Words Make People
The Gospel of John begins with, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word is God." In the Qur'an, God says that he taught Adam, who signifies the human being, the names of all things. In both of these religious texts, God is emphasizing the importance of language.
This divine emphasis on language finds expression in the teachings of the great 21st-century intellectual, Imam Warith Deen Mohammed (May God be pleased with him), who stated, "Words make people." He emphasized that words send a message to the mind, which can be a powerful tool in shaping our perceptions, influencing our behaviors, and affecting the way we change. As I always state to my clients, our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are all interconnected. Furthermore, Imam Mohammed highlighted that language can either uplift or be destructive.
Language and our attention to the language we use can create our suffering. The words we choose, the stories we tell ourselves, and the beliefs we reinforce through repetition all shape our inner world and external reality.
Recently, I started re-reading "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz. In the book, he discusses how our self-limiting beliefs rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Therefore, he offers four agreements that can help transform our lives and free us from the incarceration of the mind.
I felt moved by his first agreement—"Be impeccable with your word." Ruiz states that being impeccable with your word is not using your word against yourself. Every word we use in our language becomes an agreement, a belief. These beliefs have the power to blind or liberate us.
The language we speak has a creative power that manifests through our words. Ruiz shares that the human mind is like fertile ground where seeds are continually being planted. These seeds are opinions, ideas, and concepts. You plant a seed, a thought, and it grows. I always remind my clients that whatever you focus on grows. As Ruiz writes, the human mind is fertile.
Recently, I wrote on Substack, "We create meaning and heal through storytelling." The stories we tell ourselves begin with the language we use. These stories become and shape our reality. We define our realities by the language we use. Words make people.
We should reflect and ask ourselves:
"Is the language I use helpful or harmful?"
"Does the language I use allow me to live a rich and meaningful life?"
"Does the language I use align with my values? Does it align with me?"
The first word revealed to the Prophet Muhammad was "iqra," which means to read. This implied seeking knowledge. Knowledge comes from language. The language we use will allow us to come to know ourselves more deeply, to express our authentic selves, or guide us toward our authentic selves.
Peace,
Tala