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Many people have now seen the video I posted in 2010, The Secret Spells of the English Language. And as a consequence of it, more people are aware of how we literally sentence ourselves to a dismal existence when we unwittingly affirm the double messages in certain commonly used words.

Given that HELL-O is O-HELL in reverse, I once asked a group of people what a good alternative to it might be. One woman suggested HALLOW, which means to honor as sacred. How lovely is that?! Someone else I know –– who helps facilitate angelic healings for her international clientele –– prefers to use the word ‘Halo’ instead.

There are those who have suggested that I create a book of alternative words for the ones I have noticed that are loaded with subversive contra-dictions. But what these two examples so clearly demonstrate to me is that ––

  • We can easily tune-up words that are not merely ‘off-color’ but ‘off-key.’
  • And just as the Oxford English Dictionary was created through the ongoing assistance of many thousands of volunteers over multiple decades –– the work of tuning-up the English language to a freer frequency can be most readily accomplished as a collective global endeavor.

In the mid-sixties, when I first proposed that words might be more closely related by sound than by meaning, the notion was generally considered preposterous. Forty-five years later, when I pointed out that Morning and Mourning are sound twins –– and that Good Morning is essentially communicating Good Grief (subliminally) –– a lot of people took notice.

Now, I hear –– HERE and THERE –– from friends in the UK, Jamaica and Australia that people are saying, ‘Grand Rising’ to each other when they meet and greet each day. It’s certainly a phrase that can lift spirits far higher than HELL-O or GOOD MOURNING ever could.

Perhaps you’ll want to try that out and see if it gets you and your friends off to a better start. Or maybe you’ll want to come up with your own more uplifting salutation and then put that into circulation and see how far it travels.

See if you can find the sweet spot that inspires higher consciousness. I promise that will stimulate the same centers in your brain as sugar and cocaine. So, enjoy the pleasures of Speaking Beauty. And please let us know what you discover.

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.