Making Peace with Words

Language is so powerful. Words can heal or hurt, create open pathways or close hearts in mere moments. Masaru Emoto shows us in no uncertain terms how we can influence water with words, whether for the better or for the worse. But for me, the most interesting power of words is their influence on my worldview, from the inside out.

For example, I have long envisioned our reality as a single thread on a multidimensional tapestry of possible realities, parallel threads hovering all around us, just past the veil of some mysterious force that keeps each one isolated and on track with its own rules and storyline. So the word universe, implying singularity, didn't jibe. But what could I do? The accepted word doesn't really have any easy synonyms. I did say multiverse, where I thought the word would be well received. But all in all, there was a little piece of me dissatisfied.

Then, while listening to Nawang Kechog (I love his work, go buy his cd's...) speak on the interconnectedness of things, I realized something that transformed my whole way of seeing the word 'universe.' I perceived an infitinte and complex but perfectly patterned web of circumstances must exist for every thing, every moment to come into existence. That what I call Spirit is actually the conductor of an immense symphony of interwoven energy flows. And the word Uni (one) Verse (song) means just that.

Now that little dissatisfaction is gone, and I feel joyful about the word. The word hasn't changed. But I have shifted my seeing of it and made it comfortable in my mind. And I recognize the value of being at peace with my language. So I started lookig for other words that didn't feel comfortable.

The phrase 'raw food' came next. I like to say what is, rather than describe something by what it is not. It's a practice of consciousness, allowing me to actively participate in co-creation with my thoughts and speech. I call it generative language. And 'raw' has connotations of the negative, at least for me. It's not cooked. So I was looking for alternatives.

I thought first about the idea that fresh food is full of life and enzymatically active. One of my recipe books has a kirlian photograph on the cover, and the energy flickers from the ends of a slice of starfruit like a miniature lightning storm. I toyed with the phrases 'life food,' 'live food,' and 'living food.' But chewing is such a strong and irrevocable process, it would almost be like killing my little sprouting friends. Not a perfect fit.

Then I considered the magic of photosynthesis. The plants we eat have energy that is only one step removed from sunlight. That's amazing to me. So what if I called my food 'sun food?' Or maybe 'sun fuel?' Very close, now. I remember though, that language is first about communication. And if I'm calling food 'sun fuel,' I'm setting myself up to do a lot of explaining. So, still not perfect.

And in the generous way it has, the unified song brings me my answer. Zander is opening a window, and he has to move a little statuette. He asks which goddess it is. I answer, "It's a god, sweetie, the Egyptian god of the Sun. His name is Ra." And he responds, "Raw? Like raw food?"

Now that's as close to full circle as you can get! I call my way of eating 'raw food.' And implicit in my understanding is that it is also Ra food. The whole journey of my internal exploration, contained in the starting point. I feel like kid at Christmas.

Namaste,
Crow