Symbols of Expression
Excerpt from Schizophrenia, Alfred J. Parker
Mind is an analytical power which works through the power of deduction and comparison, which can come only through reason and logic. To cut a long story short: it matters not what Consciousness is, but how does it manifest, by what means and form? The answer is simple: There could be no thought, action, or awareness, without the means to form words and sentences; and to express any inner or higher power of Conscious Intelligence one must have the means to think and speak and reason. This is called the alphabet. We all know that Consciousness is higher and greater than its symbols that give it expression, but we in our ignorance must approach God through the means of intelligence—the symbols of the alphabet.
Even a musician must use the alphabet through the keyboard of the piano to express a musical composition. It is the same with mind; it cannot express without the use of alphabetical symbols; even though one may not read and write, he still must use the alphabet with which to speak.
We are told in Free Masonry that, "Everything lies veiled in numbers"; another saying is: "Numbers are the pathway to God." We cannot see God, but we can scan his works.
When the question of mind comes up, too little attention is paid to the means of conscious expression, language; it is the only means of translation from impulses to thought and expression—positively the only one.
When a child is born and takes a first breath, there is a natural conjunction of two different planes: that of the physical, and that of the abstract, or that which gives life through the breath to allow the child to be an independent living entity, although not a conscious one. The latter can come only through the attachment of the Power of the Word or language to the brain cells of the child through association of the name.
Thus is language the symbol of intelligence. It is the direct connection between the source of intelligence and the human brain. Perhaps we should understand much more about language than we do. It is only as a musician understands the theory of the notes— A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and the mathematics of the stave in music—that he is able to create harmony and balance. Perhaps, as we understand how to bring harmony and balance into human mind through the only known means, language, through the name, will we be able to eliminate schizophrenia and other discords from the earth.
You very often wonder how the minds and intelligence of children are so diversified, even in the same family; how some children can be made to obey, whilst others are incorrigible. Yes! Language, referred to in the Scripture as the Power of the Word, has a great deal more influence in human existence than is generally understood.
It is said that millions of songs have been written from the one octave of music. Millions of human symphonies have been composed from the alphabet, but rarely are they harmonious or balanced; the discords are the human degeneration, sickness, disease, insanity, and all the errors of human mind. Language is the symbology of life.