Scrolling by those profane words

don't drown meenakshi, we need you to share your light
and i am saying that with utmost respect and admiration for you
~s

I agree sometimes all the cuss words can bog down what you are trying to say.  I also know they are powerful at communicating nothingness and feelings.  you can say something so much more potently when you don't cuss.  And cuss words aren't always communication it's more like expression without point, just required or not.  If any of this makes any sense and I think I got off on a tangant sorry.

this too shall pass…..cussing is just another way for thoughts to surface to fill the void until sense can be made.

I understand what you are saying here and applaud your posting it! My mother did not let me say hate, it had to be dislike intensely. Her curbing of my self expression lead me to want to explore new worlds of words, some beautiful and some not so nice. But family dynamics aside, it was also not proper for us to curse in childhood in the 50;s and70;s like it seems to be allowed today.

Thanks M. I appreciate you.
Aley

Namaste

Thanks for blogging on this M.  This is actually what I want to see more from you, where the shadows and discomfort reside.

I've done a fair amount of shadow work, and I've had people sit across from me and repeat things back to me that had power over me, that I didn't want to own.

Sometimes from childhood we embody our parent's belief, in your case great caution with words, in another family, no caution with words (maybe closer to mine).  I want to be free of those restraints, so I can be the highest expression of me in any setting.  And in some cases that may include a word that your uncomfortable with.

I also love you, maybe I have for lifetimes eh?  So for you, I may choose to express myself in a way that speaks to your heart.  For another it may be with spice.  The integrity of the speech is more important that the form.  (look at our non-swearing politicians)

So, is it the essence of the person we want to appreciate, or the form they take?  Is it both?  Truth to me appears mostly as paradox.

May words of beauty fill your ears….

Hi M. I'm a linguist so I appreciate the many diverse nuances of language and I do my best to speak to context rather than just the literal. Indeed, in my work, I have decided to modify my expression depending on the audience, so I sometimes use slang - which my old headmistress would probably frown upon - I definitely use dialect and even switch to very simplistic words in groups with English as a second language, and I rely on body language - audio and visual - to achieve it all.

I too wince at crudeness and the use of vulgar expressions. I, for example, couldn't watch certain black American comedy programmes because I couldn't stand to hear that term every 3 or four words! Ewwwhh! And I so love beauty in all its forms that the spoken or written word touches me most deeply when it is expressed with thought and consideration for the listener's pleasure.

But my passionate nature connects me with other very passionate persons; people driven like me for a cause. And when we get to communicating, there's no time for pussyfooting - I hope that's still appropriate! haha We feel no respect lost by slipping an expletive in for some kind of emphasis… and then simply moving on thereafter. In such a setting, we would consider a cuss word nothing but a functional object, and a small thing relative to what we are attempting to accomplish.

Sensitivity requires however, I agree, respect for what time and place we are operating in and so I do my best to keep a lid on it where required. It isn't really that difficult to do in my case.

Thanks for receiving me! Best to you, sherri

Osho recording on Aley's blog serves an interesting purpose.  He is funny but the key is that he really does wake humankind up  and has found a level of reality of where to begin and helps us to LOOK.  
I agree that using that language is needed to communicate and attract attention of many.  He achieved his dream.  I laughed because it was funny while he made it safe to wake up to any path for producing change.  

In this current society, all manner of fascinating distractions have been manufactured to lead one astray.  They are offered up in many guises.  One need only open a newspaper or turn on a TV.  We are continuously bombarded with altered importance or fear & apathetic chemical solutions. 
Take a good hard look and see these distractions for what they are: DISTRACTIONS from your paths that would set you free.

There are countless barriers to Freedom, seemingly insurmountable barriers and problems.  Realize, too, what these are:  all part of the trap that would enslave a being.

Go ahead and reach your full spiritual potentials, where you will find the Truth for yourself.  But there is even more at stake.  The society in which we live is constructed to crush beings.  Witness the continuous turmoil within the societies of Earth.

The dramatization of the collective mind gains ground each moment.  Only the spiritual being can dispel the madness and knows truly Why.  And it is spiritual beings as a group, growing constantly in number, that will change the civilization itself.  

Choose and practice a spiritual path as that is the road out.  Gaia Community here is a beacon of sanity in an embattled world.  It is a spiritual sight that sets a stellar example of moving through the energies that trap spirituality. Step on a spiritual path and allow yourself through words that enlighen your universe to move up and beyond.  

Thanks for posting some hot topics.  I enjoyed reading everyone's comments and do use the word at times even though its more of a challenge to come up wit a better word in the moment.  We are a work in progress…

Well I am definitely a work in progress…

I have used a profanic word expression now and then…cough…they are very expressive :)

I am no angel? :)


I said Jesus! ….as an exclamation about 6 months ago…. and my 75 yr old mother said …

“Janie! I have never heard you talk like that!” (at 47 years old…)

I snickered to myself and thought to myself…”wow…saying the name of a God loving human is such a sin.” :)

I adore my mom.

