Words

Handcuffs? Or their Keys?

We were born as heirs of Reality, not reality. But from our first breath, they began to fill our heads with fluff and stories, our eyes blinded from the start. We thought we saw stars and felt the breeze, but they’d covered our heads with burlap sacks and tied our hands behind our backs and led us to a dungeon where we only listened to a scratchy soundtrack, continuously looped, a narration of nothing. We’ve mostly lived within that lie our entire existence, thinking it was Life.

I learned a new word the other day, which in itself is kind of what this post is about—words (the medium is the message, you know). I won’t keep you in suspense: the word is “reification”. Now maybe I’m just an idiot, but I’m going to assume that if I didn’t know this word, perhaps you don’t either. So here you go:

Reifying means: to consider or represent (something abstract) as a material or concrete thing : to give definite content and form to (a concept or idea).

But I’ll go you one better: It’s mistaking the conceptual for the Real.

As it seems to happen, several things I’ve been reading/re-reading recently all gelled at the point of this concept, at this junction: Neil Postman, in his book Conscientious Objections, from the essay “Defending Against the Indefensible” named it for me. Which brought to mind Truckee (I’ll get there in a sec). Enter recall of Alan Watts lectures. Enter Alan Watts in The Wisdom of Insecurity. Enter Beaudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation. I’m pretty sure it’s also in Ivan Antic’s The Physics of Consciousness and probably a billion other things, but you get the point.

Which makes it so funny that we’re all writing about it. In words. In concepts. Not in reality, because Reality can never be captured in concepts or words. Which is…The Point (though reality is a different story altogether. [Literally. Literally a story 😂 okay I’ll stop!]) At best, words are a finger pointing at the moon, understood as that. At worst, they’re pure propaganda. And let’s consider that this doesn’t just encompass the micro—the word itself, single words or concepts, but the meta—mistaking the world of words for the world.

There’s where we really walk off the cliff, friends.

I remember when I first got a glimpse of the concept of reification—I think it was about 20 years ago, probably from Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth or something along those lines that I was reading at the time. Ditching the concept/not confusing the word (the idea contained within the word—the highlights and hides), with the actual thing—was freedom to me. I went around looking at things in Truckee, where I was at the time: river, stick, stone, duck…without their word labels. It was like I was really seeing for the first time.

The Lie: a word=the actual whole thing

In the truly wise words (words!) of one of my favorite professors, Dr. Robert Hubble, words highlight and hide. In other words (words! It never ends!!), they are never the whole (in the wrong mouths, they’re also deceptive, manipulative little buggers too).

The Truth: a word ≠ the actual thing

In fact, words are merely sounds—or even more accurately, per Alan Watts, “noise” (spoken words, anyway)—represented by graphic symbols, representing stylized collections of concepts. Full stop.

Like the part and parcel of this post, language, while useful in the extreme, can never be anything more than this bunch of made up symbols representing the symbolized thing. Forget that and you’re doomed. It’s like AI: use it as a tool and it’s great. Think it’s anything else and you’re a goner.

Hoodwinkers afoot abound…ahoy!

Words, however, because we believe the lie (a word=the whole of the actual thing) make us little gods—well, they make some of us little gods; they make most of us little automatons, plebes and proletariate—serving those little gods. In a sense, words create a pretend universe and make us think we live in it. But do words themselves create it? Or do people create using words? The definers are the rulers, the gods. These gods can be kind or they can be cruel, but they rule over you, you can be certain of that. Intentionally, consciously, or not.

ASIDE: you can bet I’m teaching my daughter all of this. Take that, world-of-words creeps and tyrants, I’m onto you. Even better, those of us who actually see the pathetic bleep you’re trying to pull are not only critical thinkers ourselves, but are waking up, consciously encouraging and raising more and more pesky critical thinkers in our wake. For many of us, the anger has integrated, and we’re creating aligned lives more and more in Reality (where the creeps have no jurisdiction, sorry, toots [both kinds]).

The more you live on a screen, the more you live in their world—the more control they have over you, because they define more and more of reality for you and isolate you from everything that could easily prove otherwise (a classic abuser trick, btw). They are looking to literally obliterate Reality with their images—and guess what? You can live there too if you’re cool enough! Can you imagine living in Meta’s world? Literally wearing something over your eyes, telling you what reality is?? Can you imagine the cojones, the audacity to trademark the word (the concept, the reality) meta???? They’re literally telling you they are the creators of meaning. Don’t bother with it, they’ve got it covered, just buy their little mask thing. And that’s just the latest in a long line of stupidity including social media overall. Don’t let them create your reality at your own expense for their benefit. Don’t be an idiot. Don’t step into that boxcar of your own free will. Just don’t do it.

Instead, learn this word: reification. And then, as Postman recommends, ask these two questions a lot: Who said so? And why?

You might be reeeeeeeeeeaaaaal shocked for awhile.

This never gets old. Capitol “R” Reality never gets old; it’s not always what we want it to be in our little realities, but it’s fresh. It’s the concepts that often age badly.

Little gods.

As we should well know by now, he who controls the narrative controls reality.

But not Reality.

Which do you live in? And if you don’t recognize the difference—there’s your answer: lower case.

If you don’t know the answer, you are both a little god of your own reality and missing out on Reality, on Life. You are a subject, not a king, not a queen; a servant, a slave.

And here’s almost where I leave you. But:

Reification.

Wake up, Mr. Green.

Reification.

---

Psst.

Here’s the door, slip out with me.

Pull the bag off of your head, let’s help each other untie our hands and walk out of the dungeon.

Remember: Words create knots or loosen them. They are handcuffs or they are their keys.

They are nothing…in Reality.

In reality, they are everything.

Are you allowing everything—your reality—to be created for you rather than living in Reality?

It’s time, isn’t it?

Let’s sit under the night sky, listening to the sounds of the night creatures, the crickets, the owl, the frog. The Real. Let’s feel the grit of the soil. One, two three…let’s open our eyes and see each other! See our children! Let’s really see for maybe the first time, what’s actually there. Without words. Without concepts. Without the little gods telling us what to see. Reality is all you will ever have of value. Touch it. Breathe it in. Feel its sharp edges. It’s why we’re here.

Unreify.

Verb it:

Live.