Language Beyond Words

Looking at shadow beliefs around language, especially for those who are neurodivergent or suffering on the margins.

A “shadow belief" is at the level of community, and it is often accepted as fact or simply taken for granted as a base assumption. Absent questioning, these beliefs can push people to the margins and contribute to significant struggle. Therefore, it’s important to occasionally step into the seemingly obvious and assess the accuracy of what we are telling ourselves.

I am an artist and a contemplative monastic who has endured suffering both through chronic illness as well as the traumatic events that caused PTSD earlier in life. Stripped of my words in the wake of a traumatic brain injury in 2011, I discovered the vast language of color through synesthesia and communication through painting. I am an Acquired Savant as a result of the accident and therefore Neurodivergent. My story is on my website www.bluephoenixart.com.

I now live with chronic illness and my brain works differently. Frankly, I love my new brain! have maintained my expanded view of language because I believe it’s essential that our culture expand beyond the narrow neurotypical to incorporate the vast genius of an increasingly neurodivergent world.

Now if only I could heal this chronically ill body….. I’m working on it!

What I know of illness, disability, injury and suffering, is that survivors often struggle to find their VOICE. I hear it over and over again from people in a variety of circumstances — the struggle to find words is extraordinary. Then i learned that the language center is directly affected by trauma, and it all made sense. Yet the mainstream culture expects survivors to articulate themselves immediately and in appropriate ways. When they can’t, they are made to feel “less than.” This is unacceptable.

We live at a time when words are given greater meaning than symbols, where we take for granted the vast array of language that is accessible to the imaginative, creative and divinely inspired human mind.

This limited shadow belief system can be observed at all levels of our culture, from the educational system to the corporate world to the power structures that rule nations. We see it throughout religion, where greater meaning is assigned to the Words of the Bible, as opposed to the vast physical manifestation of God throughout all of Creation (Cosmos as scripture).

While this narrow definition of language is sufficient for the majority of the neurotypical populous, it is the people on the margins – the very people suffering and/or living with a neurodivergent mind – that often lack the ability to express their truth.

Thus, the entire notion of communication and expression must be redefined, in addition to the value associated with words as language. Art, poetry, music, color, intuition, and contemplation are all valuable methods of facilitating a deeper discourse.

I find that I am continuously anchoring this alternative view in which other forms of communication are essential and valuable aspects of the theological discourse. The “lie” or the “shadow” is still very much present as I struggle to hold onto the value of artistic expression as a means of communicating theological ideas far too complex for the spoken word. I find myself struggling to be a “good girl” – to attempt to flatten my insights into linear language - in order to try to fit into the prevailing culture; yet doing so feels entirely contrary to why I am exploring theology in the first place. This is the danger of the lie, where those that are different or neurodivergent become marginalized and/or contort themselves to “fit in.”

I am fortunate enough to be able to communicate this very issue using words. It has been a long time coming. That said, there are far too many that simply cannot do the same. We must become aware that there is incredible value to the language being spoken on the margins. It is simply incumbent upon each of us to learn to LISTEN.