03 September 2011

It's Just Words, or the Power of Words?

4 comments:

  1. Wow! What a tear jerker. This is so timely as it dawned on me this morning how much I really enjoy beautiful words. We talked so much about what they point to and that point is well taken. But, the pointers themselves have beauty or else the changing of this sign would have made no difference whatsoever. Without the words there would have been no vehicle for the power. So I say it is both.

    My sign would say, "It's a beautiful existence, and I can't always see it. It is often hidden behind the blur of my tears."

    Much Love and Thanks,
    Joan

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  2. It seems to me each sign attempts to establish-elicit contact-response. Where the first sign could be considered by some to feel threatening - generic, typical, 'ugly' - perhaps more likely to trigger self-centered feelings of guilt, shame, fear, pity, disgust in the reader...the second sign could be considered by those same folks as feeling non-threatening, poetic, 'beautiful' - a gift of sorts - triggering [though still self-centered] more expansive feelings of empathy, stirring compassionate activity, reminding the reader of their own wonder-aperture-sensation gifting them sight-happening happening moment.

    It seems to me, all language involves some manner of manipulation, from overt to subtle. If I am not bent too much to 'my' conditioning in labeling it as being 'good' or 'bad' language, 'empathic' or 'insensitive' language, 'dead' or 'awakened' language, 'effective' or 'ineffective' language, it appears for me, language - as spoken-heard-written-read prior to ascribing meaning - is as the Rishis are suggesting, 'A play of sound and light.'

    Touch is for me the more moving sensation in this video.

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  3. Language is definitely an art form, although body language and tone of voice have a much greater impact than the actual words. In a world built on appearance, presentation is everything.
    It's strange, I've studied Neuro Linguistics Programming and the impact of language, and I've also practiced a Tibetan technique where you get praised or shamed to your face by friends, not reacting but recognizing the emptiness of the words. Sweet paradox, what do I know?

    Shawn

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