Words are *MAGIC!*

reply to post by my1percent


"Dam , lol , i was reading your post ,at the same time my husband was picking up our 6 year old from school .
Five minutes later.
She walked in the door having a meltdown. If i don't laugh i'll go mad. "

Was she literally having the sandwich?

Rebel 5

reply to post by rebelv


No... it must have been a coincidence , syncronicity?( spelling?)
Was that billboard an ad for take away food?
cheers 1%

reply to post by iwilliam

1- Actually, when I witness a genuine display of love or romance, I am moved. Perhaps not as much as the recipient, but I a certainly affected. So that's the first point on which you're wrong.

A 'display of love or romance' is a display of emotions. Not words. Not wrong.

This topic has fascinated me ever since I dove into some law of attraction materials (which, as I understand it, is apparently derived from earlier esoteric metaphysical philosophy-- if anyone can help me figure out this connection, let me know!). I saw profound results with the simplest "reframing" exercises-- basically writing down every negative belief you have about yourself in sentences, then rewording each sentence into ones with a positive spin, for example "I am a stupid idiot" becomes "I am a highly intelligent and curious college grad who continues to grow every day" or whatever. The exercise seems pretty silly at first, but definitely look into it and give it a shot-- this stuff is REAL.

There's an absolutely fantastic quote by Watchmen creator Alan Moore on this very subject, which I hope doesn't go over the quote limit...

There is some confusion as to what magic actually is. I think this can be cleared up if you just look at the very earliest descriptions of magic. Magic in its earliest form is often referred to as “the art”. I believe this is completely literal. I believe that magic is art and that art, whether it be writing, music, sculpture, or any other form is literally magic. Art is, like magic, the science of manipulating symbols, words, or images, to achieve changes in consciousness. The very language about magic seems to be talking as much about writing or art as it is about supernatural events. A grimmoir for example, the book of spells is simply a fancy way of saying grammar. Indeed, to cast a spell, is simply to spell, to manipulate words, to change people's consciousness. And I believe that this is why an artist or writer is the closest thing in the contemporary world that you are likely to see to a Shaman.

I believe that all culture must have arisen from cult. Originally, all of the faucets of our culture, whether they be in the arts or sciences were the province of the Shaman. The fact that in present times, this magical power has degenerated to the level of cheap entertainment and manipulation, is, I think a tragedy. At the moment the people who are using Shamanism and magic to shape our culture are advertisers. Rather than try to wake people up, their Shamanism is used as an opiate to tranquilize people, to make people more manipulable. Their magic box of television, and by their magic words, their jingles can cause everyone in the country to be thinking the same words and have the same banal thoughts all at exactly the same moment.

In all of magic there is an incredibly large linguistic component. The Bardic tradition of magic would place a bard as being much higher and more fearsome than a magician. A magician might curse you. That might make your hands lay funny or you might have a child born with a club foot. If a Bard were to place not a curse upon you, but a satire, then that could destroy you. If it was a clever satire, it might not just destroy you in the eyes of your associates; it would destroy you in the eyes of your family. It would destroy you in your own eyes. And if it was a finely worded and clever satire that might survive and be remembered for decades, even centuries. Then years after you were dead people still might be reading it and laughing at you and your wretchedness and your absurdity. Writers and people who had command of words were respected and feared as people who manipulated magic. In latter times I think that artists and writers have allowed themselves to be sold down the river. They have accepted the prevailing belief that art and writing are merely forms of entertainment. They’re not seen as transformative forces that can change a human being; that can change a society. They are seen as simple entertainment; things with which we can fill 20 minutes, half an hour, while we’re waiting to die. It’s not the job of the artist to give the audience what the audience wants. If the audience knew what they needed, then they wouldn’t be the audience. They would be the artists. It is the job of artists to give the audience what they need.

There's also a book that I've heard is great but I haven't gotten started on it yet, called Metaphors We Live By, that discusses syntax in language and how it shapes our reality. Simple examples, like the concept argument, becomes a metaphor for war, in the sense that you WIN an argument, you can ATTACK someone's points, someone's claims are INDEFENSIBLE or you use a certain STRATEGY to demolish your opponent, etc.

A few questions for those that know more about this than I do...

1. If words are indeed magic, and often we think in sentences, are positive and negative thoughts literally blessings and curses, retrospectively? If so, what are some strategies to break the "curse" of negative thoughts about life or ones self, particularly if it's gotten such a hold on someone that it's become their fundamental belief system?

Cont. below...

Cont.

2. It's also my understanding that often times it's moreso the words + emotion or intention that become magic... is this true? I know in law of attraction books like Think and Grow Rich they really discuss shaping beliefs through the combination of the two... reading words versus allowing to let them sink in and absorb. I think this also accounts for the old saying about 80%(?) of communication is nonverbal?

3. Any strategies for AVOIDING such mind control tactics? I know even on ATS itself I've fried my brain numerous on an endless quest for the truth, reading each post and getting sucked into a vortex of confusion from a mix of intelligent people, trolls/shills, dumb people, and mentally insane people It's hard to know which direction to turn when everyone's "magic" platform is equal, but not everyone's intentions are...

You have stumbled onto a real truth. For some years now I have been studying the use of allegory in ancient works and I have found that the idea of “magic” was originally an allegoric representation of the power of words and the “wand” really does represent writing instrument. For example, Alchemy is actually a discussion of different types of writings represented as “metals” and this means that the “Philosopher’s Stone” represents a sort of thesaurus which can be used to “transmute” one form of writing to another. Take a history, exchange real world ideas with corresponding metaphors and you have mythology. Those that knew the truth could honestly admit to being able to turn “lead” into “gold” and thus encourage the ignorant to engage fruitless endeavor.

Plato’s Cratylus is all about the disguising of words (and the “correctness of names”) and if you cast a “spell” on “Cratylus” you get “cratalis” from which etymologists believe the word “Grail” is derived. Ah, magic again! Thus in Plato’s Cratylus one sees the possible power behind the Grail. (The “experts” would like us to view Cratylus as “satire” but even “satire” has a hidden meaning.)

The power of words was taken very seriously by the ancient Sophists. They must have been amazed at how easy it was to create false history simply by putting things in writing. The lies they created in the form of religions helped an elites gain and keep power. (The “world” created by “God” was flat with four corners because it was formed on a written page.) They were apparently not satisfied with words having a single meaning, perhaps because they needed a way to preserve the truth that they had decided to hide from others, so most words have hidden meanings. Lies cover truth. This allegoric way of writing spread throughout the ancient world and it was employed in every possible subject. (Even Hippocrates was a hypocrite.) It is still with us today.

Originally posted by my1percent
reply to post by rebelv

 

No... it must have been a coincidence , syncronicity?( spelling?)
Was that billboard an ad for take away food?
cheers 1%

Yea, I think its a sandwich from S.W.

Rebel 5