What’s your favorite cartoon?
Tom and Jerry because it is so special to me. It was my favorite cartoon growing up. Thinking about it now, I guess it’s not a very positive message to send to kids- you know, fighting, being nasty, orchestrating sabotage and revenge. But it was hella entertaining, that’s for sure!!
Being on social media, comparing myself with others and getting angry at people in my country that support commie ex-guerrilla group members.
Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?
Unproductive because everyday is a lazy day. I’d feel productive after a lazy day, if it was a once in a week kind of thing.
You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike?
The only right answer here is car. I’ve always had Kerouac dreams of traveling across the country on the road with some friends, or better yet, with a boyfriend.
What activities do you lose yourself in?
Writing and thinking. I’ll loose myself in a thought, completely entranced by its circularity, and when I come back I’m like “how long have I been thinking about this for?” “this is crazy, I need to stop”. Sometimes I feel like things and people consume me. Also writing, I get so into it even if I’m constantly stopping to think about it and edit it, I get so into the whole process of it- sitting there and suffering with words or the lack of them on a blank page.
What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
Breaking Bad, I’ve probably watched it seven times. The photography, acting, storyline and writing is beyond captivating. It’s become my laundry folding television because why not?
I recently read an article that resurfaced some concerns in me. The High Existence piece is titled “The Power of Language: How It Shapes Our Perception of Reality and Separates Us From the World” by Ronan Loughney. I was struck by the clear notion that language, the words we use and how we use them, has a profound effect on our individual lives and on human societies at large.
Language influences every aspect of our lives, far beyond what we’re aware of. It shapes how we perceive reality and interact with the world. It impacts relationship dynamics, propagates belief systems, and creates cognitive boundaries by shaping the way we think. Furthermore, language separates us from each other and the world.
In a rampaged society, let’s start by acknowledging the most powerful tool at our disposal, one we’ve taken for granted for far too long: language. What makes language so enticing to explore, is how essential it is. It seems, we could not do anything without it! It’s so crucial to our existence, we’ve overlooked it.
We are fish in water, oblivious to the impact the words we utter have on those around us and the world. It’s time we wake up to the power of the word.
It’s time we wake up to the power of the word
Language Separates Us From Each Other and the World
When you were born, you didn’t know you were born. You knew nothing at all. When you opened your eyes and saw things- the wall, the chair, the flowers on the vase, the window and the blue sky beyond the window- you saw them innocently, outright. You saw them without any prior idea about them at all. You didn’t know what you were seeing, and so you saw it clearly.
Then, language came along and instead of seeing the chair, the wall or the flowers, you saw a distinction. You saw something outside of yourself. When you said “the flowers”, “the wall”, “the chair”, you cemented the idea that these things are not you. A fundamental difference was established.
This matters because it has profound consequences on how you interact with the world.
The Indian philosopher and spiritual figure, Jiddu Krishnamurti, said it beautifully, “Once the child knows the names of the creatures it sees, it no longer truly sees them”. As soon as we start labeling what we see in the world, we add a cognitive layer that clouds our otherwise vacant experience. We’ve diminished direct experience, the most magical aspect of life, to nothing more than a mental construction.
Under this language paradigm, we perceive reality as other, separate and unrelated to us. The implications of this are conspicuous, and for the most part, bleak.
It is important to state, however, that despite the boundaries of language, it is still the most impressive tool the human species has ever created. Its effectiveness is astonishing, it has allowed us to not only communicate but also to transcend challenges and innovate. Through language we were able to land on the moon, explore the ocean’s depths and cure previously thought incurable diseases.
Its power is irrefutable and it’s crucial that we become increasingly aware of it. With this awareness we can start to correct the negative impacts of our ignorance.
One profound insight is that all languages are inherently separative. They attempt to make sense of something (ie. reality) that was never possible to make sense of using language in the first place. Reality is too big a thing to be able to be reduced to words, or more literally- to sounds, composed of consonants and vowels. Language is merely a tool to point to reality and is therefore, not reality. It can only ever be a precision exercise.
As a species, we seem to have forgotten this truth. It’s time we remember.
Language Reveals Our WorldView
In his article Loughhney starts off by paying homage to Braiding Sweetgrass, the book by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a Native American botanist, author and advocate for the survival of Native Peoples.
