Words are Things
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
Bullion Grey’s Quixotic Publishing Project
“Words are things; words are not only things, but sometimes very dangerous things. They are like firearms and should be handled very carefully. Have a care of your words or you may hurt somebody when you do not mean to. A man's reputation and living may depend upon his neighbor's grammar and accusations of horrible sins, may grow out of nothing but syntax.”
- — The Ladies' repository; Methodist Episcopal Church, J.F. Wright and L. Swormstedt, 1861.
In these few words, the reasoning that words are things is attempted to be explained. Many people will say almost in passing that words are things. They always stop short of saying WHY words are things. I mean you can’t weigh them or even see them when spoken, only on paper. How could these things – words – be things? It is a fair question that few ever know why or how words can be things. In fact, thoughts are things as well.
Yes thoughts that cannot be seen, or touched, or weighed are actually things. This leads us into a strange dimension of experience because the spirit and soul are also things. If you doubt this then at least read this report and there will be no doubt that words, thoughts, souls, and spirits are things.
Many people think that if they can’t see it or touch it, it must not be real, like dreams, where all laws of cause and effect do not apply. 30% of our entire life we spend in sleep. Sleep often brings dreams, visions, nightmares and even encounters with pass relatives and/or current people we know and who are strangers as well. Causing even dreams to actually be things!
That's a lot of things!
First let’s establish what a thing is. A thing is a perceivable, experiential object or energy. The photons from the sun are things. A chair is a thing. Cars, houses, trees and computers are all things. In Cat in the Hat, Thing One and Thing Two are things. What is not a thing? Well, actually no-thing, nothing - is NOT a thing. How ever nothing, when referenced is a thing – called nothing. A kind of anti-Matter, or anti-thing - which of course is a thing. If it can be named, noted, written about or part of any sense stimuli, known as objective or even subjective, experienced in any way, it is a thing. So it can be said that everything IS a thing. That brings us to words….
What is a ‘word’? A word is a collection of one or more letters that stimulate meaning. Cat is a word that when written or spoken or thought causes us to hold the meaning in our brain of a cat. The meaning caused by the introduction of the word ‘Cat’ can make the person receiving the word ‘Cat’ to either see a cat in their brain, or hear a cat in their brain, or feel what their cat felt like, last time them held their cat. Some people will associate the word ‘cat’ with Cat-woman; like in a comic strip, or movie.
A word is a living thing that causes materialization in the mental plain, or imagination, then often in the physical plain. Words are things because of their very existence. But there is one more point that makes words things.
Word are sounds, complex, often inter mingled sounds. And sound is definitely a thing. Sound is a vibration of a wave of frequency. Measurable by specialized equipment, measured by specialized computers. In lab experiments scientist are able to connect sensors to an individual and with computers and sensors designed for this purpose, detect waves of energy that match specific words an individual is thinking. It is even common place today to see visual images, colors of exactly where the thoughts of words are appearing in the brain.
This brings us to thoughts. Thoughts are things as we see that they also can be detected and even visualized on a computer screen with the right sensors. Words that construct thoughts are all things. Just by the very physical vibration endows words as things.
So what? So words and thoughts are things? Who cares? Everyone who has a modicum of awareness cares. Because words can, as things, hurt others. Words can cause others to think in a certain way, to take certain actions, sometimes have changed the world. It was the words of individuals that started wars, caused death and mass destruction. The words of others has blessed people, helped them build a better life, and words are known to have even healed individuals. It is said in some literature that it was with words the world was created. It is said that the word walked among us. Words are part of experiences we call stories. The words Abracadabra! & Open Sesame! are famous words for the power they hold in certain beliefs and stories. It is only by the strength of words that our whole earth life is able to progress and develop.
Important things filled with words hold special powers like the Constitution, the Bill of Rights. Holy writings like the Koran, Bible, Talmud, and sayings of teachers like Buddha, Confucius, Christ and Mohammad. Even the Television is an electrographic projector which issues “programming” all with the power of words. People put a few words in front of their yards saying things like: "Vote for Tom Smith" As if some will drive by and see that collection of words and actually use that exposure to those few words on that sign to vote for Tom Smith. Apparently it has some effect, or some are believed it does.
Words bring beauty into our consciousness e.g. poems, stories, songs, sayings and more. Words are the very structure of any culture. Say the right words in the right sequence and secret societies will open their door to you. Say the wrong words in some places around this Earth and you could be killed. All over a few words expressed.
I find it amazing that words are so powerful, that they are things. Some words make you feel lazy and loose, other words cause stress and senses of impending doom. The range is endless it seems.
It is said that words are expressed even when we are only thinking them. New technology can actually pickup what an individual is thinking by sensing vocal chords from a distance! Thus interpreting your silent thoughts, which when I think of it, isn't that silent. The way it is reported to do the "Thought Reading" is that a special computer with the right design first reads what you say aloud. It monitors and learns your speech patterns and also monitors your vocal chords. Then it literally learns how you speak. Then when we think words, without conscious awareness move our vocal chords without using breath to move through them. Then this technology actually translates the movements into words we are thinking while we without awareness are moving our vocal chords.
Words have so special a place in Reality, that they even effect us without our knowledge. Hypnotists are trained everyday to speak in a certain way to cause a physiological change within our own being. Often called "Embedded Commands", are phrases or collections of words in a sequence. In a sort of nonsequitor way, they have been proven to change a person in slight and not so subdued ways. Many subjects, exposed to trained practitioners of this type of communications, report changes in their habits and actions.
We all know the signs we see while driving and they often have printed on them one to five words or so. One can often note that there is NO phone number at all! And these tools of influence actually work. Often called Institutional Advertising rather than Direct Response Advertising because they only say a slogan or a company name. The perfect example of this type of influence is when we drive by a "Coke is it!" bill board. Nothing else. Words. more to come.... (I am doing my best as an ignorant tech person: this is a work in progress)