Recently, I have been very observant of the sounds and the pitch of people’s voices in an attempt to understand their meaning. As in our previous post, we often misunderstand the meaning behind words because of the phonetic expression that’s construing them. This is precisely what causes us to misconstrue each other in communication. The word ‘phonetics’ is defined as: “the study and systematic classification of the sounds made in spoken utterance” (merriam-webster dot com). As you reflect on the different people that you talk with, reflect on how different ones make you feel. Do the people you engage in conversation with inspire you? Or do they depress you? If your answer is they do not inspire or depress you, this would indicate clearly that either they are wasting your time or you are wasting theirs and your own at the same time. How valuable and important is your time? How important are your thoughts and feelings?
The following is not meant to offend you in any way, but only to cause self-reflection within the science of very real phonetic communication. I have always found it interesting when people say they do not have anything to say. If we observe, or better yet, scientifically study the words “I don’t have anything to say”, does this mean that in the moment of this verbal expression you are ‘dumbfounded’? Dumbfounded, by definition, means: “to confound briefly and usually with astonishment” (merriam-webster dot com). In the Oxford Learner's Dictionary (dot com), the term ‘dumbfounded’ is defined as “unable to speak because of surprise”. Maybe it’s just me, but I have never heard the term dumbfounded used on toddlers and very young children. Maybe it’s because young children are so inspired and curious to learn different things that as it relates to their innate intelligence they are seldomly ever surprised since they are not found dumb. What then, in and with the progression of time, renders the intellectual senses dumb to the degree that once we become of an adult age, and now a days even in adolescence, we are slow to respond in speech and overall intellect to things and persons around us to the point where the most simple happenings dumbfinds us? This is to say, we are found dumb.
The most Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that ignorance was our number one enemy. Remember, ignorance is the state of mind that habitually ignores reality. Small children do not seem to ignore anything, so even before they can walk they are enthusiastic investigators of any and everything in their environment. And when they learn to talk, you’ll find it very difficult to get them to stop (LOL). As we get older and experience the various vicissitudes of life, reflect on when and how your sense for learning, investigating and discovering life itself began to wane. As vital intelligence begins to wane in our conscious minds, so does our vitality of life. It’s like looking and observing how elderly people slow down not just in their physical movement, but even in their verbal expression. It becomes obvious that the energy of life is waning.
When we see this in young adults, we find that they are either on illegal drugs or legal sedatives that stupefy their senses. If a person eats too much, the chemistry in different kinds of food, as well as their quantity can rob the body of the energy to move about. This is the same causative effect that certain foods and quantities have on your brain and its ability to think and respond effectively. Those of you who have practiced abstaining from food for more than 24 hours can bear witness that your senses became sharper when there was less food in your system redirecting the blood and light energy to digestion as opposed to that blood and vital energy directed to the brain for more effective and efficient processing. For this reason, fasting is prescribed for all of us who suffer ignorance as a result of lifestyle, diet and living environments that stupefy the senses. We are not dumb or stupid just because we’ve never been to an academic school in our community. We are dumbfounded and stupefied primarily as a result of poor nutritional diets that otherwise would fuel our intellectual existence that are wired by nature to learn from everything and everyone. Ghetto food, otherwise horrifically mistaken as soul food, dulls the physiological system preventing it from functioning correctly, which means that if your body is ill your brain function is slow or sluggish. There is an intimate connection between a sluggish body and it’s sludge contents.
If we want to revitalize our lives, there are two categories of food that we must consider:
One, the physical food that we put in our mouths must be live and full of nutrients, like fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains. In fact, for many of us a plant based diet is precise medicine to clean out sludge in the intestines and even in our blood. The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad said in his writings found in How to Eat to Live volumes 1 and 2, that no meat, not even fish, is best for us.
The second food that we must consider disciplining ourselves for consumption is the company that we keep in association with individuals that do not and currently cannot feed your mind. Edify yourself with good things that you feed your body and the people with whom you associate that feed your mind. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us to be quick moving and fast thinking, right down to the modern times.
Like the phonetic sound of the word “mind”, be careful with the people (and foods) with whom you share your time. 😇
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