Sentient, Hearts and Brains Wanted

One of my favorite Jungian scholars, James Hollis, has quite often remarked that, "Consciousness is as good as it gets."  Hollis, who after serving the C.G. Jung Center in Houston, Texas for many years, is now the Executive Director of the Jung Society of Washington, D.C.  In his comment, he refers to a keen awareness of ourselves, a mindfulness of who we are, what we want, and what we must do to move forward. So, yes, I would say that's pretty close to the top of where we'd like to be in life.


Today's Power Word #11 offers us a way to express that consciousness: sentient.


First, let's get the pronunciation out of the way.  The preferred pronunciation seems to sound like this, two syllables with the accent on the first syllable:  (sent shuhnt)


A second pronunciation would sound like this, with three syllables, the accent again on the first syllable:  (sent tee uhnt)


Your choice.  The British use the first one and Americans use both, if they use it at all, which is why I chose sentient as word #11. This is one of those words with exactness of meaning, not to mention using the word will make you sound smart, which never hurts.


Origin
Sentient:  From the Latin sentire, to feel or perceive; present participle form, sentient, sentiens
First recorded use:  1595-1605


Definition
Sentient: conscious of sense impressions; sensitive to perception or feeling
Synonyms:  aware, conscious, mindful, cognizant, perceptive
Antonyms:  insentient, devoid of feeling and consciousness


Uses
Adjective:  sentient
Adverb:  sentiently
Noun: sentient (a person who is keenly aware of his/her surroundings and thoughts)


Examples
1.  Taking the life of a sentient being is not always a crime, especially if the victim is an animal used for food.


2.  Vegetarians choose the path of avoiding meat for health reasons but also because they believe all living creatures are sentient, making it a sin to slaughter them.


3.  The electronic robotic vacuum whisked across the floor with its sentient detection of dust, magically disappearing in its wake.


4.  Being out on the street and hungry, the disheveled man was fully sentient of his degraded state.


No doubt we sentients are capable of feelings, sensing all things around us, but do we always take time to engage in mindfulness?  Do we slow down just a bit and really think about the needs of others as well as our own needs, not just the material needs but those of the heart and spirit?  And if we did, what do you think would happen?


Psychologists explain that consciousness and mindfulness incline the heart toward good will, the first steps toward kindness, generosity, compassion, and wisdom.


We are not robots.  We are the Tin Man and the Scarecrow looking for our hearts and brains.  When we find them, we become the sentient people we were meant to be.

Draconian, Hyperbole of Fairy Tales?

Draconian, power word #10, has an interesting history, but its current use begs the filter of hyperbole.  Cinderella's stepmother comes to mind. Before we examine that hyperbole, let's take a look at the backstory.


Once upon a time, say the eighth century B.C.E., a group of powerful Athenians controlled land, politics, and money, which also means that the law favored them over most other Athenians who lived in poverty.  This is already beginning to sound like Cinderella.


At any rate, things got so bad for the poor by year 621 B.C.E. that they approached an Athenian legislator named Draco, who responded by creating a written code of law.  The problem was, however, his code got so out of hand that even the most minor offenses were punishable by death, and failure to pay one's debts would result in slavery.  Ironically, the code led to even greater power of the aristocracy over the poor. Although the laws were eventually changed, today any measures that have severe, unrealistic results in which the punishment does not fit the crime might be called draconian, thanks to the Athenian Draco.


Definition
Draconian/draconian (lower case as well): an adjective meaning unusually cruel or severe; rigorous


Origin
Draconian:  Greek, drakon; Latin, dracon--stem of draco: a kind of serpent, the sharp sighted one.
It's interesting to note that the root of Draco and Draconian is also the root of dragon. Here's a superb example of a metaphor turned hyperbole as you will see in the examples.
First recorded use: 1810-1820


From Metaphor to Hyperbole
The use of figurative language in our everyday speech adds color and vitality to whatever we want to communicate, whether it's telling a joke or writing a serious essay.  Power word #10, draconian, offers hyperbole, that is, a word used in exaggeration.  If you refer to something as draconian, your intention might be to exaggerate the number of times the coach made you run around the track, even though her request wasn't really out of the ordinary in terms of team practice and even your good health.  Somehow, exaggeration seems to make us feel better, and we can even laugh about the cleverness of it. And you really do like your coach.  She's not the dragon type.


Animation, especially a number of Disney characters, boasts some of the most dramatic and memorable examples of draconian behavior.  No one likes Cinderella's cruel and heartless stepmother who turns the lovely image of sweetness, Ella, into a kitchen wench full of ashes with no hope of meeting the prince.  What a dragon!


