Word made flesh
July 2010
By Deepti R Parikray
Representing the primal power of creation words can be the source of both healing and hurting. So use your words with care
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A word is always more than a word, signifying a sound or combination of sounds conveying a meaning. The son of Dr Bernie Siegel (renowned physician, healer, and writer) brought home a painting on which he had written ‘words’ over the entire canvas. It said wordsWordsWordsWords.’ The words became swords, a fact mesmerising the doctor. Like Dr Bernie, I too on many occasions have reflected on the ecumenical truth of words being imbued with the power to heal or hurt. In self-healing practices like reiki and meditation, I experience participants sharing their initiation and lifelong commitment to the healing procedures. The process helps restore deep wounds caused by thoughtless words. Research and religion too validate words to possess a vibrational energy. Imbued with this force, I observe words transform into loving glue cementing relations together, or nasty blades cutting through the warp-weft of worldly relations.
Spiritual writers express struggle in comprehending the first line of St John’s Gospel, proclaiming the fundamental nature of God. It says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Here Jesus represents ‘word’ or beginning of creation. Writers ruminate why creation instead of beginning with the ‘word,’ did not initiate with another divine expression like love, grace, or truth. Pastors and priests attempt to demystify this concept. They believe that love, grace, or truth, though admirable virtues, remain abstract feelings until expressed through words. Another Biblical expression inviting attention is the ‘word made flesh,’ which refers to Christ representing the word of God. According to sociologists, an average human being speaks a whopping 16, 0000 words in a day. How many of them are ‘word made flesh,’ determine the matrix of life for and around us.
In Hindu philosophy too, creation is believed to originate from the soundless sound Om (or Aum). Om represents the divine sound produced without striking. Hindus believe all languages and words originate from this primal energy. As a yoga practitioner I believe the last syllable ‘M’ in A-U-M uttered against closed lips with the sound resounding within the cranium – aids us to listen to the inner word – a far more profound experience than listening to the spoken word.
Healers and holy men believe the energy of the universe rests on positive words. Affirmations comprising of positive words aid in healing and developing self-esteem. Therapists validate the use of affirmative words for a more fulfilling life. For a similar reason astrologers and priests emphasise on the precise recital of chants believing as they do that words generate sacred emanations, not fading away but resounding outwards to the cosmos and returning to the Source, that is us.
Conversely, swear words and threatening utterances cling on as stale air within the confines of the spoken environs ricocheting to create chaos and confusion in personal lives.
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Renowned Japanese scientist, Masaru Emoto performed revolutionary experiments on the impact of words on frozen ice crystals. His research proved that words impart ‘soul’ to the receptor. For instance, phrases like ‘thanks’, and ‘you can heal your body,’ formed beautiful and precise water crystals.
The mantra ‘Om Namah Shivaya,’ resulted in the formation of a crystal resembling a mandala (a cosmic diagram possessing spiritual and ritual significance). On the other hand, derogatory words like fool, demon, and bad luck, resulted in weak crystals with no formation and soul.
Emoto explains that water is blessed with memory and intelligence and as human bodies comprise of 70 per cent water, words carrying a positive or negative oscillation are therefore ‘stamped’ on the bodily waters of the concerned person. Dr Emoto validates his research articulating, “The main reason why I always argue that we should praise our children (and friends and colleagues) is because we thereby reinforce their positive qualities. I’m certain that we would all benefit from this kind of consciousness that speech and thoughts that are aimed at somebody else always have an impact on us first.”
I realise words are born from our thoughts and often pave the course for future incidents. The first words my friend heard from her mother-in-law were that she was not the best choice for her son and at many levels, the marriage would remain a compromise. The single word ‘compromise’ had a tremendous impact on my friend’s mind leading to the most uncompromising stance between the two women. The first words Jesus spoke after the Resurrection to his frightened disciples was ‘Shalom’ – “Peace be with you”– the words they most needed to hear. It would be wise to look over our shoulders and reflect whether in our daily lives, we speak the words others are in need of hearing, or operating from our planes of ego and insecurity, our words are bogged down with the intent of unnecessary advice.
Scriptures revered as the spoken words of God comfort, encourage and reassure mankind. I keep an appointed time every day when these spoken words help forge my connection with the Divine. When I read, the words come alive, when I pray, the words come out as a relief, when I meditate, I hear the Supreme Master’s word. Thus, words are at the heart of connection – with ourselves, our God or with the world around us.