The power of words to change fate!
This last summer, I had the honour of attending a bible session that was given by a much cherished lady. As usual I was driven by curiosity and wanted to learn something new. The evening was balmy; I enjoyed myself and went out with few good lessons. One concept hit a cord in that session, it refused to leave my brain and stayed hidden in my unconscious, and that is what she called the power of the word.
This last week, I have been working on a short story for my fiction writing class. I was working closely with two books, one of them is called Leviathan, which is written by one of my most favourite writers; Paul Auster. The plot in the book is that someone falls from a balcony; this incident would change his life and would lead to his death eventually. I am not giving out the book, because this is not the point of the book, and anyway, we know he died from the first paragraph. The second book I was working with is called a beggar at Damascus gate. A book written by Yasmin Zahran. I was completely taken by this book, she is daring, smart and very cultured. However, there is the incident of falling down that is followed by death as well. I won’t say more, so I won’t ruin it for anyone who wants to read it. My story has nothing to do with either book, it ends in a hopeful end, and it does not include people falling down.
I was obsessively working with the two books, thinking about the story I am writing day and night, and for days, I had been haunted with disturbed dreams and sweaty nights. Something was stuck in my unconscious and I was unable to get a decent night of sleep for days. I called my brother last week. He was very upset, he told me that one of his friends fell from the fourteenth floor and passed away! Aunty Suzy’s words came rushing to my brain with so much force; it seemed that words indeed have power, they open doors for dark forces that go out of control when they are said or written. I felt that somehow maybe I sensed the meaningless death of this young man? Or maybe somehow I evoked it? I am not sure.
I called my friend R horrified. I felt I was paralyzed with fear, and since both R. and I have discussed the power of words on several occasions I was desperate to get his opinion. R. reassured me with his usual kindness, and the depth of his calm spirituality, and i instantly felt better. I later on talked to M. who is one of the most logical, scientific people I know. He said ‘Ah, I didn’t know you have so much power!’ that was such a relieving thought. Of course this young man’s death has nothing to do with me. We human beings always think that the world revolves around us, that we are in control and that we have the power. Thank God we don’t have the power because we lack the wisdom not to be corrupted by so much power.
But I am still unsettled, I am truly curious to know why did I have this reaction? When I am supposedly a very un-superstitious person. One of the things that came to my mind was how is Islam we believe that God creates with words “ انما امره اذا اراد شيئا ان يقول له كن فيكون “ which is taken from Surat Yasin and it says if God wants something He says be and it happens. Which is something that also exists in Christianity, God said, “let there be light: and there was light”.
On a more worldly note, I am thinking of what my grandma says when we say something bad. She gets very upset and says tifi min timek! Which means spit from your mouth! when I think about it more when people say bad things others respond with fal Allah wala Falek the literal translation is “the fortune of God and not your fortune”, which probably means God creates good fortune and not this bad fortune you are saying. People also say things Allah La yiqader which translates to Let God not will this (bad thing you said). So apparently in our culture we do believe that words have power to change fate, whether we are Muslims or Christians. Is this really possible? does this belief come from religion or is it culture? and if it is one of the two, to what extend do words have power? I will refer to another one of Aunty Suzy’s posts, because in it she gives another aspect of the power of word.
Enjoy.
How interesting! The difference between ‘faith’ and ‘fate’, between God’s sovereignty and human’s free will are such a fascinating topic.
You encourage me to do a word study from the Bible on this topic, words of cursing and blessing, and how they are woven into God’s plan for His world.