Then there's Cruella Deville and the wicked witch who gives Snow White the poisoned apple, and Rapunzel's wicked stepmother who imprisons her in a tower--the endless list of draconian women in fairy tales old and new.  Have you ever wondered why they're mainly women?


Examples:
1.  Ella pulled on the door knob, and realizing her dreams of meeting the prince drift away behind a door shut tight by her draconian stepmother, she allowed the tears to fall.


2.  The guidelines for taking lunch breaks, instituted by the new manager of the store's shoe department, seemed draconian to the clerks who had been abusing the system for years.


3.  As Billy looked at the list of homework assignments in his planner juxtaposed with his athletic schedule, he began to doodle caricatures of his draconian task masters.


While the word draconian has evolved into the metaphor-hyperbole state and our exaggerations are somewhat harmless, we know that we live in a world in which the soft underbelly of the dragon cannot atone for the fiery breath that sears the soul and scourges the lives of those who in reality struggle to survive as well as all of us who long for justice.

Dichotomy, a Necessary Balance

We live in a world of antithesis, stark opposites that sometimes seem quietly juxtaposed while at other times gnashing and crashing wildly into one another.  Whichever situation you might experience, the result is, at a basic level, the same: a dichotomy of two elements that are opposed or entirely different from each other.  When you point out a dichotomy, you draw a clear distinction between two things to illustrate the contrast. Hence, we now have power word #9, dichotomy.


Definition
Dichotomy:  a division into two parts or kinds that are different from each other; two ideas that are opposites


Origin
Greek, dichotomia.
     dicho--in two parts, in pairs
     tomia--to cut
First recorded use in 1600-1610


Examples
1.  Attempting to keep his students awake, the instructor injected humor into his lecture as he clarified the dichotomy between the social behavior of men and women.


2.  The dichotomy between light and dark in Hawthorne's writing supports the antithesis of good and evil.


3.  When Jane pointed out the dichotomy between their budget and their expenses, she drew a clear distinction between their values and their whimsical desires.


4.  The continually diverging policies of the two political candidates revealed the stark dichotomy between the visions of their campaigns.


Although we normally think of dichotomy as a division between people and things, the truth is without these necessary opposites, we would not have the concomitant tool that is necessary to teach us how to make decisions, how to have choices, and how to live a balanced life. 


Think of life without night and day, light and dark.  Imagine only good or only evil.  It's impossible because all of these contrasting elements complement each other.  As much as we struggle with frustration over the most unusual Presidential election we have experienced in our lifetime, we still would not want to live in a country without a two-party system, no matter how wide the dichotomy.


The only way to live a life of harmony is to insure a life of balance, the balance of opposites.

Symbiosis: Win-Win

Symbiosis, word #8, is a good word that can be useful in multiple contexts.  You will find its adjective form, symbiotic, more frequently used unless you happen to be a scientist, or at least a science aficionado.


Before I expound on the benefits of  knowing how to use the words symbiosis and symbiotic, let's look at a straightforward definition.




Definition
Symbiosis:  a close interaction between two living things that depend on each other.  This relationship could be biological species, organisms--actually any kind of living beings.  They work together and depend on each other.  Most of the time, that is, and when they don't, one becomes a parasite.




Origin
Greek:  sym, together; bio, to live (to live together)
First recorded use: 1615-1625


As history would have it, in 1877 the word symbiosis was used to describe the dependent relationship of lichens, and two years later scientists would refer to the coexistence of two unlike organisms.


Today English speakers employ the word in a more figurative way, which is typical of so many words and phrases that have become metaphors.  Symbiosis now frequently describes a relationship between two people or groups that work together as a team.  One helps the other as they progress through the daily routine of the relationship.  Occasionally, our language reverts to science in which we witness one organism taking without giving back.  So much for teamwork.  We might call that person a parasite.


Examples
The animal kingdom offers a sweet example.  Along any country road in Texas one might find a field of cattle accompanied by lovely white egrets, small white birds.  They're like bird groupies hanging out with the cows, but both the cattle and the birds have a quite satisfying symbiotic relationship.  The egrets like the insects stirred up by the hooves, but they also like to sit on the backs of the animals and eat those annoying bugs that bite the cattle, who no doubt appreciate the egrets' assistance. What a happy coexistence for both!


