Words and Deeds
Suzanne
There has been a lot of discussion about words and deeds lately on
this forum. We are told: "Let deeds and not words be your
adorning." But are there occasions when words become deeds? Can the
sharing of words be a meritorious act?
Best wishes,
Suzanne
Douglas McAdam
Dear Suzanne-
Good point my friend and I do think there are situations in which mere
words will have a great effect. Consider telling a child not to play
with fire, or seeing a child about to do something that will cause
great harm to him or her or the family and others and we shout out
"STOP" or something. Also how about the little opening prayer in the
Baha'i Prayer book, the one about intoning the verses of God. Here it
is -
Intone, 0 My servant, the verses of God
that have been received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn
nigh unto Him, that the sweetness of thy melody
may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of all men.
Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed by
God,
the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the fragrance
of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart
of every righteous man to throb. Though he may, at first, remain unaware
of its effect, yet the virtue of the grace vouchsafed unto him
must needs sooner or later exercise its influence upon his soul.
Thus have the mysteries of the Revelation of God been decreed
by virtue of the Will of Him Who is the Source of power and wisdom.
—BAHA'U'LLAH
Course I realize these are Baha'u'llah's words which surely have more
effect than ours but we also need to consider how we have Writings
telling us about proper speech and again here is an excerpt that seems
to reflect this -
"A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men. It is the
bread of the spirit, it clotheth the words with meaning, it is the
fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding.[1] DFE booklet.
God bless,
doug
Suzanne
I liked your quotes and agree with your thinking on this subject.
Here are some more quotes about the power of speech (which is actually
the name of a Baha'i month, so it is an attribute of God):
Here is an amazing passage about the power of words. I've sepated it
into separate stand-alone quotes so that they might have more impact::
"Every word is endowed with a spirit, therefore the speaker or
expounder should carefully deliver his words at the appropriate time
and place, for the impression which each word maketh is clearly
evident and perceptible.
....One word may be likened unto fire, another unto light, and the
influence which both exert is manifest in the world. Therefore an
enlightened man of wisdom should primarily speak with words as mild as
milk, that the children of men may be nurtured and edified thereby and
may attain the ultimate goal of human existence which is the station
of true understanding and nobility....
One word is like unto springtime causing the tender saplings of the
rose-garden of knowledge to become verdant and flourishing, while
another word is even as a deadly poison. It behoveth a prudent man of
wisdom to speak with utmost leniency and forbearance so that the
sweetness of his words may induce everyone to attain that which
befitteth man's station.
O friend of mine! The Word of God is the king of words and its
pervasive influence is incalculable. It hath ever dominated and will
continue to dominate the realm of being. The Great Being saith: The
Word is the master key for the whole world, inasmuch as through its
potency the doors of the hearts of men, which in reality are the doors
of heaven, are unlocked.
(Baha'u'llah: Tablets of Baha'u'llah, Pages: 172-173)
It would seem that words matter a great deal. Also, the tone of the
words matter if we are to have a postive and not a negative effect on
others.
Best wishes,
Suzanne
Douglas McAdam
On Jan 6, 2010, at 12:58 PM, Suzanne wrote:
> It would seem that words matter a great deal. Also, the tone of the
> words matter if we are to have a postive and not a negative effect on
> others.
Hi Suzanne-
Thanks for the great quotes, some of which I have also in the old
Comp. Deep. Program books.
Do you recall the old saying about "sticks and stone can break my
bones but words can never harm me"?
Well I have learned that indeed words can really hurt at times and
also they can make a person feel good. I am reminded of the
communication problems I must deal with in my Jail classes. Their
language is terrible and very unrealistic. So I demonstrate to them
how badly one can feel if called something bad like a swear word or
phrase and terms that do not depict their reality as a living soul in
seed form. I remind them how important they feel love is and the
experience of the sex act and yet they grow up using a slang term that
cusses this act. In short, without mentioning terms I must be exposed
to street language and learn how to deal with it without offending the
Inmate or blocking him from expression how he feels.
I tell them of the importance of having realistic self-talk as well as
outer communication because if we continue to talk the way we always
have we only reinforce our lower nature.
I will ask them how they feel when a guard or person calls them a
_________(negative an unrealistic term) and they will say they feel
like talking back or fighting. So I point out that we intuitively
know we are living souls in seed form and when someone calls us some
unrealistic term we will object to it but it is important to learn how
to deal with this from our spiritual nature.
Speech then to me is very important to consider from the Writings.
God bless,
doug
Suzanne
It sounds like you are doing wonderful, things with the prisoners in
your jail class. .
I fully agree that language can really hurt and diminish others.
Words can be shaming and disparaging, in other words, emotionally
abuseive. This is at least as painful as physical or sexual abuse,
and can cut people often from the awareness of their true nature.
There are actually a number of sorts of speech we are forbidden to
indulge in in our Faith. That might make an interesting thread as
well.
But for now we are looking at the effects of positive speech.
The quote you cited about a "kindly tongue" gave rise to a one hour
conversation in a deepening I took part in. Here it is again broken
down into its phrases:
"A kindly tongue is the lodestone of the hearts of men."...
A lodestone is a magnet. So when we speak with kindness our words
touch hearts and are magnetic. They attract others.
"...It is the bread of the spirit,.."
WE felt that the bread of the spirit means that the words give
spiritual sustenance to others. Often in our society people are cold
and uncaring towards others, and people's spirits can be starving for
kindness and connectedness. We can help fulfill this need in others
when we speak to them with kindness.
