There was a legendary Italian mountain climber named Walter Bonatti. Among many astounding achievements, he made the first direct ascent of the North Face of the Matterhorn. Solo. In the winter. He became a solitary climber after being ostracized by the climbing community, after being falsely accused of causing another climber's death. In his book, The Mountains of My Life, he said that when he found himself alone, in a do-or-die situation on a difficult route, high up on the sheer side of a mountain, he "made assertions to myself about myself."
These kind of assertions are doings that have power because they emanate from sovereign being. They can be inwardly or outwardly directed. When directed inwardly, they cultivate being. When outwardly directed, they can bend external reality to one’s intent.
It has been said that specific words or word combinations such as mantras have power due to their physical vibration when they are uttered. This may be true but in my experience I’ve found that what matters more is the vibrancy of one’s inner being. This vibrancy is more of a feeling than a thought, more about being than doing. The doing of the assertion, via thought or word, is the directing or focusing of the power of one’s being toward a specific intention. If an assertion is made with words, the words matter little compared to the intention behind them. Even the simple statements “So be it” or “This is the way” would suffice. The life changing assertion I made in Brazil was expressed as simply “It doesn’t have to be this way.” What mattered was that the words emanated from my being, not my superficial self, my egoic persona.
In my opinion, a perfect example of a seemingly banal assertion is depicted in The Matrix Revolutions film. Neo had awoken in the Mobil Ave. train station, a construct at the border between the virtual reality known as The Matrix and the real world. He tried to leave the station by jumping onto the tracks and running into the tunnel. But when he emerged from the tunnel, he found himself back in the same station. He was caught in a loop.
Instead of panicking, he calmed himself and sat on a bench.
He uttered his assertion, “Okay. You got yourself in here. You can get yourself out.” Then he exhaled, closed his eyes and centered himself in his being.
His consciousness entered an altered state, wherein he glimpsed the power conduits underlying the construct.
When he opened his eyes, his gaze was intense.
He was intending a timeline traversal, bending reality. A moment later an unscheduled train entered the station. When it stopped, its doors opened and out stepped his love, Trinity.
Before Neo’s act of power, scenes were shown which seemed to explain how Trinity had gained access to the train station by threatening the Merovingian, who controlled the station. It seemed as though her efforts led to Neo’s rescue and indeed they had on that timeline. But Neo traversed to that timeline. Trinity's backstory became the context for Neo's present-now. I don’t know if this interpretation reflects the film writer’s intentions, but it accurately reflects my own experiences.
I prefer to use the word assertion to describe such an act of power rather than the commonly used term affirmation. The latter term has been watered down, it seems to me, to the point where it is confused with a mere wish. An assertion’s power comes from one’s being which has been cultivated with the knowing that what is intended already exists and is certain to be experienced when one’s now-focus traverses to it. That knowing has been called faith; I prefer positive expectancy because the biblical meaning of faith has also been watered down.
“If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” — Matthew 17:20
Another word that has been watered down is promise (or vow). It used to be that a person's word was a solemn commitment.
Businessmen, they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None will level on the line
Nobody offered his word— Bob Dylan, All Along The Watchtower
Nowadays, words can be spoken casually and later taken back without even an explanation or apology, much less restitution for harm caused. Tolkien imagined another world where one's spoken word was backed by one's very life.
We are truth-speakers, we men of Gondor. We boast seldom, and then perform, or die in the attempt. "Not if I found it on the highway would I take it," I said. Even if I were such a man as to desire this thing, and even though I knew not clearly what this thing was when I spoke, still I should take those words as a vow, and be held by them. — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Faramir’s words had power because, in his culture, when a word is spoken it carries the weight of an assertion, it is a life-or-death matter.
The shaman Don Juan Matus taught that we should regard every choice as a life-or-death matter, because each choice could, in fact, mean the difference between life and death. There is nothing like the honest acknowledgement that our life could end in the next minute, to bring our attention into the now-moment, to set aside our self-absorbed egoic persona which thinks it will live forever and to make sovereign choices from our being. Don Juan called this practice using death as an adviser. Such a practice may sound morbid, but an hour lived this way is richer than years of life lived as a persona, a presentation, rather than a being engaged in doing. Don Juan called this impeccability. Paradoxically, when one is honest about one’s impending death, one loses fear of death. Death is merely a traversal. Don Juan said, “Forget the self and you will fear nothing, in whatever level of awareness you find yourself to be.”
Assertions have been a daily part of my spiritual practice for decades. I have a repertoire of them for different circumstances. Here are a few of my favorites:
Assertions to the self about the self:
“I am a child of creation. I am unique. I am worthy.”
“I am supported. I am guided. I am loved”
“I am the light. I am the love. I am the truth. I am.”
Assertions to traverse timelines, to bend reality:
“I got myself into this. I can get myself out.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way.”
“Circumstances don’t matter. Only state-of-being matters.”
Remember, what gives an assertion power is that it emanates from your being with total conviction of its truth. If current circumstances seem to belie the assertion, then assert the existence of another now-moment where it is true, and relish the abundance that has been prepared for you. The more power you have, the sooner you will traverse to that now-moment. Power is accrued by living life impeccably. Give your best to each choice, each act. Act like you don't have enough time left to do other otherwise. If you do live your life this way, you will:
“Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour.” — William Blake
Thank you. There's so much in this worthy of consideration. I often think of how the degradation of our civilization is so fully linked to our relationship to words. It used to matter when someone - particularly a public servant, lied for instance, it was a stain on their character, that came with real consequence, and now we expect they will lie. The right use of words, how what we say is or isn't linked to what we do - when all that is no longer important, we've lost a fundamental piece of individual and social contracts. Now words are fully weaponized and politicized and used to obfuscate rather than clarify meaning. A sure sign we're at end of an age. I appreciate the post.
A favorite assertion I use: Grace and ease go before me and follow in my wake.
Wonderful. Thank you.