Magic Words

Words can inspire collective action and summon new ways of being. The origin of “spell,” as in “spellcasting,” is a root meaning to talk or tell a story. Words make magic.

Language is not only a vehicle for expressing our intentions but can help us clarify and draw our truths from inside ourselves. Finding the words is just as potent as speaking them, perhaps more.

The Spring 2023 issue of NPQ included some tantalizing observations from Cyndi Suarez on the power of words in the social change sector.

“Words have so much power—and by the time you utter them, that is when they have the least power. The most power is when it’s still in your gut and you’re still forming it, and you’re still trying to figure out the word to capture the big thing that, even when it comes out as a word, it’s already….” — Cyndi Suarez, in conversation with Marcus Walton of GEO

Choosing the right words is important. But when we ask to what end—Understanding? Communion? Power? Transformation?—we may find that it’s not just an intellectual exercise. There’s spirituality, even ritual, involved.

“To speak truth for social change and human evolution, we need rituals, practices that allow us to go deep into our self and beyond to higher levels of consciousness and reality, where truth resides. Developing facility in these realms builds the trust and faith that allow us to access truth and withstand and overcome the risks of speaking.” — Cyndi Suarez, “Leadership is Voice,” NPQ, May 24, 2023