Language and the body

From a hand-out to a leg-up, a stiff neck to a cold shoulder, we revolve our speech around our anatomy. If you’re suspicious of someone you might keep them at arm’s length. We keep our ear to the ground when we want to know stuff and our shoulder to the wheel when there’s a job to be done. If it’s something that demands our concentration we have our nose to the grindstone. If you find yourself having second thoughts about something you’re accused of having cold feet. You get the picture?

The way we speak and the words we use betray hidden patterns or scripts, as does our movement, which is another form of communication, or body language.

We hear much today of ‘unconscious material’, really this is just stuff that we’ve hidden from ourselves, (and if we want we can make it conscious) but we often betray this hidden stuff in the language we use. So, ‘it’s a pain in the neck’, can be a lot more sinister than the throwaway remark it appears on the surface. If we use this phrase a lot it just could be a sign that there is something in that area of our being that needs addressing.

It doesn’t have to be a physical ailment. Perhaps we have a tendency towards cognitive rigidity. Or maybe we’re cutting ourselves off at that point. I remember when I used to work in the academic world, some ten years ago now, I was literally ‘alive from the neck up’, I thought the only important thing was ‘knowing stuff’ and the body was that thing that got me from the lecture theatre to the library. But what’s going on at an emotional level, if it’s not dealt with, has a strong tendency to eventually manifest at the physical.

Also there is evidence that by repeating a word or phrase we can help to bring that condition about. (I talk about this in inspiring words in greater detail), so if you keep telling yourself you have a ‘pain in the neck’ you could, I’m sure, bring it about. Inner talk is very important. So if I habitually use the phrase ‘what a shame’ I’m trying to tell myself I’m unhappy with some aspect of myself, or I feel life’s not measuring up. I’m literally trying to waken myself up!

It’s like the example of the man who murdered his wife and buried her beneath the geraniums. On the surface he acts normal but if one listens to his conversation carefully, it is likely to be full of ‘down to earth’ references that he’s unaware of.

Could our words actually be killing us . . . ?

How many times have you heard someone say, ‘my back’s killing me?’ or have you been told to ‘get it off your chest?’ But what exactly is weighing on your chest? How we speak of particular body parts, may, in certain circumstances, and allowing for other things, betray issues we’re having in that area. Basically we are an energetic system, the physical body is the outer frame of that energy, and it is here we store stuff. So if I have issues in regard moving forward on a particular project, I will very likely have stored that in the cells that make up my feet. The way I know this is I will get feed-back from my body.

How many people repeatedly tell themselves things are a ‘pain in the ass’? Cancer of the colon accounts for over 650,000 deaths now in the west per annum. That really is a huge and very serious ‘pain in the ass’.

When we make certain parts of the body ‘wrong’ we make the words that designate these areas taboo. Often the only way they can be accessed then is through humor or an attitude of rebellion.

Funny bone

What is so inherently funny about the words arse or fuck? Nothing. Yet, these probably make up over 90 percent of the material of nearly every stand-up comedian. Why do we want to laugh at our own anatomy? Are we embarrassed by it? Is all the teethering caused by an underlying guilt script? When you make something wrong, you set it aside, isolate it. You give it attraction.

rebel rebel

Words that were previously must-nots now find themselves becoming must-haves. We see their use as a kind of liberation from the tyranny of prudery, old-fashioned frumpery, and “words made wrong”. It’s akin to giving two fingers to those who would impose such restrictions on us, and whom we perceive as being the cause for innumerable hurts. We feel we’re shaking off the shackles of verbal enslavement. ‘Hooray, I’m free to say fuck!’

You may say, oh that’s just the way we talk, and yes, you’re right, to a point, we learn language through mimicry and we continue to add to it by that same process. But what are we imitating? We’re picking up the societal neurosis with the human body. Look around you, today’s society has a complex the size of the Empire state about the body and sexuality.

Language ang Sex
Or, "I was wondering when you were going to talk about that . . .!"

The sexual organs are often described using a variety of euphemisms, such as ‘little man’ for the penis, and more disconcerting, - abusive, derogatory, or violent language. Examples include ‘prick’ and ‘cunt’. Such terms can be indicative of a deep, unconscious fear or loathing for our sexual organs, and consequently for ourselves, often instilled by religious intolerance.

This attachment to the body, which has risen to a form of ‘body worship' in recent times, came about precisely because of just such an attitude in previous generations, that the body was ‘sinful’ and dirty. It came about as a reaction to that belief system.

Language and thought

Here’s a good one. Try thinking a thought without using language.

Impossible.

Language is how we configure our world. Indeed it would be impossible to live without it. But it is not real. Language is something we collectively ascribe to things, but then we forget we did this and we mistake the name for the thing. A tree is no more a tree than it is a horse, it is only called a tree for easy reference and to make sense of the world.

A tree is just a four letter word.


One of the first steps to breaking down the illusory nature of reality is to become aware of the role language plays in it. Those who choose some form of monastic or hermetic lifestyle, in which silence is an integral part, are, in my opinion, contributing enormously to communication in this world. Sometimes, in order to ‘hear’ it’s necessary to switch off the outer noise.

All thought is creative.

And language follows from thought. Therefore it is good to be aware of what we say and the words we use, the words we say reinforces the thought behind them, they're the next step to making it real. All speech is really an affirmation. The word becomes our declaration to the world about the choices we have made, what we’re calling into existence. Therefore if I continuously go around saying, ‘my back is killing me’, I’m feeding my brain with information that suggests I want to die, and that my back has got something to do with this.

Of course, I will not do this consciously.

Our language is like the printout of what our thoughts are doing. Do you find yourself saying ‘cant’, or ‘have to’, or ‘should’? When you habitually use these words you’re implying that your choices are limited, and you ‘must’ do something. Or do you hear yourself saying ‘I wish I had….’ remember you can only wish for what you don’t have. By examining our language we can uncover our scripts. Many of these, as I’ve said, we adopt from those around us, from society, but many are our own personal ones. Very often just by becoming aware of them helps them release.

What way do you use language? Listen without judgment to how you speak, the words you use, even the nuances, and this includes your inner talk. Careful attention to this will reveal hidden gems.

Be aware. Or in other words, keep your eye on the ball!

"PS: To read more about how our language affects our bodies, check out this webpage:

www.lomilomi-massage.org ~ lomi lomi massage and healing words"

Lomilomi is an Hawaiian indigenous healing massage. Barbara will tell you all about it. Do check it out if you get a chance. It sounds amazing!

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