What does she mean by that? A fundamental question presented by anybody who reads. Words are both a gift to us and a curse. From the Little Prince: “For words are a source of misunderstanding.” I find language fascinating. My bookshelves are filled with works on language, mind, and our existence with the use of language.
We live in a world built with words. The very words we use forms our consciousness, and our consciousness plays out in our life. In every philosophy and religion the use of words is paramount to evoke concepts of a spiritual life or pathway one can follow to find nirvana or land of milk and honey. If your religious words are ones that say your God is a punishing God you will see occurrences in every day life as punishment or concepts put forth to test your faith and belief. For instance a statement by a far right commentator, said (to paraphrase) It is more likely that God punished Houston (with hurricane Harvey) for a Lesbian Mayor than a climate change problem occurring.
A person’s use of language is a doorway into their mind. As we write and speak we form relationships with words and ideas. These word relationships depict the thinking and perceptions of the mind. Thus language of any one group of people shows what is important to them, how they view life in a philosophical manner. When I lived in China I had a great deal of trouble learning how to relate the ideas of yesterday and remembering. Part of this problem was because Chinese philosophy holds the concept that all life is NOW. How can you remember what is happening now? The Chinese use of time in language is much different than the western concept. When my college students visited the USA and Canada they came back asking for help on understanding the western use of time as compared to theirs. The main tenant of faith in China is Buddhism, which says all is happening in this moment, much different from the concept of past, present, and future. This also explains the Chinese students problem with tenses in English and German.
The English language is Germanic at its base. There is a kind of precision that allows us to accomplish great mechanical and engineering feats. Engineering students in China and else where must learn English or German in order to function in engineering. This same idea applies to allopathic medicine. The Latin terminology is related more precisely in English or German. Our language allows us to change words to fit our perception and to use words from other languages. For instance houseboat can be changed into boathouse. Both terms are appropriate. This switching of terms only happens in English and Germans.
Why is all of this important? Because we cannot expect to understand what our adversaries are trying to say or what is happening in our own unconscious mind until we understand how language works with perception. Noam Chomsky says that language is inherent in our genome. We are born with the urge to communicate the pictures we see in our minds. Those of us who study language know that there are three levels of meanings to any word or perception we express. The first is the base meaning, the second our family meaning, and third the meaning given to a word by our tribe or society where we live. Each meaning brings with it an emotional perception. It is our emotional perception of words that bogs us down in mediating or understanding “the other.”
Words such as hate, prejudice, and alien are all laden with many meanings. How can we eliminate the hate around us unless we understand what those who hate mean or are saying. The more we understand the language of others and the meanings they give to the words they use the easier it becomes to negotiate and mediate with them.
Presently we are at war with words and perceptions. We are finding ourselves at an impasse with “ the other side.” Our ammunition is words and understanding how the mind works. Violence will not change perceptions but words can. In a very large sense our end game is not to destroy “the other” but to win our game by using words and ideas that are irrefutable or axiomatic in nature.
How can you use this information? Stay observant to the language you use and that of others. Ask yourself what you mean by the words you use. Ask what you think “the other” is meaning by the words they use. Don’t assume you are speaking the same language of meanings. Examine the territory when someone brings you information or a piece of gossip. By trying to understand and interpret the language of the other you gain insiders knowledge of their end game.
Language is not a gift but an inherent right we are born with. Communication is so important that we slap the butts of newborn babies. This is so they will cry and announce their being to the world. Only with the first cry is the child considered born.
Suzanne Deakins H.W.M. Is a Mentor in The Prosperos and teaches the technique of Translation that helps us decode our language and consciousness. She is also, a publisher (One Spirit Press and The Q Press) and author. Her books may be found on amazon.com. suzannedeak@gmail.com