In Love with Language

My fascination with words began when I was just a little girl. While other children played and had fun, I spent countless hours consorting with dictionaries and books, drawn inexplicably to the world of words, exploring new meanings, seeking understanding and gathering new tools for expression.

Over time, my relationship with words, slowly waned and faded, until 8 years ago when I connected with NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), which sparked an awakening that re – ignited my childhood love of language, then rapidly evolved into a deep and passionate love affair. Now, my heart and soul has been stolen away and taken prisoner by this obsession. NLP is the ever giving gift which brought me to coaching, underpins all the I-nspire Coaching Programmes™, is woven into the heart of training materials I design and has provided me with the raw material and tools to unleash my passion for writing. In an insatiable quest to imbibe as many delicious and descriptive words as possible and nourish my memory banks with linguistic delights, I find myself being called to dictionary surfing, word exploration (etymology), fridge poetry and devouring one fantastical novel after another. An expanded range of vocabulary enriches my inner world and elevates my capacity for colourful expression.

As I write, I love stringing unique sounds and different frequencies together in a sequence or flow that initially sparks my interest and, then grabs my attention. While scouring the libraries of consciousness, I search for the most accurate, descriptive and enticing words to order, organize and translate my thoughts, feelings and experiences into physical, tangible form. This process is the crafting of an invitation for others to get a brief glimpse into my world... without actually living my experience.

As I coach, I find myself tuning in more deeply and listening more closely and carefully to the specific words that people use when they start telling me their stories. As I do, I notice the energetic frequency of each and every word spoken and start hearing and understanding that how words are strung together and meanings are made either creates harmony or discord, symphony or noise in relationships and in lives.

Feeling stuck or uninspired lately?

Waiting for something amazing to happen?

What might this mean to you?

People describe who they are, recount their life stories and share how they make meaning of their experience with the words they choose to articulate and express themselves.

Limiting vocabulary and expression limits experience. Expanding the range, depths, flexibility, juiciness and frequency of your words and your silences, can make your experiences more interesting, interested, engaging or engaged.

But the real power of words lies in their ability to capture imaginations and take them on exciting and interesting journeys to places of inspiration, motivation, recognition, understanding and connection.

So, you would be wise to start paying attention to words if you would like to:

know yourself or others more deeply

lead yourself or others towards achieving specific outcomes

heal yourself from physical illness or emotional pain

expand yourself to build bridges for better relationships

express yourself in a way that motivates, uplifts and inspires

experience yourself fully for an enriched and fulfilling life

Think about these questions now...

• Do you make time to reflect on how you express yourself?

• How comfortable are you with your own silence?

• Which words lift you up and inspire you?

• Which words push your buttons and make you crazy?

• Which words would you use to tell me your story?

• Are you interested in hearing the stories of others?

• What happens when you start listening attentively?

Notice the sparks that fly when you take time and space to think....

Until we speak again...

Jacque A

On Reflection

Sometimes I am fortunate enough to have open–ended days. These are rare occasions when I have nothing planned and my schedule is clear. Not too long ago these days drove me crazy and I would quickly find a way to distract myself or not to spend any length of time with the uncomfortable, uninvited and needless to say unwelcome gnawing anxiety, that would rear its ugly head whenever too much time and space became available to me.

But as you might very well know, what we resist persists and eventually I realized that avoidance was futile. I decided to surrender and invited my anxiety to engage in a reflective encounter which so happened to turn into an enlightening experience. When I asked my anxiety why it was here and what it wanted from me, it opened up with a confession that it was somewhat peeved with me for ignoring, denying, avoiding and repressing it for so long. It conveyed that it had been patiently waiting for me to acknowledge it and hear what it had to say, after which it proceeded to reveal to me insights about my fears, how to deal with the demons that had been driving me for most of my life, it explained where and why I was out of balance and how to remedy this and also showed me how I could conserve great amounts of energy and still achieve everything I wanted to.

So after this interaction, I realized how important it was for me to further develop my capacity for reflection. I spent some time trying to understand the meaning of the word "reflect" and noticed that it is made up of two distinct parts – the words re and flèche or flect. The dictionary defines "re" as once more, afresh, anew, go back or return, flèche as a slender spire often perforated with windows and "fleck" as a small particle or patch of colour or light. So from piecing the separate meanings of this word together, I deduced that when we step back and look at a particle of our lives or our thoughts from a higher level or perspective, new colour and light can enter and old situations and events can be magically transformed.

Now, I have come to look forward to these days with hungry anticipation, as it is these very days that are reserved and savoured purely for being and reflecting. These wonderful days present me with an opportunity to think about my life, my thoughts and my feelings. I use them to cavort playfully with creative ideas, acknowledge and attend to discomforts in my body and dream about future possibilities with joyful abandon. I look forward to these days and relish the time and space, without pressure or demands to embrace the opportunity they present to reconnect with my spirit, replenish my energy and nourish my soul.

Do you feel like there is so much to do and never enough time?
Do you want to set yourself free from the low level anxiety that stops you from experiencing joy?

Something that as human beings differentiates us from other species is our ability to self reflect or to think about our experiences, our behaviours and even about our thinking.  This skill or capacity is called "Metacognition" and is only possible because of our self–reflective consciousness – the existence within every human being of a higher self that is able to take a step back or a step up and observe itself, any situation, event or person from a different perspective.

So you would be wise to start thinking about your thinking if you would like to:

• Gain new insights and perspectives in situations where you feel stuck
• Unlearn invalid and un - resourceful meanings
• Notice what's working for you and what is not
• Elicit more clarity about your personal vision for your life
• Expand your options or choices
• Become more self aware and more flexible

Where are you feeling limited or stuck?

What sparks your imagination or evokes your passion?

If you could change just one thing, what would it be?

Remember to capture and hold onto and carry forward the precious insights you gain.....

Take care until next time and keep thinking about how you think!

Jacque A