We learn of an intriguing comparison between Kimmerer’s native tribe language, Potawatomi and the English language. Potawatomi is distinct from English in ways more impactful than we could have ever imagined. For example, seventy percent of the words in the English language are nouns, whereas in Potawatomi 70% are verbs. 1
To get an idea of what this means, consider the following example. Whereas in English we would refer to ‘a bay of water’, a Potawatomi person would instead refer to the process of ‘baying’. What is implied here is that the bay is alive, it is life in motion which in that moment happens to have taken the form of a bay.
Each language has a starkly different perception of reality. On one hand, English perceives the world and all its inhabitants as fundamentally separate of oneself. On the other hand, Potawatomi perceives the world as an interconnected phenomenon composed of interacting and living things. All beings, from rocks to humans to words- are alive and possess an innate spiritual essence.
It’s interesting to see how different languages operate under completely different worldviews, like Potawatomi and English do. What was it about the Native tribes that prompted them to create a language in harmony and connection with their surroundings, as opposed to detached from it? What was it about modern European languages, such as English, that resulted in 70% of the words being nouns? Their respective histories can reveal the reasons.
The English language is a product of the Enlightenment, the intellectual movement in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries that emphasized rationality and objectivity as the basis of knowledge. It was a rebellion from established ideas and a departure from spiritual persuasion as the primary force in society. The very core of this movement was the idea that there exists an objective, separate reality which can be dissected and made sense of through reason. Or, in other words, through language.
Potawatomi, on the other hand, is a product of the Animist culture. Animists believe that all things, -from plants to inanimate objects to natural phenomena- possess an innate spiritual essence, or a soul. They embody a reverence for all living and nonliving things- everything, in their eyes, is miraculous and deserving of appreciation.
It is not hard to see how these two very different cultures would adopt language structures that embody their core beliefs.
As stated earlier, this matters because it has profound implications for how we interact with the world. The Potawatomi peoples believe the TV’s remote control has a soul. How must they feel then, looking at a mountain range? A New Yorker on Central Park West believes that everything in the world is fundamentally separate from him. How must he feel, then, looking at a mountain range? Beautiful but fundamentally different from him. Would he hesitate to dig up its riches?
Under this illusion of separation, we’ve established an underlying hostility with the world around us. Our corresponding actions, in turn, reinforce our perception.
Now, let’s take a closer look at just how powerful words themselves are.
Language Can Change Your Reality, Use Words To Build a Better Life
Use NLP To Skyrocket Your Performance
In high school, amidst a hateful relationship with mathematics and my mom’s relentless encouragement, I finally decided to go speak with a neurolinguistic programming teacher. It was my first ever session in a therapeutic-like environment and it was a great decision.
Neuro linguistic programming or NLP, centers on the idea that there is a connection between behavior, neurological processes and language and that these can be changed to achieve specific goals.
One of the first exercises my NLP teacher had me do was tell her the reasons why I thought I was failing math class. I started blurting out countless justifications; “I’m not good at math”, “It doesn’t come naturally to me”, “I don’t like it”, “Maybe my mind is better fit for things that don’t include numbers”, and so on. She took note of what I said, then printed out a list. I read it out loud. She asked me how it made me feel, I said “not good”.
Everything on the paper was negative. Reading my words out loud, I was shocked by the realization of just how much impact they were having on my math grades, and on everything else. Words create feelings. Feelings dictate outcomes. With this kind of language, how could I possibly be and feel good towards math?
In my mind, I had already cemented the belief that I was naturally bad at math and could never be good. But the remarkable thing about the human mind is its malleability. Through increased awareness and intentional use of language, amongst many other techniques, it is entirely possible to completely transform yourself or any area of your life.
Amidst my NLP sessions, I grew increasingly cautious of what I was saying and how I felt towards math class. With this increased awareness, I replaced my negative self-talk with positive words, increasing my enthusiasm towards math, creating a snowball effect amongst the whole situation.
Months later, during the annual student academic achievements assembly, I won the award for “Most Improved” in Calculus. My improvement was commendable and I was proud of myself. All that was necessary was to become aware of the power of my words and change them to serve me, rather than hinder me.
