Conversations with Orland Bishop

Unit 1: The Power of the Word

Topics: Memory, ceremony, story, creativity, the function of humans on earth, prophecy, the power of word and its abuse.

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Study Notes

What is a human being? Orland offers a view: we are reality’s way of revealing itself to itself. Of course, other animals, and even plants, record and transmit memory, but humans hold that capacity to an extraordinary degree through symbolic culture and the power of story. Our ability of cognition is what allows us to generate new qualities within nature.

In the first unit Orland makes a distinction between creativity and innovation. As he is using the latter term here, it refers to what happens when we “see the world as finished.” If nothing truly new can come into being, then all we can do is shift around the preexisting building blocks. Even worse, we become oriented to extracting novelty from the world rather than adding to it.

Embedded in Orland’s discourse here is a kind of formula for creativity: Source plus Self equals art. We bring in from their source in nature all the geometries, rhythms, and structural patterns that become culture (engineering, art, technology). That process is what he means by the ceremonial order.

Obviously, something is wrong with the human creation called society. What needs to happen for the human creative force to fulfill its potential? Orland gives a most arresting answer: Rediscover the power of the word, which he identifies as “the capacity to give the human being access to the laws of creation.” It encompasses all the arts and sciences; it is what brings the source of creativity into the human realm. Unmoored from beauty, truth, and love, it becomes an evil power, as we can see by so many of its works.

In the second segment we explore the power of the word in more depth. I offer a broad conception of what “prophecy” is, which Orland narrows to draw out an important distinction between true prophecy, which draws on primordial qualities of truth, love, and beauty, and the use of the word to manipulate unconscious agreements. I give the example of “The More Beautiful World our Hearts Know is Possible” as a kind of prophetic phrase, and Orland points out that its truth depends on the perception of that future as a being, not a thing. Because beauty is a process, a function of a relationship. This is precisely the kind of perception necessary to restore the power of the word. Orland notes that to see beauty is to forget, or at least forgive, the past. That release also releases us to create a future not captive to the past.

Meditation

Discussion/Practice Suggestion

There are so many ways we could work with this material. I will offer just one, inspired by Orland and my mutual friend, Gigi Coyle. She uses the acronym W.A.I.T. – “Why am I talking?” – which she applies to Council training. She asks people to pause before they speak to become clear on what motivates their speaking. There might be multiple motives, such as:

• Getting attention
• Establishing dominance
• Displaying submission to get off the hook
• Signaling in-group membership
• Appearing to be smart
• Displaying conformity
• Starting conflict from which you might benefit
• Making peace
• Persuading someone
• Getting approval
• Making someone feel good about themselves
• Deflecting intimacy
• Inviting intimacy
• Impressing someone
• Serving the needs of the group
• Serving a larger mission
• Signaling your political correctness
• Marking off intellectual territory
• Displaying an identity

I’m sure you can think of many more. Perhaps a few of these are especially relevant to you. The practice of W.A.I.T. is not to shame yourself into changing the way you speak. The recovery of the power of the word is not started with a promise or a resolution. W.A.I.T. does not mean that you resolve to stop doing those things. It is simply to bring awareness to what was unconscious, trusting that the new consciousness itself launches a process of change. It is an example of the principle of attentiveness that Orland speaks of later. So, please be calmly unashamed of what you notice. Over time, practicing W.A.I.T. will magnify the power of your words. Why? Because they will no longer serve multiple, conflicting goals. They will be in coherence with the higher purpose of speech.