In Music Power Harmony, R.J. Stewart makes an interesting observation about Vowels. He notes that the first sound that comes out of a person's mouth is always a vowel. You could say the letter Ks or Zs, but the sound of those letters is a vowel sound. The same actually applies to words. Say a given word and what you inevitably hear is a vowel sound. The vowel sound defines the rest of the words, connecting the consonants together in order to create the word. The vowel is at the heart of word magic, or as Burroughs might put it, its the nucleus of the word virus. The vowel is what we use to provide shape to the words, and in turn what gives the words the means to shape reality.
Stewart makes another intriguing point when he notes that we use sound to create a temporary pattern that expresses the fullness of the universe within the form of the word, attuning the word to universe and mediating the universe through the word. Burroughs made similar statement in some of his works on writing and the word. My own experiences with words has been one where I use words to start the path of manifesting a possibility into reality. A word turns a possibility into reality because it speaks that possibility into reality, makes it objective because it's not just in your head, but is a sound or is on paper. But the word is not just externalized. It is also internalized within the person, spoken within to align the person with the universe, even as it is sent out to the universe to align it with the person.
The sound of a word is not just a sound, but also a meaning. We invest the sound with meaning and articulate it for a variety of purposes that can ultimately be boiled down to one underlying purpose, namely the desire to change reality. Whether we are communicating, informing, educating, or expressing, what we are really seeking to do is create an experience with the words that changes something for us, both within and without. Recognizing this about words can help us appreciate their power and why we use them the way we do. The word speaks you. You speak the word. There is a relationship between the word and the person. That relationship is essential to the survival of both.
Words, by their formation, are a limitation of possibility. Words describe what reality could be, but also provide the necessary form to create that reality. For example, when I work with clients on their business, we put together a written business plan. The writing of the business plan focuses the client, turns the chaos of possibility into specific measurable actions, which in turn, lead to the manifestation of reality. I'd argue that words play the essential role of bridging possibility and reality. They provide form to possibility, while leaving enough possibility within them to let the person interpret and shape the meanings further before they become embodied into reality through the actions of the person. My own use of words is driven toward this kind of work, using them to forecast and shape the reality I'm stepping into, by providing enough focus that I can chart a path that then turns into action.
You might try the following experiment. Think of something you really want. Then write about it. Write about what you will do to achieve that result. Once the writing is done, seal it in envelope and put it away somewhere where you can find it, but don't open it until the the result manifests in your life. When it does manifest, look at the writing and compare what you wrote to what you actions you took. You'll probably find that the writing helped set the stage to manifest the desired result into reality.
Radio Interview: Go here to listen a live recording of my talk on Wealth Magic at the 2nd International Left Hand Path Conference.
Book Review: Fan CULTure: essays on Participatory Fandom in the 21st Century Edited by Kristin Barton and Jonathan Lampley
In this collection of essays, the authors share how fans interact with pop culture and corporations in order to keep their particular fan interests alive. There are three angles explored: Fan production, which shows how fans create content related to what love and how they get around potential corporate legal issues, the use of social media and how it effects fandom, and finally how fans influence the official content created by corporations. throughout all these essays, you'll get some fascinating insights into fan behavior and why fans do what they do as well as how it creates fan specific culture. Highly recommended if you are interested in pop culture studies or want to understand how fans effect pop culture production.