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After watching my 2010 YouTube video, The Secret Spells of the English Language, people want to know ‘Who did this to us?’ It’s a really good question and is perhaps the reason why Greg Carlwood of the HigherSide chats invited me onto his conspiracy-focused podcast in 2018.

Personally, I don’t like to dabble in conspiracy theories around this issue –– as one might easily do –– because it’s so dark and ugly to contemplate anyone who would want to degrade countless others into becoming less than who and what they truly are as magnificent manifestations of the Infinite Love-Intelligence from which we all derive.

I also like to stay away from the question –– Who did this to us –– because it must be asked from the vantage point of the victim. In any case, the answer is no doubt multilayered and the solution is far more interesting.

For the record, I personally believe that because the Christian Church was the dominant cultural influence when English was evolving, its vision of a divided UniVerse dominated by two irreconcilably conflicted male superpowers, the fallen state of humanity, the resultant misery of life and the inferiority of women inevitably imprinted itself on the English language symbol and ‘sound system’ –– when it was still a molten stream of consciousness coming from a variety of linguistic and cultural influences.

But was the language intentionally a-salted with subliminally subverting, self-defeating messages, like these tale-telling bedfellows ––

Assent = Ascent

Dissent = Descent

Possibly so. However, here’s what Dan Brown had to say about it in The Da Vinci Code:

“Unlike French, Spanish, and Italian, which were rooted in Latin –– the tongue of the Vatican –– English was considered ‘la lingua pura’ because it was linguistically removed from Rome’s propaganda machine ….”

Ultimately, the far more interesting and empowering question is, ‘What can we do about it? Your reflections on the subject are not only welcome –– they are essential!

Here is my intuitive sense of why English is so corrupted –– such that it programs us toward fear, conformity and mediocrity:

  1. There is an inevitable linguistic corrosion that takes place over time because English is so imprecise, divisive, self-contradictory, out-of-tune with natural harmonies, and influenced by everyone who uses it –– for good or for ill.
  2. I believe that language is not only grammatical but holo-grammatical, as well. Thus, it inadvertently echoes and reflects the consciousness and culture from which it derives. And because we are trained in the West to ‘watch what we say’ rather than to listen, as well –– and our culture relegates homonyms (puns) to the realm of humor only –– then, when we do detect an interesting connection, we mostly dismiss it as inconsequential. Yet, it is anything but! My essay, Degringolade: The Word That Defines the Moment, shares more of my ideas about this problem and provides some telling examples of it. I sketch a solution in the conclusion. Here’s the link to the blog: http://www.wordmagicglobal.com/degringolade/
  3. This brings us to the matter of intentional manipulation –– which should come as no surprise to us. For we see it going on right before our ears and eyes today –– as it surely has since the language first coalesced into what we now call Old English, then Middle English, and now the rapidly changing and purposefully sloppy and distorted ‘Ing-Glush’ of Today. The reason behind it, of course, is that we are run by the ideas we embrace. So, the battle is –– and always has been –– to herd the mind of the majority of the people toward whatever ideas will most benefit the puppet masters. Consider as Exhibit A, George W. Bush telling us, “‘I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace.’ Exhibit B would have to be Bill Clinton’s timeless admission regarding the irrelevant question of whether he had ever been sexually involved with Monica Lewinsky, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.”
  4. As for whether the puppet-masters and linguistic manipulators are a foreign, off-planet intelligence or the idiots that appear to be running and ruining the planet? I personally don’t know. And I am not even sure I need to know. For if the Word truly is the ultimate creative force on the planet –– then we’re in a position to do something about it.

Fortunately, we have the power –– collectively –– to intentionally evolve English to resonate with higher frequencies. And as I have shared elsewhere, many philosophers –– from Confucius up to the present day –– are aware that upgrading language is a prerequisite to upgrading human consciousness and behavior. Here’s a recent statement by Gregg Braden:

“We need a new, neutral vocabulary that helps us embrace the deep truths of our existence as human-to-human without the judgments. … I believe it gives us the evolutionary edge that we’ve never had –– not just to survive but to transcend and thrive in the new world that’s emerging.”

Increasing numbers of people are coming to this same conclusion but may not be able to demonstrate it convincingly to others. And they may not have a vision for implementing a solution.

I believe The Secret Spells of the English Language makes a clear case for the problem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJTpwe3OiV8

And my WordMagic Global anthem, Taking Command of the English Language, points to how we can creatively, collectively tune-up English to bring our hearts into accord:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBtqO6GHDoo

Please feel free to reach back out to me with your thoughts and suggestions on this important subject.  For together, we can Heal the Word to Heal the World.

Laurel Airica

My abiding fascination with the English language has enabled me to develop great skill in using it to express ideas that make a positive difference in people’s lives.