I’ve been thinking about words lately, as in do I use too many words to express myself, or maybe I don’t use the “right” words, and maybe I’ve gotten too caught up in words – moving away from the Simplicity of Being… I love words – as you may have noticed. :) I love the rhythm, the cadence, the pulse of words, the creation of language, and the picture that words create.
There are some in the internet spiritual blogosphere who wrangle and rant over words used to describe the Indescribable, especially in Non-Duality circles. You could call them the “word police.” (And, by the way, I’m not talking about anyone who’s reading this blog;). The “word police” take issue with the word “me” because they’ve become very fixated on the *idea* that there is no me/self, and no one having an experience, and no one reading this blog. And you can’t say the word “I” because there is no “I.” That is all fine in the abstract, what my husband calls “ooga-booga” language, but can we *relate* to it? “Technically” they are “right”, in the sense that there is no *individual* “me”, *separate* from That which IS, having an *individual* experience because we are all just Awareness/Beigness living Itself – here in the dream of Consciousness – that *appears* to be a lot of different individuals living a “life.” (And now maybe *I’m* getting a little too ooga-booga :) And even if one knows this intimately, has realized this at their very core, the question still remains, for me, can we *relate* to that languaging of no-me, no one here, etc.? Is it helpful? Is it a good finger pointing to the moon? To which the word police would respond – there’s no one to relate to it, and there’s no one to help… And on it goes – caught in their own conundrums – which only creates a *self*-consciousness about the words we’re using. So my question is: Isn’t their censorship of words coming from the “me” function that they deny exists? Hel-lo…
Although words can never be a true reflection of, or expression of Awareness Itself, or the *experience* of it, there is *something* that wants to express these words that we write… or speak… or sing… It seems all we have is words (well except for dance, music, art and all forms of creative expression – but you get what I’m saying – maybe?:) If we don’t use words to express what we know to be true in our Hearts, how would we express that which *lives* us – which, it appears, seems to want to express Itself – as us – as words. It’s all a *living* experience of Knowing Awareness – which speaks in and through us – as us. That’s part of The Mystery I guess – that we’re all expressions of The Mystery, and we all express differently. And yet some expressions speak to us more clearly than others, more deeply.
Recently I received Dorothy Hunt’s online newsletter. She’s the Spiritual Director of the Moon Mountain Sangha in the San Francisco Bay area. She speaks to this issue of words. She says: “At the heart of all movement is an ever-present Stillness and Silence to which nothing can be added, and from which nothing can be subtracted. It is from this silent Source that the mind arises as an expression of Truth (my italics). Every day thousands of words form in our minds – streams of thoughts…, commentary…,interpretations…, identities…, judgments…, theories…, perhaps a few profound insights now and then, and a great deal of useless drivel. Some words simply swim in the sea of mind-waves unspoken; others are spoken as part of functioning. And there are words that invite us to a deeper reality. The most potent part of our communication is the place that words come from.” (italics mine).
And it seems maybe that’s the key in giving voice, through words: Where do the words come from? Are they expressions of that simple Aware space of Being, from the Heart, or are they just mind clutter, ramblings and rantings of the mind that *attempt* to speak *about* “IT”…? Dorothy says that “it is possible to speak from the deep silence of Being within” – the voice of Stillness.
I think we know this when we hear it – when we *hear* Presence *behind* the words. We know when someone is speaking from the Heart of Being. It is personal, and authentic, and real – not “just words” – but expressions that are able to touch the Heart and create a resonance within… We’re all little tuning forks, vibrating with those expressions of Life, sometimes called words, emerging in us – to *speak.*
I know when I’m speaking from the space of Stillness – and when it’s coming from the mind: rambling – trying to connect one thought to another. You can probably hear it too – when I wander off into the thought stream. I’m a word-crafter, so it’s easy for me to get lost in the words without paying attention to where they’re coming from. If you notice me doing it, you don’t need to get a billy club out, just tap me on the shoulder and give me one of those looks.:) I'll understand.
There are some in the internet spiritual blogosphere who wrangle and rant over words used to describe the Indescribable, especially in Non-Duality circles. You could call them the “word police.” (And, by the way, I’m not talking about anyone who’s reading this blog;). The “word police” take issue with the word “me” because they’ve become very fixated on the *idea* that there is no me/self, and no one having an experience, and no one reading this blog. And you can’t say the word “I” because there is no “I.” That is all fine in the abstract, what my husband calls “ooga-booga” language, but can we *relate* to it? “Technically” they are “right”, in the sense that there is no *individual* “me”, *separate* from That which IS, having an *individual* experience because we are all just Awareness/Beigness living Itself – here in the dream of Consciousness – that *appears* to be a lot of different individuals living a “life.” (And now maybe *I’m* getting a little too ooga-booga :) And even if one knows this intimately, has realized this at their very core, the question still remains, for me, can we *relate* to that languaging of no-me, no one here, etc.? Is it helpful? Is it a good finger pointing to the moon? To which the word police would respond – there’s no one to relate to it, and there’s no one to help… And on it goes – caught in their own conundrums – which only creates a *self*-consciousness about the words we’re using. So my question is: Isn’t their censorship of words coming from the “me” function that they deny exists? Hel-lo…
Although words can never be a true reflection of, or expression of Awareness Itself, or the *experience* of it, there is *something* that wants to express these words that we write… or speak… or sing… It seems all we have is words (well except for dance, music, art and all forms of creative expression – but you get what I’m saying – maybe?:) If we don’t use words to express what we know to be true in our Hearts, how would we express that which *lives* us – which, it appears, seems to want to express Itself – as us – as words. It’s all a *living* experience of Knowing Awareness – which speaks in and through us – as us. That’s part of The Mystery I guess – that we’re all expressions of The Mystery, and we all express differently. And yet some expressions speak to us more clearly than others, more deeply.
Recently I received Dorothy Hunt’s online newsletter. She’s the Spiritual Director of the Moon Mountain Sangha in the San Francisco Bay area. She speaks to this issue of words. She says: “At the heart of all movement is an ever-present Stillness and Silence to which nothing can be added, and from which nothing can be subtracted. It is from this silent Source that the mind arises as an expression of Truth (my italics). Every day thousands of words form in our minds – streams of thoughts…, commentary…,interpretations…, identities…, judgments…, theories…, perhaps a few profound insights now and then, and a great deal of useless drivel. Some words simply swim in the sea of mind-waves unspoken; others are spoken as part of functioning. And there are words that invite us to a deeper reality. The most potent part of our communication is the place that words come from.” (italics mine).
And it seems maybe that’s the key in giving voice, through words: Where do the words come from? Are they expressions of that simple Aware space of Being, from the Heart, or are they just mind clutter, ramblings and rantings of the mind that *attempt* to speak *about* “IT”…? Dorothy says that “it is possible to speak from the deep silence of Being within” – the voice of Stillness.
I think we know this when we hear it – when we *hear* Presence *behind* the words. We know when someone is speaking from the Heart of Being. It is personal, and authentic, and real – not “just words” – but expressions that are able to touch the Heart and create a resonance within… We’re all little tuning forks, vibrating with those expressions of Life, sometimes called words, emerging in us – to *speak.*
I know when I’m speaking from the space of Stillness – and when it’s coming from the mind: rambling – trying to connect one thought to another. You can probably hear it too – when I wander off into the thought stream. I’m a word-crafter, so it’s easy for me to get lost in the words without paying attention to where they’re coming from. If you notice me doing it, you don’t need to get a billy club out, just tap me on the shoulder and give me one of those looks.:) I'll understand.
Heart Smiles - MeANderi
Hi Meanderi - I agree that some uber-spiritual people can get pretty 'out there' with their choice of words. Like when a feminist insists on saying "Oh my Goddess!" just to counteract the effect of the masculine version ("Oh my God!") "I" am aware that "I" do not exist as a separate entity, but "I" am perfectly comfortable using the term, for the sake of clarity, and so "I" don't turn people off with "my" buddha-babble. :)
ReplyDeleteI know, it all gets pretty crazy when one has to *think* about what words one is using, such as the *normal* references to "I","me", "you" etc. What I've discovered is once the Truth reveals itself the words just don't really matter anyway. Words then become a natural flow of that which IS...
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting :)