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Words carry hidden power. Beyond their definitions, their structure and sound reveal deeper meanings that can heal or harm. Marie T. Russell invites you to rediscover the power of words—how simple shifts in word meanings can transform stress into sweetness, and silence into wisdom. The words we use every day may hold the key to emotional balance and renewal.

In This Article

• How do words hold hidden emotional power?
• What can anagrams reveal about the way we think?
• How can mindful speech reduce stress and disease?
• Why does “being light” help us move out of blight?
• Can playful word meanings guide personal growth?

Are Words Tying You Up in Knots?

Some people like to work on crossword puzzles, which requires knowledge of the definitions and oftentimes the history of words. However, words can also be playful. They can be insightful. And they can be harmful as well as healing.

I love to play with words. Maybe that’s why I’m a publisher, author, and editor. While words themselves have power in how they are used, they also reveal insights through how they are spelled. A fun way of playing with words is through anagrams or "Find the Word" games.

Having Fun with Words

One of my favorite examples of an insight gained through playing with letters is the word live, as in “I live my life fully.” Now, the opposite of the word live—opposite in the sense of being spelled backwards—is evil. I find that fascinating: the opposite of living your life—which is not living your life—is evil. Another extension of that would be to say “a life well lived.” In that case, the reverse of the word lived is devil—another very interesting insight.

One example that has been used more often perhaps is the word stressed, which when reversed becomes desserts. This provides another insight: when we let go of feeling stress, our life becomes sweet. Another example that is rather humorous is the word diaper, which becomes repaid. You can decide for yourself what the diaper is repaying you for, LOL.

Another very insightful anagram, with the letters in a different order, is the word listen, which when the letters are moved around, reads silent. That one presents a life lesson in itself.

Sound Alike?

And then there are words that sound the same but can bring up very different pictures in our minds. I just used one of those in the previous paragraph: presents. We present something, and the thing we present can be a present. OK, I know I’m stretching this a bit here, but still—even this one is very motivational: the present (as in right here and now) is a present or gift to us.

An example of a word simply sounding the same but not being spelled the same is the word not and the word knot. Our emotions and our energy can get all tied up in knots because of all the things we say “no” or “not” to.

Just think of it—you’re driving down the road and somebody cuts you off in traffic. Most of us, I dare say, get upset—at least in the moment. We become judgmental, we get angry, and the result is often a knot somewhere in our body—perhaps in our shoulders, in our back, or a knot in our head (otherwise known as a headache), or just a knot in our heart (otherwise known as anger), which can also turn into all forms of disease. And all these knots because we had an attitude of “this is not okay.”

That brings up another word: disease. In holistic circles, it’s often written as dis-ease. The prefix “dis,” when affixed to any word, gives it the opposite meaning—as in dis-agree or dis-appear. So the word dis-ease denotes no longer being at ease, which is obviously the case when we’re not feeling well, when we’re sick, or when we have some kind of illness.

As I play with this concept right now, another pair of words that comes to mind are listen and lesson. They almost sound the same and work well together to bring another life lesson. When we are endeavoring to learn a lesson—whether in a classroom situation or in life itself—we must listen. We must listen to the contents of the lesson, and of course we must listen to our inner guidance and our heart.

Missing Something?

The other day I came across the word blight in something I was editing. What I saw was that the word blight is basically the word light with the letter “b” (or possibly the word “be”) in front of it. Thus, I realized that the subtle message was that the way to move out of blight is to b-light or be light. The messages are everywhere when you open your mind to options.

I was speaking with a friend who is Chinese the other day, and we were discussing the Chinese language—mainly its written form, which has symbols for various words, so that one word can be represented by two or more different symbols. This made me think about words in the English language that are also two different words put together.

One example that came to mind is the word intense, which basically combines in and tense. That describes it perfectly. When something is intense in our life, what does it do? It tends to bring the tension in—thus the tension resides in us. And of course, that leads to all kinds of problems, both in the present as tension and stress, and in the future as seeds of dis-ease.

So while playing with words and dissecting them can be fun, you can see that it can also be a source of meaningful messages that can lead to “aha” moments.

Here’s a List of Other Words to Consider

delight → d-light or the light

reactive → creative (anagram). This one gives us an alternate choice. Rather than being reactive or -re-active (repeating the previous choice or action, we can choose to be creative.

fearful → fear-full (being full of fear = a more encompassing form of fear)

war → raw (no explanation needed, I think)

Universe → U and I verse (a verse being a part of a song or poem). So the Universe is you and I creating a verse or song of life together. I rather like that one as it gives an overview of God being within each and every one of us, and together we create the verse, or song, or world we live in.

rescue → secure (anagram). Perhaps if we were secure in our being a Loving Presence of Light, we would not feel that we need to be rescued either by Jesus or Scotty (as in beam me up Scotty).

repair → re-pair, come together again, as in repairing a relationship.

That’s just a short list. If you want to keep playing with this, a search online or with an AI will surely bring you many more examples.

What’s the Point?

We can choose to play with our words (and our thoughts) as we go along in life. Rather than be stressed with the events in your life, look for the gift or dessert that is hidden in the stress. Words have power. So rather than having a stressed reaction to something, we can choose to not re-act—but rather to act newly—and thus reach a better outcome.

So, while you’re practicing watching your thoughts and your words to make sure you are not projecting negativity and fear into your life, at the same time, you can turn it into a game and find alternate ways of using a word to take away its hurt-full (as in full of hurt) energy. We can chose to enjoy (or in-joy) this game of life, even when it presents us with challenges. 

About The Author

Marie T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from 1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal growth, and well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own inner source of joy and creativity.

Creative Commons 3.0: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License. Attribute the author: Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf.com. Link back to the article: This article originally appeared on InnerSelf.com

Recommended Book:

A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life
by Jack Kornfield.

Click here for more info or to order this book on Amazon.

Article Recap

This article by Marie T. Russell reveals how the power of words and their deeper word meanings influence emotion, stress, and healing. By playing with language, we uncover insights that restore balance and connection—reminding us that words can become instruments of renewal when used with awareness and intention.

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