We are all brought up to tame our expressions for various reasons. Some to the point of being repressive and some for socially appropriate reasons. Words are energy, and Meenakshi you are sensitive to it as many of us are.

I don't really care to read profanity myself, but a word here and there like you use in your blog feels ok to me. I think what bothers me more is when people discuss issues that walk the line of sexual inappropriateness, since children are allowed to access this site.
Children mimic adults. It is part of their learning…we must pay attention to what we say.
It's a fine line between repression and responsibility…Even though I prefer to let it ALL out….I feel responsibility is probably the correct way to use our words in public.

Fun blog…been wanting to tell about my 47 yr old scold :)

Love,

Janie

Swear words can be used like perfume.  A little dab here and there, and it creates interest … . spices things up in an emphatic way.  Being in the “presence” of someone whose every second word is f*** is a lot like getting on an elevator with someone who has doused themselves with “Axe” or Brittany Spears' “Curious.”  Subtly goes out the non-existent window, and you don't notice anything else about them.  Bam!  Right between the eyes. 

Excess profanity and too much cheap perfume have another thing in common.  They are a convenient “short-cuts.”  Need a shower, but don't have the time or inclination?  Out comes the cheap perfume.  Need to express your anger (or want attention or want to build a tough persona), but don't want to bother actually working at or through those things? Out come the swear-words. 

To borrow from the old ad for Brylcreem , , , “A little dab'll do ya.”  Good post, Meenakshi.  I think a lot of people are tired of the excess, but shrug it off as yet another sign that “Things are going to  'bleep' “   :-)”

lol I am just bold, don't forget I'm by definition a foreigner but I totally see myself as a plain old human and I, in truth, really enjoy the connections that I get from reaching out past my own expectations, which still exist. That fun supercedes the rest in my scheme. And while doing that, I can literally feel myself growing… that I also like quite a lot :D

I like that you are open to consider alternatives. That goes a long way towards your flow. You're doing great… for an ol' stick in the mud hahha

I should add that some of the most robust and energising conversations I have are with old people that have by that age decided to shake the images of propriety and get to basics. It's usually hilarious and explicit, but no need for vulgarity. It is possible to talk the serious stuff without having to go there. Indeed, on recollection, my grandmother's approach may have rubbed off on me as well of: 'Say what ya gotta say now, what are ya waiting for?' : )

Best, sherri

Great blog and catharsis here Meenakshi…glad you are able to cathart and am sending you all love,
Aley

“A little dab'll do ya.”

Laughing at otter…so cute :)

M, you are so sweet! I know I am a guilty party in using profanity in my blog every now and then, or even the hint of it. I always think twice about it, but sometimes it captures the heart of how I feel or what I wish to express. My relationship with language is ever evolving. It is the energy behind the words that makes me want to crawl in a hole or allows them to pass by unnoticed.

I have a dear friend who is from NYC, and he sprinkles the f-word in his speech like salt on french fries, but I hardly ever notice because it's just a filler word. There is no energy behind it that feels icky or unsafe.

And on the other hand, a non-cuss word can make me want to crawl out of my skin and hide in the ethers because it does have malice attached to it. The word 'stupid' used to be one of those for me because it was used abusively in my childhood.

It's a funny subject…I fell in love with my spiritual teacher the first time I heard him utter a cuss word. It made him real and approachable and not so far beyond the dealings of this planet that he would not understand where I was and be able to meet me there.

And yet I agree with you wholely that there is nothing more gracious and moving as words carefully explored and fit just-so.

What a great topic to explore! Thank you!
Love,
Shani

This-

Someone took time to give me space to read between their lines; to breathe between their words, to look for my own meanings in that space.

-took my breath away.

(((((((meenakshi)))))))

Thank you for expressing yourself (and a part of me as well) and providing this forum for such a great conversation. I was raised in a household much like you, M, and that sense of “decency” has remained with me throughout my life, for good and/or ill…

Apparently, the Puritanical roots of American Society blend well with my Indian roots of (what exactly?) as evidenced by the ratings code of the Motion Picture Association of America and the censorship of television…. I used to love watching The Actor's Studio and listening to the Q and A at the end of the interview and one question asked is, “What is your favorite curse word?” They always bleep that one out and I find myself oddly disappointed at not getting to hear someone's favorite curseword as they utter it… Here's one they didn't bleep out (apparently, it's okay to use a graphic curse when it's not uttered in English).

Thanks for this shared space to discuss the finer points of conversation, freedom of expression and sensitivity to other's senses of decency. It's a difficult field to get right, isn't it?
N