In the movie, “Birds of Passage,” a family within the indigenous Wayuu tribe from Colombia is caught in a conflict between their ancient ways and the modern drug trade. The movie's portrayal of the erosion of tradition in pursuit of material wealth is both beautiful and disturbing to watch.
One of the central characters in the movie is the tribe's “word messenger,” who is sent on their behalf to negotiate when conflicts arise.
Word messengers are sacred, even to tribes outside their own. They are trusted. And their role as peacemakers is almost certainly a factor in the tribe's centuries-long survival.
Words are sacred. They aren’t always used very nicely, but when they are, things change. Conflicts get resolved, understanding is nurtured, even healing can happen.
How we use words within ourselves is a perfect example.
Without being aware of it, so many of us send negative messages to ourselves all the time. I’m not good enough. I’m too this or too that. It's impossible. I can’t.
What we say gets recorded in our bodies, over and over, again. These negative words create an inner sense of conflict, which erodes both our physical and mental well being.
If you don’t believe that, read about how words spoken to plants and water have been proven to change them, for better, or for worse.
The words we say matter far more than we realize.
Become your own word messenger
What if you were to use your internal word messenger as a way to resolve your conflicts? To not only speak truth to what you honestly feel, but to bring encouragement to what you honestly dream of?
Do those things matter to you?
If so, honor them. Find a way to use your words to fertilize the life force within you; to resolve those inner conflicts; to bring peace to your relationship to yourself.
• Keep a journal.
• Speak affirmations as you look in the mirror.
• Find a mantra that feeds your soul and meditate on it.
• Practice EFT (tapping) to bring mind and body together in spoken communication.
Or, if you’d like to join others who are becoming their own peacemakers in a private online program, learn more here:
Here’s what people are saying about the program:
This course really called to me and I am really leaning hard into those Haikus to get a better grip on and have a better relationship with my emotionals. Looking forward to doing this every day. I appreciate your kind words and support.
i am in awe. i had not expected so much joy. your course is incredibly helpful in so many ways. and the haiku in the comment section. breathtaking!
I love the inner healer. It’s the most profound work I ve done. Now I know why this work draws me, other work from this perspective has brought such gifts to my life like my little golden- haired dog laying beside me now. I m starting to see how nurturing ourselves is so important to our well-being by creating a safe base that we can then explore and live our lives from. When we get in that crazy place we have choices.
This is a lovely course Kathy Curtis, thank you so much!
I’m so glad I’ve dedicated a notebook for this haiku process .. thank you again Kathy for this challenging and amazing course.
We are not masters of writing haiku. We are simply people who are using words to nurture our own peace.
Join us, won’t you? We could be your tribe.