power of language
spoken with integrity,
you suddenly become
incredibly aware
of how much of
our daily language
is spoken without it.
And your tolerance
for careless, destructive
and disempowering language
plummets accordingly.”
Blessings,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
All Things Mandalas
An Invitation
I invite you to color along with me this year as part of what I’m calling “The Year of Self-Exploration and Expansion” with all of my “Mandalas of the ___” (day, week, month, year). If you’re interested in more of a self-exploration approach to coloring, check out my “Coloring Mandalas as Meditation”. You can download this mandala at MandalaoftheWeek.com.
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