A Shared Vocabulary for Human Evolution
Language is malleable, which is to say that it doesn’t always mean the same thing for everyone
Language is malleable. Which is to say that it doesn’t always mean the same thing for everyone. Words take on new meanings over time, and each of us perceive them in our own way. In essence, each of us have our own unique vocabulary.
Which is why deep listening skills are so important for effective communication, because without it I’m more likely to apply my own meaning to your words rather than listening deeply enough to come closer to understanding your intended meaning.
A trope is defined as “a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression.” Tropes are like code words. For example, when someone says, “I’m pro freedom,” it’s a code word for a particular version of freedom that a specific group of people perceive it to mean. If someone says they are pro guns or pro-life or pro freedom of speech or pro equality, there are commonly understood meanings attached to those phrases, while each of them imply a larger framework of meaning than the words would seem to reveal on the surface. They relate to lifestyles and a body of values and even to our fears and deepest emotions.
If I say (as I often do) that consciousness is the true driver of human change and evolution, what do I mean by consciousness? What it means to me may not be what it means to you. Which, parenthetically, is why I’m working on a post to define what I mean by it, which will come with a diagram to pick it apart both in words and visuals. Stay tuned.
The point being, is that we all have our own vocabulary whether we know it or not, and as we become more conscious we become more aware of the words we use and the meanings we apply to them.
Critical thinking is in large part, a process of deeply analyzing words and their meanings. Which is why it’s so necessary for effective communication on a mass scale. If we were to publicly dialog about what we mean by such things as “freedom” and “equality” and “common good,” we would make more rapid progress in the evolution of political and governmental systems. Because such dialog will enable us to find our points of intersection and agreement, and thus deemphasize our points of division and disagreement.
Maria and I have our own vocabulary that we’ve developed over the thirteen years we’ve been together. In our first six months, when her children we’re in middle school and high school, she would rise early to take them to school, then return home and we’d make breakfast and sit at the table and enjoy deep conversations about spirituality. Every morning we delved into big topics of life. It’s how we got to know each other more deeply each day and discovered how truly aligned we were.
Those conversations continue to this day, but now we have a sort of shorthand for communicating with each other based on the implied meanings we share of words and concepts. Thus we can convey new insights to each other in rapid fashion, whereas it may take a long-form essay or a lengthy conversation to convey it to another individual.
Knowing this, understanding how two people in a close relationship develop their own vocabulary over time, illustrates the importance and power of words, and why it’s so easy to misunderstand each other.
We’re all familiar with the humorous interpretation of the word “assume,” a thing we all do at times, interpreting what people mean based on our own personal definition of words, which often gets us in trouble. Critical thinking, deep listening, and raising our consciousness enables us to gradually elevate ourselves (individually and collectively) beyond miscommunications, misunderstandings, assumptions, and tropes.
To go deeper, we can facilitate the acceleration of human consciousness by developing a shared vocabulary that intentionally enables higher vibrational thought. We can come together as a society by dialoging on the meaning of words and concepts — exploring what we mean and what we don’t mean. We can become more exacting in our communication, so when I say, “I believe in freedom” you know that what I mean is that I believe that being free is about being responsible to myself and others so that I’m careful not to infringe on the freedom of others. And what I don’t mean by “freedom” is that I have a license to do what I want regardless of how my actions affect other people or the environment.
Or if I say, “I believe in love,” you know that I’m referring to a form of love that is accepting, allowing, and flows from an abiding place within. And you know that I don’t mean love with conditions.
Imagine if we publicly dialoged about these kinds of words, picked them apart, identified the pitfalls of misunderstanding and assumption, and sought to continually clarify our meaning. Perhaps we even invent new words, as a growing number of Gen Zers are doing related to gender identity. 4% of those ages 13 to 24 are using “neopronouns” such as ze/zir, xe/xim, and fae/faer because they no longer identify with he/him, she/her or even they, them. So instead of conforming, they are inventing new words that speak more directly to how they truly feel about themselves.
Imagine if we were to understand that terms like “liberal” and “conservative” apply merely to a strategy for how to get from point A to point B, and nothing more. Then imagine if we were to understand that “spirituality” relates to a way of living and has nothing to do with religion. Or if we understood “freedom” to mean responsibility, and “love” to mean unconditional. Imagine if we understood “fear” to be more of a human failing than a self-preservation response.
Or imagine if we came to a common understanding that “consciousness” is a continuum. It’s not that yesterday we were asleep and today we are awake. Woke-ness is a misnomer because it’s not a destination but a continuously evolving state of being. We can say we are awakening, but to say that we are “woke” means the opposite because it means we think we’ve arrived and there is no further horizon to strive for.
Consciousness is unlimited, infinite, constantly unfolding. Love is infinite. “Personal develop” or “personal growth” are terms we use that imply the making of incremental improvements, where as “spirituality” is more of a constant unfoldment — a journey, not a destination.
What if we discussed and debated these terms? If we did, we could refine our collective understanding of language in such a way as to actually facilitate a more rapid progression of human consciousness. We could replace pontification and tropes with critical thinking, deep listening, and an acceptance of new ideas and even new vocabulary, like ze/zir and xe/xim.
How cool would that be?
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” — Nelson Mandela
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