What exactly is "the Power of the Word?" and How does it Work in Politics?

This is Part 1 of a multi-part series examining how we use the Power of the Word in politics, particularly in the 2020 presidential race.  Look for other pieces such where I will examine how each major candidate for President of the United States uses the power of their word. Next up, "Donald Trump and the Power of the Word"

Which words we use and how we use them creates the world we live in. Every idea is first created in mind, then brought forth in words, and then brought into being through human actions.  Those who understand “the Power of the Word” know how to use it to create what they want to create, not what they don’t want to create.  The reason that some people use the Word as synonymous with God or Jesus the Christ is that the Word is that powerful. When we speak our word, we are creating a container into which the power of the Universe can pour.  We are not the power, but when we use our Word, we are a conduit for that power. That is why it is so important how our leaders speak. This is why some leaders, no matter what policies they espouse, or what background they have, attract us.  And it is why other leaders, with the right resume, can ultimately fail to win elections or bring forth their agenda.

This is about winning but it is not ONLY about winning.  The President of the United States shapes the world with their use of the word.  What Theodore Roosevelt called the president’s “bully pulpit” is not just a way to be heard by everyone.  That is part of it, but the other part is sculpting the world with their words. When presidents speak, it creates a mold into which the United States and the rest of the world will flow.  A passionately created mold of hate and competition creates a world of hate and competition. A passionately created mold of love and compassion creates a world of love and compassion.

The movie Won’t You Be My Neighbor?  shows real life footage where Fred Rogers uses the power of his word change the mind of an antagonistic and cynical congressional committee chair determined to cut funding for NPR.  As Mr. Rogers describes in his low key but deeply felt way how his program brings the power of love to children who may never have felt it, we watch the chair go from no to yes before our eyes.  

I have experienced a version of this myself. After I left public policy work and was focussing exclusively on ministry, a local group asked me to speak in front of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in favor of a ban on single use plastic bags. Af first I balked. Sure I was in favor of the ban (which at that time hadn't been ratified statewide), but who was I? Just some new thought minister. My church didn't even have a position on it so I couldn't bring the might of my 25 members to bear. And while I had years of experience testifying before lawmakers, I had no particularly policy expertise in this area and I didn't know what I could say that would possibly make a difference.

Then it occurred to me that as a minister in the Centers for Spiritual Living, I was trained to speak my word with power and authority using a form of affirmative prayer in which you unite yourself through universal source, declare what you want to be true and then are grateful for it as if it already happened and release it to Source to be done.

Anyway when I testified before the board I did the only thing I knew for sure how to do as a minister and practitioner of Science of Mind, speak my word for what I wanted.  I literally said an affirmative prayer as my testimony:

Good evening, Mr. Chair, and members of the Board of Supervisors.  I am Sara Nichols, I am the pastor and Senior Minister of the Center for Spiritual Living, Davis.  And I'm here to speak in favor of a ban on plastic bags by telling you what I know to be the Truth:

God is all there is.  God is in every single thing on the planet and in this state and county.  God is in the rivers, the fish, the mountains and the streams. God is in the land and the people who grow food and produce the products that are sold in every market.  God is in the workers at the markets. God is in the plastic bag manufacturers and their workers. God is in the plastic bags. And God is in every single member of the Board of Supervisors.  And God is in me. 

And so I speak my word with power and authority today.  There is no opposition here. There is no separation. There is not God or right over here and evil and wrong over there.  All separation is melted away. We are just God and God making choices about how we want to be and what is possible. I speak my word for new possibilities.  I speak my word for a vibrant economy with good jobs for everyone and a clean beautiful environment, clean water, clean air, healthy fish and animals. I eliminate all false division.  

I am grateful that this is already the Truth of God.  The solutions have already been created in the Mind of God and now they are spoken by me with passion and authority so they do not come back to me void.  I release my Word into the perfect law of God knowing that it is so. And so it is. 

The feeling in the room and among the supervisors was markedly different after this treatment testimony.  There was a feeling of love and openness and possibility that wasn't there before. Two of the supervisors that had been known to have misgivings about a ban on plastic bags, spoke in a way that indicated they now were open to voting for the ban.

In the rest of this series, I'll examine how the Power of the Word is used by the major candidates for President of the United States in 2020.