When I was in High School, I enjoyed a creative writing class. I wrote a few short stories and some poetry. I still write an occasional poem. In a very real sense, my heros growing up were the icons of science fiction and fantasy writing. I often wished that I could write like them. I sometimes think that I have an interesting idea for a story, but for many years, I have mostly lacked the creative energy to sit and write. Well, I have been blogging for a few years now, and it is getting easier to write, so maybe some day…:)
Your experience of reading stories about tragic falls, having difficulty sleeping, and then finding out about your brother’s friend may just all be coincidence, but perhaps there is something more. Some people seem to somehow know when someone they love is suffering. Do you feel a very strong emotional connection to your brother (I am guessing the answer is yes)? Perhaps you somehow sensed his deep sense of loss from his friend’s passing. I am not superstitious either, but I have had repeated experiences that make me wonder if I have some sort of minor ESP talent. What has happened many times over the years is that I will have a silent thought in my mind and then several seconds later another person will say the exact same words. My mother has told me a number of times that she has had the same experience too. On top of this, the same thing will happen between myself and my mother. I will think it and she will say it, or sometimes I will see an image in my mind and she will then talk about the thing that I mentally saw. This sort of thing used to freak me out a bit, but it happens so often that I am quite used to it. I have even tried to rationalize how this might be possible. It is a well documented fact that the human brain can produce measureable electromagnetic fields. Each neuron produces a tiny field when it activates to stimulate adjacent neurons as a thought or stimulus to move the body occurs in the brain. At any given moment, millions of neurons are “firing”, as a neuroscientist would say. These millions of little electromagnetic fields add up to produce a significant and measurable EM field. Maybe it is possible that such a field could influence another person’s brain over a short distance. The analogy to physics that I like to relate this to is called induction. If you pass a current through a loop of wire that is located near but not toughing another loop of wire, a current will be induced to flow in the second wire by the magnetic field generated by the current in the first wire. Anyway, I’m probably getting way too technical here and a real neuroscientist would probably think I was crazy! So much for my theory of short distance telepathy. Now, how could two minds communicate over a long distance? Well, I haven’t got a clue. In fact, such a concept defies rational explanation, as far as I am concerned. Nevertheless, some people believe that they can do it. Considering my own experiences, I am at least willing to be open minded and not dismiss the possibility.
Fate and Faith are one of the most interesting questions in all religions. I mean where does God’s will stop and the human free will start?
I would be most interested in reading this study you are planning to do. I do believe that words have power and it would great to see the power they have.
David, This comment needs a lot of thinking. I have 15 minutes before my next client comes, so i will respond properly in few hours when i am back home.
Miriam, I hope that I didn’t give you too much to think about!
My previous comment was more about my experiences than about what you wrote. So, I would like to add a few thoughts that are more along the lines of your post. You say that words have the power to change a person’s fate. Well, I believe that too, but probably not in quite the same way as you describe.
I do not think that a person can utter a sentence like, “I wish a bad accident to happen to *fill in name*”, and expect this to come true. This is like casting a spell, and I don’t believe in any sort of magic. Equally, I don’t believe that, “I wish for my loved one to be cured of her/his disease”, will work either. The sort of power in words that I do recognize is the power of encouragement and praise that one person can give to another. A kind word can sometimes go very far to help change the course of another person’s life for the better. Conversely, disparaging or discouraging words can be a very powerful negative influence. What a person can accomplish in life has a lot to do with her/his level of self-esteem. One of the most important things in my life is to try and provide encouragement to others whenever I can because I know it can make a difference.
David thank you for your comment
well actually you have given me so much to think about. One of my cousins has a very good friend since they were 2 maybe! anyway once the friend told me about an incident that happened probably 15 years ago. The friend was visiting my cousin or the other way around, i am not sure. and while they were staying at the house a fire broke, the friend left the house but could not reach my cousin who was sleeping on the second floor, he was so anguished and somehow managed to telepathetically wake him up and that ended up saving his life, this has only happened once and never happened again and he has no idea how that happened! i remember when this story was told to me, it sort of gave me a lot to think about. I don’t know if it is true or not, i never checked it ( maybe i should now :)) what i am trying to say here, is i think that i believe what you wrote is true somehow… but i can’t explain it either!
ohhh and the power of words that you are talking about in your scond comments goes along with the link that i have connected with Suzi’s blog. she approached that from a biblical perspective
Hi Miriam,
I thought you might be interested that I wrote a new post based on our conversation here. Part you have already read in my comment, but I added another anecdote about my ESP experiences. Btw, the story you told about your cousin and his friend is amazing!