Articles

This is my first published short article on WordMagic – from 2001

The 20th Century writer, George Orwell wrote, in effect, that politics corrupts language and language, once corrupted, has corrupting real-world influences. He also said that, “One ought to recognize that the present political chaos is connected with the decay of language, and that one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at the verbal end..” This article, published as a blog, is actually the beginning of a proposal I wrote for a book that is, at present, not yet finished.

In the mid-90s, I wrote one of the culminating chapters in my faerieography called, ‘Open Heart Synchrony.’ In it, I describe a vision I had of the beauty we could collectively create by upgrading the English language to a level at which our speaking is as nurturing and resonant with Earth harmonies as bird songs and cricket choirs. Only later did I learn (at 13moon.com) that the Mayans had “….an exquisite language which incorporates the songs of the birds. The characteristic dynamic of Zuyua Mayan language is that its words are invertable, for example “y’ak” means “language” and “k’ay” means “song”. The Mayan word for flower, “l’ol” literally means vibration and consciousness.”

‘Open Heart Synchrony’ goes to great length to describe what will occur—”if our words so melt the heart they start the Milk of HumanKindness flowing, so that every time we speak our mind we set another flower growing…..’ And as I was writing this piece, I really believed I was ‘gilding the lily’ in my over-the-top description of possibilities. However, many years later, I met Anne and Whitley Strieber walking in my neighborhood. We became friends and they gave me a copy of a book by their friend, author and mythologist William Henry, called The Language of the Birds. In it I learned that my most fantastical summary of possible effects of an upgraded language on the Earth is actually part of ancient mythology.

According to Mr. Henry, ‘The Language of the Birds’ is English, itself. My article by that title is a distillation of my discoveries from a lifetime of wordplay and incorporates the perspective that Henry’s work provides. You may also wish to check out some other quotes from Henry’s book at the bottom of my page on Words About Words.

I’m always fascinated when I find a relatively obscure word that describes something so beautiful and expands my sense of human possibilities. In this article, I put together nine of my favorite obscure words in a sequence that I believe illuminates why we go through the trials that we do to find and refine the gifts that we have come here to share. When I shared this information in a live presentation, I prefaced it this way: “We cannot see the naked splendor of our being in the mirror of our ordinary vocabulary. But when we peer through the lens of these nine obscure words, we remember who and what we really are—and what we have come here to do.”

Please note that the phone number given at the end of the article is no longer working.

In the early 90s, I wrote two articles on ‘Reading Tree Leaves’ for Penelope Smith‘s newsletter, Species Link. Though this was in the pre-Internet era, Penelope excerpted passages from the first one in her book, When Animals Speak: Techniques for Bonding with Animal Companions. Press on the link to be taken directly to page 311 where the excerpt can be found.

In 2007, I published my first book — a photo-essay entitled Horsing Around: The Inside Words on Marriage and Horses, designed to delight horse lovers, word lovers, and human lovers on the verge of matrimony. [Though it is now in short supply, you can catch a glimpse of it by pressing the Books & Bookings button and there are a few copies left for those who feel they can’t live without it]. Horsing Around concludes with this essay to introduce readers to the WordMagic way of seeing the World through the lens of the Word.