Atmospere & Blink

I first heard of the importance of atmosphere through Charlotte Mason and Maria Montessori. Michele Quigley sums it up nicely here.She writes

" Atmosphere is many faceted, from the actual physical aspects of the home to the tone and spirit of family life. In creating an atmosphere of learning, the child has easy access to the materials needed. Books are put where the child can get at them, art supplies are easily reached and musical instruments placed in a special but accessible area. There are beautiful art prints to look at and beautiful music with which to inspire the mind and soul.".

Following suit, I've strived to inspire a peaceful, creative, faithful environment.

Malcom Gladwell in the book Blink, cites an experiment that susposedly affected how people act even without them knowing. A string of words are given to subjects under the pretense that they should make a sentence out of those words. Unbeknown to them, sprinkled among a seemingly random selection are words of politeness and its association. The other test group had words of rudeness and its association. After completing the exercise, the subject was asked to go to another room to fill up paperwork. However, in the second room, two people are staged to converse with each other. The actors were instructed not to end the conversation until after 15 min of the subject's arrival unless the subject interrupts them. The experiment was conducted in New York and honestly the experimenters expected to the difference in waiting time to be in seconds. The people primed with the rude words interrupted in 5 minutes. The people primed with the polite words didn't interrupt at all. If the conversation wasn't scheduled to end in 15 minutes, who knows how long they would have waited?

Now I wouldn't advocate taping a string of words to listen while you sleep. However, it does raise the question of how important even the smallest word or deed could play in a man's life. There is even studies on how color schemes, pictorial images and furniture placements can affect a man's actions. As a Catholic, we must believe in the power of free will and of the conscious mind. This study seems to suggest that even a simple phrase could profoundly change somebody's action. Something to think about. What would happen if I said "I love you" more frequently through the day to my children and husband?

" My God, I offer you every thought, act and word this day. Bless me, my God, and make me good today. Amen."