In this article, Keziah Gibbons explores how language helps to create our reality. She explains how we can use language to influence our unconsciousness to direct our attention and energies towards our goals and dreams.
The Power Of Sacred Language
Language has always been sacred. Ancient Celts honoured their Bards. In the Bible they say that in the beginning was the word. In ancient Japanese Shinto the sacred sounds are the syllables of Kotodama, and Sanskrit Mantras continue to be important in many spiritualities. Sacred language is part of so many teachings because the initiated know that words shape reality. They do this in many ways.
First, there is the power of sound itself. We know that each person, each being, in this universe is made up of vibrating energy, and that when we make a sound, that too carries a vibration. It’s part of the reason why sound baths and drum healing work so well.
Then there are the narratives, the stories we tell. Stories of true events, which can be told from myriad perspectives. Stories for entertainment, which draw on our understanding of how the world works, and conspire with us to imagine other possibilities, in this world and in others. And the myths, the great epics, which both create and describe archetypes, those great big energies which stride, dance, or whisper through the human psyche.
How Language Can Shape Our Reality
But there is another way in which words, language, can create realities, can assist us to rise or to fall, can shape our beliefs and our behaviours. And this is something that we can use in the everyday, through simple hacks that improve our experience and attain our potential.
Because, you see, your unconscious mind is always listening. Everything you say, everything you think, your unconscious mind receives as if it were truth. And then it shapes our experience, our reality, to match that truth.
But when you know this, you are able to choose your language wisely, so that you are always directing yourself towards the realisation of your dreams. And this is something which is simple, and which is applicable in everyday life, in every situation, to create your own reality.
Read more: How and what are you identifying yourself with every day? Explore how the little words “I AM” bear a powerful key to transform your life.
Step 1: Know What You Want & Where You Are Going
It’s so obvious it’s almost not worth saying, right? But before you start shaping your own reality with your language, you have to know what your outcomes are. What are you programming your unconscious towards? And towards is key here.
So often in life we know what we don’t want. But until we know what we want instead, how can we guide ourselves towards it? Think about big picture goals here—what will it get you?
If, for example, you dream of becoming a millionaire, what is that really about? Is it about financial, and physical, security? Or is it about freeing up time which you’re currently using to work for that income—perhaps to spend time with loved ones (this might be about having more love), or to get more rest (could this be about health?) or to explore the world (this might be about freedom or adventure or learning). When you know what those ultimate goals are, which things are most important to you, it’s much easier to align yourself towards them at every level of your being.
Step 2: Unfold Language Magic
Time Magic
Let go of the word ‘if’ for the things you intend to bring into being and start using a ‘when’ frame. By locating an occurence in time, even if we don’t know exactly when that time will be, we intentionally draw it from something that might be to something that is. In your unconscious mind, what happens is that your unconscious one stops trying to solve the problem of if we can make this happen and starts directing its energy to how can we make this happen. Beliefs and behaviours start to shift to accommodate the new reality.
Some examples of time magic language:
- “Shall I meditate before I send my proposal today or after?” presupposes that you will be both meditating and sending in your proposal today. Your unconscious mind receives the intention accordingly.
- “I wonder if the solution will come to me now or later?” presupposes that the solution will come to you. Your unconscious mind keeps a lookout for the solution.
- “I don’t understand this yet” presupposes that you will understand it at some point in the future. Your unconscious mind continues to process the information.
Truth Magic
Know the reality that you’re creating to be a reality that exists. By using the language of truth around your core outcomes and the beliefs that take you towards them, you signal to your unconscious mind to choose the patterns and behaviours that fit into that reality.
Powerful truth magic language:
- “I know I can do this.” If you know something, it is because it is true, and that is what you are telling your unconscious mind. When you know you can do something, your unconscious mind will select strategies and notice opportunities that make it happen.
Read more: Learn how our sense of identity should be based on personal merit and accomplishments rather than burdens, struggles or membership in any group.
Characterising Magic
Characterising Magic is really a form of Truth Magic in that you’re assuming an action to be possible and a form of Time Magic in that you’re moving away from ‘if’, but this time, you’re moving into ‘how’: how will the achievable outcome be achieved. Characterising Magic can be performed with any adverb.
Some examples of characterising magic language:
- “I don’t know how easily I can accomplish this.” You may not know how easily you can do it, but your unconscious mind now knows that you can and that you can do it with some degree of ease.
- “I wonder how quickly I’ll heal?” Your unconscious mind begins to direct all your resources towards the achievable task of healing, which it knows will occur, with some degree of speed.
Positive Magic
Positive Magic works because your unconscious mind doesn’t recognise negatives. So, when you tell yourself “don’t forget…” what you unconscious mind hears is “forget”. This is possibly the strongest of all the word magics and if you remember one thing from this article, remember to phrase your instructions to yourself in the positive.
Some examples of positive magic:
- “Remember to meditate today.” Your unconscious mind hears the instruction to remember. It also hears the instruction to meditate.
- “Speak intentionally.” This is a fantastic replacement for self-talk such as “don’t say anything stupid”, which as we know, works as an instruction to ‘say anything stupid’. Instead we can instruct our unconscious to use speech exactly as we wish to.
- “I don’t feel good/happy/energetic.” This is so much more powerful than trying to pretend that you do feel good/happy/energetic, which can sometimes deny experience. By using the word ‘don’t’ with the state that we would rather feel, we acknowledge that we’re not feeling as we wish, while reminding the unconscious mind that that state does exist and is accessible to us.
Read more: Explore the different types of negative self-talk and how to overcome their triggers.
We shape our experience, and hence our reality, through our words. The words we say, to ourselves and others, are always heard by our unconscious minds. So it’s worth knowing your outcomes and shaping your language with intention. These strategies can also be used in supporting others. I know you can do it. And I’ll leave you with a question—how can you put this into practice, today, to align your reality to your dreams?
Read more: You might also like to read about the gentle ways of healing through writing.
