Words and Spells

For some time I have been aware that words have great power. Especially English words, which I think have been created specifically as "spells". The key is in the very element of that word, spell, in regards to words. We "spell" words! "Spelling" is an academic subject because we use symbols (letters) to create words properly. Recently, cell phone etiquette of text messaging has changed habits in regard to spelling because sounds in English are often duplicated and some words are too long to text out, so we use other symbols together which create the same sounds. Like "u" as opposed to "you", for example. So my question is, does this change the "spell" that is cast? To demonstrate the "spell" effect, think of these words: love, hate, life, death, feast, famine, sex, flower, money, peace, war, fuck, freedom, water, fire, etc. They create emotions within us, each one. However, it's not just the words themselves, but the symbols used to create them that evoke emotion, as well. Take "X" for example. We all know that this simple letter has it's own "energy", it's own spell. "X marks the spot" (treasure), it's universally accepted as a symbol for sex, XOXO, XXX, extreme this, that and the other thing. But not only are letters symbolic, they're numeric. "A" is 1, Z is last (26th), 666 is the word "fox" in English, and the only one that can be made with this number combination (F=6, O=15 (1+5=6), X=24 (2+4=6)). Imagine all the things in our culture that are associated with fox - Fox News, TV and media (20 Century/Fox), Fox clothing (which has become prolific amongst bikers, skaters, motocross riders, wakeboarders, etc.), Fox suspension for bicycles and cars, Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico. So on and so forth. I have noticed that people just don't spell very well anymore and even make up their own words these days (like orientated-really?). Through degraded education and advances in technology, are we breaking the "spell" that words have over us?

Further analysis of words brought one word in particular to my mind, specifically when I saw it on a billboard in Las Vegas:

What I see here is "LIE". I began to wonder, is a "be LIE if" based on a lie? Why is it spelled this way? Why not beleve, or beleave? What spell are we casting here? It became more poignant to me recently when a friend declared "I don't (or do)..., "believe" me!" It occurred to me that this word is used to force people to have faith in something that they actually do not have faith in themselves, but want you to. I was once told not to use the word "feel" ("I feel that this is dumb") but rather "believe" because it sounded more "important" or worthy of a military officer. I have learned, through life, that feelings about people or situations have always been more accurate than beliefs - always! Feelings come through the heart and beliefs seem to be intellectual, brain centered, though almost always involving passionate feelings, for sure. But having a belief denies the possibility of truth sometimes because we tend to solidify opinions around those beliefs. According to the Institute of HeartMath (http://www.heartmath.org), the heart emits vastly more electromagnetic frequency than the brain. Yet, we are meant to believe that feelings are bad in some way, especially as a man. I think we are lacking crucial information by denying the feeling of a situation or person. I think that words were expressly designed to elicit "feelings" by casting "spells". We are hit on the head with words all the time. Politicians use and study specific words, propagandist are experts at it. These words, in turn, elicit emotional responses that are then used to achieve an agenda. Think of the word "terrorism", for example.

Look at the words in your life and how people use them, how you use them, too. Do you abuse them? Are they weapons you use against others? Are you manipulated by them? Do we use them way, way too much? What "spells" are you casting?