Words have different meanings to different people. Sometimes people argue about words, thinking that their version of the word is the gospel truth. And the other person has equal conviction about their version of the word.

Words are fluffy. Many of them, especially adjectives and adverbs, don’t lend themselves to having concrete meaning.

Words are the currency we use to consciously communicate, but they are a poor substitute when we’re searching for a deeper meaning.

I first read that words are pointers towards meaning, not actual meaning when I read THE POWER OF NOW by Eckhart Tolle. Meaning that they point you in a direction without giving you directions. That does sound like a conundrum, doesn’t it? It’s not.

I read the aforementioned book 23 times. Each time I read it, I was pointed in a different direction when reading the same words that lead me in another direction on a previous read.

“The direction is between the words” means that the direction you receive comes out of the spaces between your thoughts. When your mind is jam packed with words, nothing new comes through. It’s when spaces show up between your words that you open yourself up to your depth – a place where words don’t exist, allowing inspiration to fill in the spaces.

Many speakers use the utterance “uhm” to fill up the space in their speech. If they would train themselves to pause there rather than say “uhm,” the next words out of their mouths are quite likely to point you towards meaning. That’s because all creative direction comes from within that pause.

This is not “reading between the lines.” That’s just applying logic to what’s being said. It’s what is not being said that gets us into a creative mode. That means the space gets us out of our head.

Read anything you consider to be a spiritual or inspirational writing and notice that it’s not the concept being written about that brings you the “aha.” The writing points you inward where it’s pin drop quiet, and that’s where you receive direction.

Here’s a little exercise you can do to cultivate spaces in your thinking. Just start noticing the spaces in your environment. You can simply look at the space between pieces of furniture, spaces between household noises, and the space between the words when someone’s speaking. Just by noticing the spaces will get you in the habit of creating spaces between your thoughts.

Looking for direction? Look between the words.

All the best,

John

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