",,, it clotheth the words with meaning,"
This is an interesting passage. Do the words only have meaning when
they are spoken with kindness? Maybe the actual words are the bare
bones, and when they are spoken with kindness people are able to take
them in and undestand them. When people are rude and arrogant, it
calls forth the ego of other people, and often they really aren't
listening to what is said. They are in attack or defensive mode and
really can't hear what you're saying. But when you are kind, people
can really listen and reflect to what you say and opinions can shift.
Words can penetrate the heart.
"... it is the fountain of the light of wisdom and understanding.."..
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, Page: 289)
It's important to note that the sentences preceding this quote had to
do with the attitude one should take when teaching the Faith, so
actually the whole passage should be viewed in this context. It is,
in fact, the Word of God that is the fountain of wisdom and
understanding, but when we share the Word of God with a kindly tongue,
we become an instrument for seeds being planted and taking root in
hearts.
Here's the paragraph before it:
"Consort with all men, O people of Baha, in a spirit of friendliness
and fellowship. If ye be aware of a certain truth, if ye possess a
jewel, of which others are deprived, share it with them in a language
of utmost kindliness and good-will. If it be accepted, if it fulfil
its purpose, your object is attained. If any one should refuse it,
leave him unto himself, and beseech God to guide him. Beware lest ye
deal unkindly with him...."
(Baha'u'llah: Gleanings, Page: 289)
It is wonderful studying the Word of God. There are so many truths
enshrned in them. If one studies them with conviction that they are
the truth, one can take them into the heart and they are
transformative.
All the best
Suzanne
Douglas McAdam
Thanks so much for both the encouragement and quotes.
They are wonderful and as I mentioned before there are many which are
directly related to speech and many indirectly relevant and the old
Comp. Deep. Prog. is a wonderful read too.
When I think of communication I think of the fact that we have in a
way three natures and three levels of awareness, i.e. the animal
nature, our human nature and the divine nature, each with its own
degree of knowing and loving powers and each with a unique purpose and
behavior patter in which to fulfill our overall purpose of love and
unity. So often we are conditioned to react from our lower nature
instead of our divine nature. We need to learn to communicate from
our higher nature and overcome the old world conditioning most of us
grew up with.
God bless,
doug
Suzanne
> When I think of communication I think of the fact that we have in a
> way three natures and three levels of awareness, i.e. the animal
> nature, our human nature and the divine nature, each with its own
> degree of knowing and loving powers and each with a unique purpose and
> behavior patter in which to fulfill our overall purpose of love and
> unity. So often we are conditioned to react from our lower nature
> instead of our divine nature. We need to learn to communicate from
> our higher nature and overcome the old world conditioning most of us
> grew up with.
>
Hi Doug,
I think you're right. It's interesting you speak of three natures
from which we operate. Scientists also say we have a "triune
brain". There are three parts of the brain from which we can
operate: the reptilian, which is the automatic responses and habits;
the mammalian, which is the feeling center with responses like fight
or flight, heart pain from broken attachments, and love; and the
neocortical brain; the human brain. Two areas of the brain often
respond before the neocortical brain can kick in and then people
think, "Why did I do that; or say that?" Part of psychotherapy is
training people to be aware of these automatic responses and thoughts
and little by little, get the human brain to be aware and then finally
in control of a lot of it. But it is hard work to change long-time
habits and feelings which come from two brains which are often not in
our control.
But the scientists weren't talking about the higher nature. They were
just talking about the human brain. I think there must be another
center altogether for the soul. Baha'u'llah often says: "Ponder this
in thy heart." In other words, don't just think about it in terms of
your rational faculty but your higher nature which aligns you with the
will of God.
All best wishes,
Suzanne
Douglas McAdam
Thanks for the info. re: the brain. Interesting.
I recall reading something years ago about how psychologists and
biologists were working together producing psychobiology and they said
something about how there has to be something that is organizing all
these various parts of the human being such as body, mind, etc. but
they would not call it soul but they did use another term. Do you
happen to know of anything like this.
I need all I can get to help me reinforce the ideas of the soul in
command and how we have three natures and they will be successful when
all three are focused on the same purpose. When our powers of faith
and reason are united then we will produce harmony of science and
religion for example.
regards,
doug
Douglas McAdam
Thanks for the info. re: the brain. Interesting.
I recall reading something years ago about how psychologists and
biologists were working together producing psychobiology and they said
something about how there has to be something that is organizing all
these various parts of the human being such as body, mind, etc. but
they would not call it soul but they did use another term. Do you
happen to know of anything like this.
I need all I can get to help me reinforce the ideas of the soul in
command and how we have three natures and they will be successful when
all three are focused on the same purpose. When our powers of faith
and reason are united then we will produce harmony of science and
religion for example.
regards,
doug
On Jan 9, 2010, at 2:28 AM, Suzanne wrote:
Douglas McAdam
Thanks for the info. re: the brain. Interesting.
I recall reading something years ago about how psychologists and
biologists were working together producing psychobiology and they said
something about how there has to be something that is organizing all
these various parts of the human being such as body, mind, etc. but
they would not call it soul but they did use another term. Do you
happen to know of anything like this.
I need all I can get to help me reinforce the ideas of the soul in
command and how we have three natures and they will be successful when
all three are focused on the same purpose. When our powers of faith
and reason are united then we will produce harmony of science and
religion for example.
regards,
doug
On Jan 9, 2010, at 2:28 AM, Suzanne wrote: