Your Real Superpower
Episode 9 - on the Power of Language and Symbols
Greetings,
I see new faces among you. Welcome to the campfire. Stay close and watch the flames dance. The night is long. And there’s no dawn in sight.
Where have I been? Out to gather wood.
This often takes the form of contemplation on the nature of Reality, of the Self, of the cosmos. Aside from all that, I’ve been busy with the book and various other artsy projects I’ve been working on.
The Power of Language
I’ve also been busy contemplating Language. Without me knowing, I’ve been contemplating this for a very long time, especially in the form of symbols (like the Rune Series) or my more recent and complex Grammaticon Project, which aims to dissect and analyse the Greek Alphabet letters.
All letters are shapes. But these shapes become Words when your mind ‘reads’ them. All letters therefore, are Symbols. This phenomenon is so ingrained into us that we don’t even stop to think about it. But if you do, you will see just how incredibly magical this is.
Symbols are Gateways, basically. They are like keys, or portals. The mind perceives them and, through interpretation (conscious or unconscious), things emerge. Most commonly, what emerges are Words. But Words, if you’ve noticed, are also what Thoughts are made of.
This is extremely important
You cannot think any other Thoughts than those that exist within any given Language. In our case, we are limited by the English language, with its grammar, unspoken rules and definitions of words.
Like, really think about this.
Your thoughts define your world. Literally. If you truly, really look around yourself, you will notice that what you perceive is only and exclusively WORDS.
Take your Bed for instance. You might be sitting next to it, or on it.
There is no such thing as a ‘bed’. A ‘bed’ is a Word. What the hell is a bed? Well, if we try to go beyond the Word, we discover various characteristics: a bed has a rectangular shape, a specific size and colour, it has a sheets on it, pillows, etc. Ultimately, all these are Words too.
But if all these are Words, then what is a bed? Well, a ‘Bed’ is a Symbol. A symbol for all those other characteristics described above. And therefore you may notice, with some degree of consciousness, that ALL Reality is made of Symbols. And Words sit at their foundation - they are, in fact, the foundational structure.
Another language that humans have been using since forever, beside Words, is that of Numbers. Numbers are also shapes/Symbols. There’s no such thing as a ‘1’ or ‘2’ - they’re just squiggles. But, quite clearly, we’ve constructed the entire world on 1 and 2s, haven’t we? And so, they are Real.
But that’s a whole other can of worms that I won’t be opening now (:
This level of mindfuckery is quite something, innit?
However, seems to be where my path is taking me. Once you see Language for what it is, you automatically start wondering what’s beyond it, then? If seen through this lens, you will also notice that All Gods of all mythologies are not only Real, but they are Hyper-Real. They are symbols that stand outside of Time itself, immortal and all-powerful.
And that, my friend, is where things start to get really interesting.
Because at some point you will understand that the entire World is a Symbol.
Art Spotlight
Got another song for you today. This one is part of a vast collection that has travelled with me across time and space, literally. I’ve been listening to this one since I was a teenager. It’s called ‘Promise’, by the band Globus from Santa Monica, California.
The lyrics go like this:
“One sails the seas of life and believes
The storms will lead you home
These open roads will call you with the promise
You'll walk the Earth alone.I live in a dream
With open eyes I breathe again.
I see all your fears
Together we can feel, we can heal
And take the road less travelled on
To here, in the new
Like diamonds we will shine
We will rise
Two hearts, where souls are free again we live.This dream is a universe
And every soul shines
Where the darkness turns into light
I take you to fly with me and follow the way
There will always be a new day.” (The Promise, Globus, 2011)
It’s always amazing to go back and find old songs you used to listen to decades ago (okay fine, it’s one decade but feels like more). Reading the lyrics I used to hear all those years ago, I still find them incredibly meaningful today. Maybe even more so.
This song, like many others, aged like a really good wine. One that you only open and offer to esteemed guests.
Which is what I’m doing now.
More to come.
Blessings,
