Three Mind-bending Words That Changed My Life

Some things cannot be explained no matter how we may try. Even with advancements in technology, a blood test cannot explain what caused one’s rare and deadly disease. Because it’s medical science, a grim diagnosis is accepted without understanding the “why”.

For those of us who experience mystical events that lack scientific explanation, no such acceptance exists. Sharing these experiences generally invites condemnation and ridicule—or worse, rage. But there are those who take interest and pay attention, realizing there’s something meaningful to gain.

As the world continues to spin toward hell in its own whirlwind of ignorance and insanity, perhaps telling some of these stories will bring others to the table of reason.

I’m an ordinary American citizen who believes in a higher power. By higher power I mean a superior, benevolent force that wants only the best for us all—yes, all—and works toward that end in so far as it can through our personal willingness. I believe this because I experience it every day.

My personal journey into this “invisible benevolence” began when three words magically surfaced and phonetically burst into the quiet privacy of my mind.

I’m used to a familiar song breaching my busy mind without provocation, but hearing a word you don’t understand is like a lightning strike. Yet, this still, small voice, as it’s often called, chose to deliver 3 words that were completely unfamiliar to me. But in discovering each word’s definition, it became clear they collectively aimed to alter the course of my life.

The first word unfolded slowly, syllable by syllable, like beautiful petals opening on a rare flower: me-ta-noi-a. I pictured how it might be spelled with the letter y instead of an i, but in the end, I couldn’t find “metanoia” in my 2100-page Webster’s dictionary. If it did exist, it wasn’t part of the common English language.

The year was 1997. Google didn’t exist yet, nor did millions of blogs, online books, and other niche information resources, but with determination, I was surprised to learn that “metanoia” is a real word that originates in the Greek language.

“Metanoia” was used initially in early Christianity and is still used in theology today to express the transformative change of heart that inspires one to connect deeply with righteous ways that are rooted in love, and turn away from behaviors that fail the common good of humanity.

Turning toward love is ultimately a realignment of one’s soul toward its greatest destiny, and this realignment, or metanoia, alters the course of one’s life.

Prior to this lightning strike, I had been a political operative and had also just concluded a hapless primary Congressional race. Nothing seemed wrong in my life, but nothing felt right either. The world was a spinning top losing its principled momentum, and I had no means to alter its course. That weighed heavily on me and kept my own mind spinning at night. Maybe I was the one who needed a transformation.

It was on such a sleepless night that I caught wind of the second word: “ex cathedra.” It entered quietly but clearly, begging me to question its meaning, though I reasoned I had slipped into that semi-dream state that conflates all kinds of odd images and words. But my curiosity nagged me out of bed.

Fortunately, I found “ex cathedra” in my large dictionary, and learned it’s a Latin phrase that literally means “from the chair,” referring to a Pope’s authority to express a spiritual truth from his throne. But it also refers to having authority or speaking with it. But now I was beginning to wonder why I was hearing these odd, ancient words. Was I going crazy?

Without missing a beat, a response came, gently, kindly, lovingly: “You must be inconcussible.” This was the third word that would begin to change the course of my life and lift it with purpose.

You won’t find “inconcussible” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Actually, I couldn’t find it anywhere back then, but thanks to further digging and the Oxford English dictionary, I learned the word is now obsolete and its last recorded use was in the early 1700s. Today’s synonyms are “unshakeable,” “unbreakable,” or “unperturbed.”

Put together, the words I heard felt like candles put before me to light my way in a darkened world. I also felt this invisible benevolence (call it god, angels, loving kindness, or whatever you like) was making itself real and known to me by delivering a small sample of its light which held my attention.

It was a visitation with a language lesson, and a summons to be open to change and walk in lockstep with its higher purpose, otherwise known as metanoia. It offered its credential as an invisible authority with the power to speak ex cathedra. Finally, it provided a warning that my path forward would require me to be strong and inconcussible.

Being optimistic about my life, I imagined only positive outcomes resulting from such change and never could have predicted the enormous blessings and challenges that lay ahead.

More on that in future posts.