Words Cast Spells

The cornerstone of today’s discourse is taken from one of King Solomon’s writings.

Let us deconstruct this.

The word ‘tongue’ is descended from the Latin word ‘lingua’, meaning language.

Over time, Old English ‘tungue’ was derived and the ‘ue’ was kept silent.

In the modern world, we typically use the word to refer to the organ in the human mouth that is partly responsible for producing language, but the origin remains.

So when we (well, I) say ‘power of the tongue’, it means ‘power of language’.

Are you following?

Life and death are in the power of language.

May I pull you in deeper?

Yes?

Life and death are in your understanding of language.

Your understanding of language will form the building blocks of your inner world.

Okay, come back to me.

I was in a conversation with someone and she referred to me as ‘godly’.

I do not mind the word ‘godly’, but I just never use it. If she’d been a total stranger, I’d have smiled and let it go.

But to her I asked, “What does godly mean”?

She replied with the words ‘upright’ and ‘noble’.

I guess she was repeating to me what she’d heard somewhere.

What I explained to her, I will now explain here.

In primary school, when we were taught ‘Parts of Speech’, we were taught that an adjective was a word that described another word.

So if a person acted or appeared similar to a King, you’d describe them as ‘King-ly’.

If a person sang beautifully, like people imagine angels must sound like since nobody has actually heard one sing, you’d describe their voice as angel-ic.

And what about the word godly?

What should it mean?

Resembling the gods, right?

Instead, The Oxford Dictionary defines godly as “religiously adherent; pious”.

Interesting. Is that all the Christian God represents? Piety?

Is that the totality of what I am to aspire to? Piety?

No, thank you. It seems like the meaning of the word was modified. It does not follow language convention.

When the Greeks and Romans describe their gods, they do so in terms of their beauty, wealth, uncommon wisdom, splendor, power, eloquence and other greatly admired attributes.

The Greek Hercules, for example, is known for his superhuman strength, hence the word Herculean, to describe a person possessing a muscular build.

A person is described as ‘mercurial’ when they demonstrate qualities of eloquence and ingenuity attributed to the god, Mercury.

Sounds like me 😉

So when you call a person ‘godly’, which attribute of the gods (or God) is being referenced?

And how did the totality of all that get reduced in the English Language to “devoutly religious; pious”?

What is the mental image formed when you think of the word?

Not very exciting.

Makes you very controllable by a self appointed representative of God.

I prefer the term ‘godlike’, meaning resembling God or a god in qualities such as power, beauty, eloquence, speed, wisdom, splendor, prescience or benevolence.

Think about it.

What is the mental image formed when you describe yourself as ‘godlike’?

I remember when I started my public speaking career years ago.

I’d just discovered the magical power of words, not on others, but in my inner world.

If you asked me then, “Are you ready?”

My default response was, “Always.”

If you asked, “How are you?”

I answered with, “Ecstatic”, “Strong” or “Over the moon”.

And if someone close to me said that I did well at something, I responded with, “As expected.”

They'd sometimes roll their eyes but they understood.

I did not use this one on people not familiar with my world. They’re not equipped to handle my vocabulary.

To them, ‘thank you” seemed to work.

And to this day, a friend of mine, Paul Foh, when asked how he’s doing, yells vigorously “I’m on top of my game, man”

That always makes me smile.

Words create ‘spells’, that’s why it’s called spelling.

If I handed you a wand that could create any reality you desired, what’s the first thing you ought to do?

Read the manual.

Figure out every intricacy and learn how to work it.

It is of supreme importance that you reorganize your vocabulary by researching the meanings and origins of words that you thought you understood.

Homework: The next time someone asks how you’re doing, do not say ‘fine’.

Cast a better spell - happy, ecstatic, wealthy, strong, handsome, peaceful, etc.

And if someone says, “Bimbo, there's a problem”

Say with a godlike demeanor, “That’s okay. I can figure anything out”

Insist on that reality.

As the great Albous Dumbledore once said,

Do the words of King Solomon make practical sense now?

Talk Soon,