Another favorite example is the honey bee, who gathers nectar and pollen from flowers which she transfers to the hive but at the same time pollinates the plants so they can reproduce.  Win-win. Furthermore, what scientists have discovered is that flowers that are visited more often by bees will produce larger and more uniformly shaped fruit.  Most of the fruits and vegetables in our diet depend on pollination for growth and production, but the bee gets her due, a well-fed bee hive. I call that a symbiotic rock star.


Finally, I can't leave this article without mentioning the incredible human interaction that sometimes produces miracles when people work together to help each other strive and become the people they were meant to be.  The Olympic teams this year come to mind.  While the medalists certainly reap many benefits, their countries swell with pride--newfound hope, and experience the symbiotic relationship of what Maslow called the critical human need to find one's place, not in isolation, but in the whole of society. Definitely win-win.

Chimera, Myth or Reality?

Chimera, Power Word #7, is an interesting choice dating back to Greek mythology, traveling through Latin, Old Norse, Middle English, and ending up in our language today with a myriad of useful meanings and metaphors.


Because of its complicated journey through etymology, I'll begin with a tale from Greek mythology.


The Chimera, sometimes spelled Chimaera, was a fire-breathing monster with the body of a lion, the head of a goat rising from its back, and a long tail that ended in a serpent's head.  In Greek mythology, it was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and the sibling of Cerberus and Lernaean Hydra.  Can you imagine how terrified the Greeks must have been?  If their gods were real to them, which they were, then the possibility of a Chimera was, too.


The story goes something like this.  A fire-breathing monster residing in Lycia, the southern coast of Turkey, that ravages the land has to be stopped, right? Who better for the task than a Greek hero.  Because of a series of tasks that our Greek hero Bellerophon is required to perform (the reasons for it comprise another story), his favor with the gods allows him to bridle and ride Pegasus.  From high above on his winged horse, Bellerophon shoots arrows at the Chimera and kills it, redeeming Bellerophon as a hero once more.


Etymology:  Greek khimaros; Latin chimaera, Middle English chimera
                     Old Norse gymbr (a ewe lamb) + Latin heims and Greek cheimon
                      (winter) a ewe-lamb or goat one winter (year) old. 


Somewhere along the line, the goat must have been added to the lion and so forth.


Now let me direct you to the definitions that have arisen from this imaginary monster.


Definition 1:  a fire-breathing monster of Lycia composed of the parts of different animals, a lion, a goat, and a snake


Definition 2:  in genetics, an occurrence in humans when mutation or grafting results in at least two genetically different kinds of tissue.


Whoa.  Stop a minute.  What kind of mutation or grafting exactly?  Well, apparently people who have bone marrow transplants receive donor red blood cells from the marrow that are not genetically the same as other cells in their own body.  No harm done, let me add.


Another example of a genetic chimera takes place when fetal cells travel to the mother's organs during pregnancy and often stay there for a lifetime.  Cool.


My final example here illustrates the marvels of nature and the human body.  A fetus can assimilate its twin if one embryo dies very early in pregnancy and the cells are absorbed, resulting in two sets of DNA with the code to make two separate organisms.  Another chimera.  Mind-blowing science, isn't it.


Definition 3:  This meaning is the one you will most often use figuratively.  A chimera can also be something that is so strange and unlikely that logic tells you it shouldn't exist.  Yet it does.  Now that you know the origin of the word and its interesting scientific reference, this definition might not be so difficult to grasp.


Definition 4:  Or maybe you'd just like to stick with an easy definition--a chimera that exists in the imagination and is not possible in reality. None of us has actually seen a fire-breathing monster with body parts of a goat and a snake.  Not literally anyway.


Examples:


1.  Bellerophon, dropping the reins not a moment too soon, released his bow at the fiery Chimera, the arrow piercing the smoke-filled sky and slaying the beast who had scourged Lycia for the last time.


2.  It was an ordinary day when Marti came in for her lab work, but two weeks later a surprising report indicated an extraordinary chimera. Two sets of DNA resided in her body, which could only mean one thing: she once had been twins.


3.  The man standing at his door handing him a check for a million dollars undoubtedly was a chimera beyond his wildest imagination, and, sure he must be dreaming, Arthur laughed nervously and asked for the man's identification.


4.  The fire jumped from the stove to the wooden cabinets, licking the surface before devouring the wood, a virtual chimera that would soon destroy the small frame house.




How fortunate for all of us devotees of literacy that we have such creative choices in our language to describe whatever we wish:  a storytelling chimera, a scientific chimera, a metaphoric chimera, and a mythological allusion to chimera. In whatever way we choose to employ this lovely word, the image  rendered will be unforgettable. Never take for granted the power of words!