Words Can Change Your Reality, And Your Physical Body
Words are an extension of feeling. They create feelings and are loaded with them. Say one vulgar word to your partner and watch a decades-long relationship crumble within seconds. Studies show that positive words are hundreds of times more powerful than negative words, and even have a direct impact on the body. In the neuroscience experiment “Do Words Hurt?” scientist Maria Ritcher et al proved that negative words release stress and anxiety inducing hormones (ie. cortisol) in subjects. 2
Similarly, neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Newberg from Thomas Jefferson University and Mark Robert Waldman, a communications expert, affirm that “a single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress.” 2 This might explain why labeling your negative emotions provides solace from them. Words hold so much meaning that attaching a word to a feeling can reduce uncertainty and create a sense of control.
Yet it’s so much more powerful than that. Words do not only make you feel better, they can also literally change your entire reality. The consistent repetition of positive thoughts and speech changes how your brain functions, hence changing how you perceive yourself and everything around you. In Newberg’s and Waldman’s co-written book Words Can Change Your Brain they state that “By holding a positive and optimistic [word] in your mind, you stimulate frontal lobe activity. This area includes specific language centers that connect directly to the motor cortex responsible for moving you into action. And as our research has shown, the longer you concentrate on positive words, the more you begin to affect other areas of the brain.” 2
Consistency and repetition is the key. At first, I didn’t believe myself when I said “I am good at math”, but with time I started to believe it, or at least I believed that it was possible.
Word Choice is of Paramount Importance
As an extension of feeling, the specific words you use matter. Favoring one word over another can completely change one’s perception and behavior. Certain words, when used in the right way and at the right time, are more impactful than others- at changing minds, inspiring action, and engaging audiences. It is important to pay attention to the specific words we use to describe something, because it makes a difference.
The impact of word choice in journalism was explored in a study conducted by cognitive scientists Lera Boroditsky and Steven Pinker, titled “Metaphors We Think With: The Role of Metaphor in Reasoning”. In the study, journalists had to choose between the metaphors “beast” and “virus” to report on increasing crime rates. They found that when a crime was described as a “beast”, readers supported more police enforcement (71%) compared to when it was referred to as a “virus” (54%). On the other hand, they were more likely to support investigating the root causes of the issue and implementing social reforms when the word “virus” was used. 3
Words are bombs. Bombs of feelings. Capable of healing or destroying. Hearing a word can unleash immediate physiological reactions in the body. Even physical pain can be altered. It is known that profanity aids in physical pain. Don’t believe me. Rather, next time you’re in pain try yelling profane words and see for yourself.
A slap in the face might hurt, but words hurt more. Words seize you. They slither themselves into the innermost corners of your mind, and either destroy or uplift you. A 2019 study of college students discovered that verbal abuse from classmates (or anyone, for that matter) had real-life impacts on daily life, such as lowered self-esteem, forgetfulness, and irritability. Furthermore, there is a strong association between verbal violence and depression. 4 It’s evident that words can cause lasting psychological harm but I’m daring to say that you don’t need proof of that.
By now, you should be convinced (or reminded) of the obvious: words are powerful. More powerful than you probably thought before reading this article. As such, the opposite is also true: the absence of words is powerful. Silence can sometimes communicate more than a million words ever could.
Language is Your Responsibility
Language is the most powerful tool we’ve ever created as a species. With this power comes great responsibility. Awareness is the first and most crucial step. Once we’re aware, we can become more intentional and constructive with our words. We’ll pause and think of our word choice in our everyday interactions, which will only improve our relationships. My invitation is that you deliberately make an effort to use more connective language akin to Potawatomi and that you are careful with your words because as you now know, they have the power to destroy.
I side with the Animists. Words have a soul. They carry an energy that permeates everything. They create the feelings that run your whole life. They shape your perception of reality. They establish the belief systems that dictate your behaviors and all your results.
In almost every area of life, you can benefit from leveraging language. Behavior patterns, performance in a specific capacity, self-image, and overall contentment with life can all be transformed using language. Mental and physical health can improve, your zest for life can reignite, your skills can skyrocket.
Realize the power you have at the tIp of your tongue! And remember: wars start with words.
References
Juliana, Write 4 U 