Have you ever considered what words are and how they work? It seems to me that many people have some pretty interesting ideas about words. Some of these ideas are not only interesting, but incredibly dangerous. To communicate properly with words we must fully understand what they are and how they work. If we cannot communicate properly with words then we can be easily misled by the words of others. That is the danger. Let’s take some time right now and dig to the very foundation of our image of words and see if we can’t immunize ourselves from the dangers of words.
What are words? Words are shapes and sounds in reality that we have assigned meaning to in The Image. Words are concepts, ideas and memories. Words are social conventions where we have agreed that certain shapes and sounds mean particular things. Isn’t this obvious? Most of the words we use are not our own creation, but the creation of others. We have been trained to use the words that our society agreed to. Our society’s words have been programmed into us from a very young age. This simple fact is the first aspect of the danger of words. We are so used to using words and so thoroughly accepting of them that we don’t take time to question what they are.
Words are not magical. There are no special powers in the written word or the spoken word. There is no such thing as a “holy word” or an “offensive word”. Similarly, there is no such thing as an “important word” or a “touching word” or the “word of god”. In reality, words are simply shapes and sounds that we have assigned meaning to in The Image. This is the second aspect of the danger of words. When we believe that words are magical or special then we open ourselves to being misled. Think about it… if we believe that a text is filled with magical words then we may believe the words no matter what they say. If we think that someone’s words are divinely inspired then we will assign them great value and may be easily misled.
Words have no built-in meaning. In reality, words are only shapes and sounds that we have assigned meaning to in The Image. This means that we decide what words mean based on our image’s interpretation of them. Give that some awareness and you may see the power of it. Give awareness to the process that takes place in your mind as you read this text. Your eyes perceive the text. The perceived words are identified in your mind by comparing the perception to your memory. It’s almost like you have a dictionary in your mind that you use to translate pictures and sounds into possible meanings. As you identify each word in the text, you build an image of the sentence, paragraph and entire text. This image is your personal interpretation of the words that you have experienced. You interpret the text and decide its meaning. You are not discovering meaning in words; you are deciding and creating meaning in words. This is the third aspect of the danger of words. If we believe that words have built-in meanings then we may get stuck trying to figure out what the words really mean. We will spend hours sifting through important words trying to see the hidden meaning. If someone else comes along and tells us they have discovered a hidden meaning then we will be open to being misled. There is no hidden meaning. There is only the meaning that you give the words.
Since words have no meaning outside of the meaning we give them then it should be clear that words are very easily misinterpreted. They are seemingly designed to be misinterpreted. Different people will create different meanings for the exact same set of words. You’ve seen this happen before, right? Haven’t you ever disagreed with someone over the meaning they have assigned to some words? The biggest barrier to accurately communicating with words is getting to a common ground for what the words mean. I hope that you see that this common ground is quite impossible to reach. My concept of “dog” is very different from yours. My concept of “pizza” is not the same either. For any given word, my concepts, memories and ideas are distinct from yours. As are yours from everyone else’s. Misinterpretation of words is so common that this should be obvious to everyone. Yet, it isn’t. People go through life believing that their interpretations are correct… that it is other people who are mistaken. The secret here is that nobody’s interpretation is correct. They are simply personal interpretations that you either agree with or don’t.
The irony of using words to describe the illusion of words is not lost on me. I see that clearly and find it quite amusing. How does one get across the idea that words are to be distrusted and scrutinized when using words? It’s a dichotomy that I enjoy swimming in a great deal. Please keep in mind that my words are not special. There is no special meaning hidden in these pages. There are only shapes and sounds that you are deciding to assign meaning to. I’m out of the picture on this after the words are written. I hope you create a meaning that helps you break your dependence on the magic and meaning of words.
You don’t want to be misled, do you? If not then see clearly how you interpret words. Be aware of how you read and listen. Be aware of how you speak and write. Watch yourself as you assign meaning to words. Watch yourself as you try to coerce others to assign certain meaning to your words. If you watch this then you will finally see.
Once you see the true value of words then you will understand that each holy text that you hold dear (either religious or political) is a sham…it is an illusion that mesmerizes you and keeps you from your power of conscious belief. When you see this clearly then you have the opportunity to take conscious control over the meaning that you create from words. Right now, you create meaning out of habit, not choice. Now that you see the illusion of words you can choose the meaning that you want instead of searching for a meaning that isn’t there.