Ian Turnbull's "The English Teacher"

Found it ever so appropriate to reprint a lovely birthday poem from my good friend and fellow writer, Ian Turnbull.  Thank you so much, Ian, for your beautiful verse.




The English Teacher

What light is this
Shining on manuscripts written long ago
It is her gift
Passed on to us so we may know

The hearts of men
Vile villainy's evil conceit
Thrives in chasms
Where right is wronged and is desolate in defeat

Trapped in the plot
We sink to those depths too
Succumbing to the sulphurous stench
Subsumed in the devil's stew

Yet stay with her
She tells that very same pen
Demonstrates ideals
The sword unsheathed of righteous men

Fables and tales
We share the saddle of the knight
Expectations signaled
The impending heroic fight

Justice restored
Once more we breathe good air
Evil vanquished
Good fortune banishes despair

From conflict
We now are steered away
To life's joys and pains
We're taken along this way

Melancholic metaphors
The tormented suitor spurned
Oh unrequited love
Carnal desires not returned

What rare romance
Only the moon witnesses the kiss
Nuptials planned
The true nature of the tryst

Yet even more
Now transfixed in the language of love
What joy's unleashed
A perception of the heavens above

What a journey
The articulated message sought
Replete in
Comprehending the author's every thought.

Ian Turnbull

Like · Reply · 1 · July 27 at 5:15am

Caveat, I'm Warning You

In the language of trust, we speakers and writers of English have developed, over a span of centuries, the need to express warnings, precautions, consequences.  In fact, we've borrowed an exceptional word from Latin:  caveat.


Definition
caveat:  a precaution or warning


Origin
From Latin, caveat is the third person singular present subjunctive tense of cavere, to take care, to be cautious


Examples
1.  Wary of his numerous failed attempts at exhilarating and risky behavior, Margaret offered her brother a stern caveat as he described his latest adventure, skydiving.


2.  The obvious caveats appear by law on over-the-counter drugs as well as prescriptions in order to protect and inform the user of possible side effects.


3.  Professor Barnes' assignment came with a caveat:  Don't wait until the night before to write your ten-page research paper.


Two Latin expressions incorporating the word caveat can also contribute to your repository of power words:


Caveat lector:  let the reader beware
Example:  Polarizing sides of a political campaign often create a situation in which caveat lector might be essential:  Take what you read about each candidate with a grain of salt until you have researched the issues yourself.


Caveat emptor:  let the buyer beware
Example:  Caveat emptor also serves as a precaution for the seller who doesn't want negative repercussions after the sale but happy, satisfied customers who know exactly what they bought.


How many times have you listened with dread to those odious words, "I'm warning you!"  As much as we try to avoid circumstances of risk, the truth is, we are usually more amenable to accepting the precaution than jumping into a situation blindly with unpleasant consequences.  Hearing a caveat even if you don't care to, my dear reader, may save your life.  Good word, caveat.

Nonpareil, Without Equal

In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Cesario, who is really the main character Viola disguised as a boy, tells the lovely Olivia that she is the nonpareil of beauty. And that she is.


Within the comic madness of the play, Shakespeare arranges for three suitors--Duke Orsino, Andrew Aguecheek, and Malvolio, to attempt to win the hand of this beautiful, clever, wealthy young woman.  Toward the end of the play, however, Viola's long-lost brother Sebastian can't believe his good fortune--he must be dreaming, he says, for he is the chosen one.


And so we have a new word:  nonpareil. 


Definition
nonpareil:  without equal, peerless


Origin
1400-1450, late Middle English from Middle French
non (not) + pareil (equal)


Examples
1.  As best friends go, Betty was the nonpareil of all the people he had ever known, and he married her.  (noun)


2.  Nonpareil to most financial institutions, the old bank, which had been in operation since 1903, survived the Great Depression and never closed its doors.  (adjective)




Oddly enough, another definition exists that seems completely different from the one above but actually has a legitimate connection.


Definition #2
nonpareil:  a small pellet of colored sugar used for decorating sweets (Most often we call them "sprinkles"); a flat, round bite-size piece of chocolate covered with these sprinkles. See below.

Frankly, I'm not at all opposed to relating this lovely little word, nonpareil, to chocolate or even multicolored sprinkles, the kind you absolutely must have when baking Christmas cookies.  After all, these little confections just might be without equal in their decorative enhancement of yummy sweets.
See you in the next word, friends.