Leaps of Consciousness

Words are spells.

We use a deceitful language of spells that entraps us into destructive thinking. The etymology of words can also point to deception - like ‘be-lie-f'.

In researching Non-Violent Communication (NVC), Rosenberg discovered violent strategies – verbal or physical – are learnt behaviours taught and maintained by our current culture.

Rosenberg developed NVC in the 1960s in federally funded Detroit schools. It is now taught in 60+ countries and is used to end wars and hostage crises. NVC is empathic communication from the heart so both sides get their needs met without compromise. Positive feelings come from having our needs met, and negative feelings from not being met.

“How come some people enjoy other people's suffering?”

"This makes violence enjoyable, and they find it heroic to punish people they judge as ‘bad’”.

“And then how come other people in the same society are just the opposite? They get their joy not in believing there’s bad people that need to be punished, but they get their joy in contributing to people’s wellbeing.”

“I then saw there was quite a different language, and quite a different consciousness on the part of people who behaved in the violent way as opposed to the compassionate way.”

“What is the nature of communication that helps us to connect in a way in which we enjoy contributing to each other’s wellbeing … and how is it different from those that contribute to the violence of others?”

“Where did it all begin?

"How did we learn a way of communicating and thinking that contributes to violence?

“Walter Wink’s book The Powers That Be traces the origins of the ‘power over’ language to about 8,000 years ago.

“The structure of society changed whereby a few people who claimed to be superior dominated others. Sometimes they claimed their family was born closer to God, so they claimed the ‘divine right of kings’. Thus, a few people dominated the others, and that required a language of domination.

“You classify people in terms of what they are: Peons or royalty, good or bad. The people who claim to be on the top claim to know what is right and what is wrong and maintain their power over tactics like reward and punishment, guilt and shame.

“So they need a language that justifies the use of retributive justice which depends on how you judge them: good or bad, right or wrong and so forth.”

This is left-brain 'either-or' thinking with no shades of grey.