You're probably familiar with the old, child-hood saying. 'sticks & stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me'? Well, in this day & age of 'buttercups' & 'snowflakes', it seems painfully obvious that words can indeed 'hurt a fella' ( or gal )! But, is it really as simple as that?! It depends, as we've discussed in a previous post, on your definition of the words 'hurt' & 'harm'. Are we really hurting them, if by our words, we wound their Ego, or as I like to say, 'bend their feelers'? At this point, of course, we must investigate further; 'what is the intention?' 'Is it the truth?' First off, if 'we' tell them a truth that they need to hear, though it may upset them, or even cause physical dis-ease, 'we' have not hurt them; on the contrary, we have done them a favor, with nothing but good intentions! If, on the other hand, we tell them a lie, causing them to put others or themselves in physical danger, one might well say that we are complicit & have hurt someone with our words. Again, though, the choice is theirs as to what to do with the truth or lie, just as it is ours to tell them the truth or lie!
Words have Power, there is no doubt! Being raised Christian, the first thing that comes to mind is when the children of Israel marched around the historical ( biblical ) city of Jericho every day for a week ( 7 days ). Joshua 6 records that they marched around the city 7 times on the last day, the priests blew the trumpets long & loud, then the people gave a great shout ( no word on what they shouted ) & the walls fell down. Maybe not the greatest example of words themselves having Power, but you might remember the phrase, 'the pen is mightier than the sword', penned by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839. This phrase was used, if memory serves me correctly, to speak of at least one great 'conflict' that began, more or less, because of the written or spoken word. It goes without saying ( yet I will say it ) that more than one fight starts, on a daily basis, because of carelessly ( even carefully calculating ) spoken words. Here again, we run into the unforgiving brick wall of 'Choice'!
It has been said, 'Life is all about Choice'! This time, 'yes; it really is that simple'! From a human standpoint, at least, it may be well said that how we live our lives here on Earth, even in some sense, how & when we pass from this existence, is our choice: we, in the greatest sense, are the movers & shakers of our own destiny. 'Whoah', some might say; 'what about God?' 'What about 'God'? is my reply. Did not 'God' give us free-choice, according to the Holy Bible? Then again, to further their consternation, I might ask, 'who is 'God'?' 'In the beginning', according to the Christian Bible, this 'God' basically spoke the world into existence ( depending on how one interprets the text ), so, from a Christian standpoint, being Creators along with 'Him', would it be too far-fetched to say that we can speak something into existence, or destroy it with a Word?! Some would say so ( in fact, most probably would ), but the question remains; 'Why not?'
Speaking of my Christian upbringing, another familiar phrase that you might have heard is, 'the road to Hell is paved with good intentions'. Even if one doesn't believe in 'Hell' ( which I haven't for the majority of my adult life ), the phrase could be taken to mean that, even though we may intend well, the results may not be what we, or others, wished. When I first became acquainted with this phrase, it stirred up feelings of guilt in me ( as I'm sure it was meant to )! Even if our intentions are nothing but the best, so the theory goes, for whatever reason, things may go awry. If things go awry ( correct me if I'm wrong ), it's really ( actually ) our fault, because we did whatever we did based on faulty thinking.
Okay; rant over! Our intentions, whether good or bad, have the first & last say in what we do; they ARE, one might say, the Alpha & Omega! Usually, of course, this involves thousands, even millions of brain synapses firing in a split second; sometimes it takes a bit longer, but again, we call it 'Choice'. Our earthly lives are based on it.The Choices we make, to say nothing of the Choices others make, determine the course of our lives in this earthly realm! But, what if it wasn't up to us? What if we actually didn't have free-will ( a mind of our own ) & were simply automatons, able only to accomplish what our Creator programmed us for ( ? )? 'Okay, so it wasn't quite over...............'!
Back to the subject at hand, 'Good Intentions'! When someone intends the best for someone else, even though things might 'go south' anyway, the former bears no guilt in the matter, for they have done their best, they have made what they knew, or believed, was the right choice. The other person, however, also had/has a choice in the matter; to take what was given with the best of intentions & 'run with it', or to disregard it, even to flagrantly despise it. Even bad intentions have a way of turning out for the best. Conversely, the latter may, again, disregard the former's bad intention & turn the intended disaster into a triumph through their own choices, or good intentions. Either way, the Choice & thus, their Destiny, is squarely on the shoulders of the Individual!
'Why not?!' Why shouldn't we, as Creators ourselves, both physically & metaphysically speaking
be able to Create or Destroy with a Word? Is it too much to acknowledge that we can actually convince ourselves not to do something? Can we convince others not to do something, simply by choosing our words carefully? On the other hand, can we not, whether carefully or carelessly. convince someone to do something they shouldn't? Taking some examples from movies, 'Star Wars' & 'Dune' in particular, one might remember how easy it was for 'Obe-wan Kenobi' to convince the weak-minded Stormtrooper that he didn't need to see their papers. In 'Dune', not too dissimilar from the biblical story of 'The Fall of Jericho', the attackers were able to blast through the enemies wall using voice amplifiers, or sound weapons. 'Farfetched?' More or less, but it's entirely possible. In fact, if you believe some of the conspiracy theories out there..................
'Life IS all about Choice'! 'As above, so below', of course, it is on this plane of existence ( ? ) that Choice bears the greater part. Whatever we choose may or may not have the desired effect, but then, our Choice is what we intend to do about our failure. Even if it involves another person & their Choice, it is still our Choice as to what to do ( if anything ) about their Choice. From there, the Choices & the Situation tend to escalate until someone puts a stop to it. A bruised or wounded Ego is a good thing; it builds character! Some people realize sooner than others that they shouldn't let their Ego run their lives for them. As always, this is not to say that the Ego is a bad thing, even a 'necessary evil', just that 'it is what it is'. It is an integral part of our human nature, not good or bad, simply a part of our 'make-up'. As powerful as the Ego is, though, we still have the Choice of whether to rule over it, or to let it rule over us!
'The Truth hurts'! Does it really?! Only if one is allowing their Ego to rule over them ( determining their choices ) can one be hurt by the truth! In fact of the matter, even then ( in most cases ), only their Ego is hurt, or wounded. Sometimes, physical harm can come from hearing the truth, but again, Choice is the main factor here; there is ALWAYS a Choice!
'Words DO have Power' & when used wisely, with good intentions, can have a miraculous or magickal effect! On the other hand, as we've seen, when chosen & spoken with bad intentions, they can also have adverse effects. Call it Black Magick or White Magick;call it what you will, what it all boils down to is Intention. Intention & Choice. So Mote It Be.
Namaste' & Blessed Be,
Sage Charles
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