Episode 6

 

Episode 6: 

Welcome to ***Book of Inner Life**! Blog about Pedagogy of the Soul by

Ana Dalfovo

We are delighted to have you join us for a new episode of our series dedicated to Ana Dalfovo's book *Pedagogia of the Soul*  Today, in Episode 6, we explore Chapter Power of the Word together.

The Power of the Word

📖 Introduction

Words are more than sounds—they are energy, intention, and creation. In Pedagogy of the Soul, Ana Dalfovo invites us to reflect on how every word we speak carries vibration and consequence.

In this episode, we explore how the language we use can either build or break, connect or separate, awaken or suppress. Words have the power to teach, to heal, and above all—to transform.

What do your words say about you? What realities do they create?

Narrative Structure and Emotional Impact

The chapter "The Power of Words" demonstrates remarkable pedagogical maturity through the use of a narrative strategy that combines second-person storytelling with deep psychological analysis. The author constructs an archetypal scenario—the 6-year-old child in the classroom—that functions as a "universal case study," allowing the reader to viscerally identify with the traumatic experience of educational stigmatization.

The second-person narrative ("Imagine you are in a classroom") is not just a stylistic technique, but a pedagogical tool that forces the reader to experience the situation from within, transforming theoretical analysis into a direct emotional experience. This approach demonstrates the principles of soul pedagogy in action: learning through direct experience, not abstraction.

This chapter – "The Power of Words – Superpower No. 1" – is a profound, moving, and transformative appeal to the responsibility we have for the realities we create through words. It is one of the most important in the book and acts as a spiritual, pedagogical, and emotional mirror for all those who deal with children—but also for the child within us.

📚 1. A symbolic scenario—the wound of the child who is misunderstood and misheard

Ana opens the chapter with a simple but devastatingly real story about a child who:

is happy to learn through play,

but is labeled "difficult" just because he doesn't learn at the same pace as others

 "You have difficulties."

"Others already know..."

"They need to practice more."

This hasty labeling is described as negative magic, which imprints a painful reality on the child's heart:

 "Maybe I'm not as incredible as I thought..."

"I think others know better who I am."

Here, the author not only tells a story, but confronts us with the wounded child within us, the one who was hurt by the words of a careless, hasty, or frustrated adult.

.Psychological Analysis of Educational Trauma

Dalfovo offers a lucid analysis of how the traditional educational system can generate psychological trauma through comparison and labeling. The sequence in which the child moves from a state of natural play to an awareness of deficiency ("You have difficulties") perfectly illustrates the process by which the child's healthy identity iseroded by adult judgments.

The observation that "For you, who do not fully understand what all this means, you are just in the present, which is great wisdom" reveals the author's deep understanding of the nature of infant consciousness. The child lives in the present, without comparisons and judgments—a state hat spiritual traditions consider ideal and that traditional education systematically destroys.

🧠 2. How is inner reality formed through words?

 "Children are open to receiving information from their environment. They trust... they are pure."

This is a lesson in neuroeducation combined with emotional intelligence:

Words become reality.

What a child hears from an authority figure (teacher, parent) becomes inner truth.

And this truth can remain for a lifetime if it is not healed.

The Mechanism of Internalizing Judgments

The chapter masterfully describes the process by which external judgment becomes self-judgment: "This thought leads to another. 'I really AM having difficulties. The teacher said so. And she knows better than anyone!'" This sequence illustrates how educational authority becomes internal authority, transforming a circumstantial assessment into a permanent identity.

The metaphor of the "little cloud above the head" and the "heart that saddens" perfectly captures the transition from natural innocence to awareness of deficiency. The author demonstrates how a single moment of "evaluation" can fundamentally alter a child's self-perception.

Criticism of the Educational System

Without being explicitly polemical, Dalfovo offers a devastating critique of traditional pedagogy centered on comparison and standardization. The observation that "We adults do not know how to manage differences because we have not learned to respect them in ourselves, as a cycle that does not end unless it is observed" identifies the systemic problem: educators reproduce their own educational traumas.

The concept of "a cycle that never ends" is fundamental to understanding the author's approach—educational trauma is perpetuated generationally until it is acknowledged and healed. This implies that educational reform must begin with the personal healing of educators.

🪞 3. Projecting our wounds onto others

Ana tells us directly:

> "What you give to others is what you give to yourself."

"Those words are not yours. They are wounds passed on."

It is a dissolution of guilt through deep understanding:

We are not bad. We are just wounded.

We repeat what we heard in childhood.

We need generational healing, not shame.

🧬 4. The word as a creative act – like God in action

> "Words are the Power that Divine Creation has given us to take care of Life."

Here, the word is presented not as a means of communication, but as a divine force, a co-creative power.

Everything we say has a vibrational charge that:

creates reality,

shapes identity,

changes destinies.

It is a perspective that is both mystical and pedagogical, profound and liberating.

The Spiritual Dimension of Education

The statement "Children are the purity of God, the Creator. They contain all new creation" positions the child not as an "empty vessel" to be filled with information, but as a divine manifestation to be respected and nurtured. This perspective radically transforms the educator-educate relationship from a hierarchical one to a sacred one.

The idea that children "have pure souls, bring with them the differences that transform" suggests that diversity is not a problem to be managed, but a divine resource that enriches the community. This fundamentally contradicts the logic of educational standardization.

🔥 5. Words that hurt vs. words that heal

Ana makes an extraordinarily powerful list of expressions that:

can destroy a child's self-image,

but also words that can heal, support, and uplift.

🗡️ Words that hurt:

> "You don't understand!", "Shut up!", "You're stupid!", "You'll never amount to anything!", "It's obvious you don't know anything!", "You make me so sad!"

These are common expressions in traditional education, but they all contain an attack on identity.

🕊️ Words that heal:

> "You're wonderful!", "You can cry, I'm here!", "Be proud of yourself.", "Believe in yourself.", "Thank you for existing!"

These are statements of unconditional love, validation, and emotional security.

Ana shows us how reframing speech can become a form of relational therapy.

The Creative Power of Words

The central section of the chapter explores the ontological dimension of la nguage: "Words are the Power that Divine Creation has given us to care for Life. We create our reality and recognize ourselves in the energy that contains it." This perspective aligns the author with spiritual traditions that recognize the creative power of the word.

The statement "If you believe you have difficulty learning, you WILL have difficulty learning" is not just a psychological observation, but a metaphysical statement about the nature of reality. This implies that education must be aware of its creative power and use it responsibly.

Destructive vs. Constructive Inventory

Comparative lists of destructive and constructive phrases serve as a practical awareness tool. Listing phrases such as "You don't understand!", "You're stupid!", "Shut up!" versus "You're wonderful!", "You're special!", "I love you!" is not just a simple opposition, but a demonstration of how language can be used for destruction or healing.

The observation that "these phrases are not even yours, but are repetitions of what relatives, neighbors, and television shows say" reveals the unconscious dimension of trauma reproduction. Adults do not deliberately choose to hurt children, but automatically reproduce their own traumatic experiences.

🎯 6. The mirror exercise: feel the effect of words on your body

> "Say: NOTHING is going well for me...

Now say: EVERYTHING is going well for me...

Ana gives us a simple but revealing test.

How do you feel when you say negative words?

How do you feel when you say words of power and affirmation?

Through this exercise, she demonstrates that words shape bodily energy and state of consciousness.

Practical Exercise and Experimental Validation

The instruction to "put feeling into these words" and to "feel this energy" indicates the author's understanding that true knowledge is somatic, not just intellectual. The body becomes an instrument for validating truth.

🌱 7. The underlying message: Take back your power, love yourself through words

> "Take back this power...

Use your words wisely.

This is True Love."

The ending is a call for spiritual acceptance.

It's no longer about children. It's about us, the adults:

How do we talk to ourselves?

How do we label ourselves?

What kind of words do we allow to define us?

It is a call to become conscious authors of our own story.

The Spiritual Responsibility of Educators

The chapter culminates with a call to spiritual responsibility: "It is our responsibility as adults to heal our pain and see our children with the truth of who they really are. Our mirrors. The Divine Mirror of the New."

The metaphor of the child as a "divine mirror" suggests that the educational relationship is reciprocal—the child not only receives, but also reflects back to adults their own degree of healing and spiritual evolution.

Integrating the Magical Dimension

The reference to the "magic" of words and to "Love that comes from the Source" places education in a broad spiritual context. This does not mean denying rationality, but integrating it into a broader framework that recognizes the subtle dimensions of existence.

The conclusion "Allow yourself. Surrender. Love." is not just an emotional exhortation, but a condensed pedagogical program: authentic education begins with surrendering one's own resistance and continues with cultivating unconditional love.

Critical Assessment

The strength of this chapter lies in its ability to combine deep psychological analysis with a spiritual perspective, offering both theoretical understanding and practical tools. The second-person narrative creates an emotional impact that makes the message memorable and transformative.

The main limitation may be the tendency to idealize the natural state of the child without sufficiently acknowledging the need for structure and boundaries in the educational process. Although the criticism of standardization is justified, the chapter does not provide sufficient guidance on practical ways to implement personalized education in the current systemic context.

✨ Conclusion – words are the magic we carry in our mouths

This chapter is:

a story of healing,

a manifesto for gentle education,

a meditation on language as a sacred tool of Creation.

It is impossible to read it without stopping and remembering the words that hurt you... but also imagining what would have changed in you if someone had simply said:

"I love you. I am here. You are wonderful just as you are."

If you want, we can move on to the next chapter.

This book becomes, in turn, a life manual, a spiritual guide, and a journal of collective healing.

🌿 Closing Thoughts:

In the world of soul pedagogy, the word is sacred. Ana reminds us that conscious speech is not just an educational act, but a spiritual one.

To speak with awareness is to live with presence. And when we align our words with love, authenticity, and compassion, we begin to educate not just the mind, but the heart.

Let’s become more attentive to the way we speak—to others and to ourselves. Because the world we build begins with the words we choose.

The central message—that words have the power to create reality and that educators have a spiritual responsibility to heal their own traumas in order to support the healthy development of children—is likely to resonate with readers seeking alternatives to traditional authoritarian education.

And so we conclude our reflection on Episode 6 for today. Thank you for joining us on **Book of Inner Life**! blog Thought for tomorrow: in **Episode 7**,  Chapter 7  **I'm afraid of making mistakes**. 

Pedagogia da Alma book by Ana Dalfovo
 See you here tomorrow!