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 (Photo by Kenneth E. Norton)

Scent of Light Episode

by Ken Norton

The Word

Original Broadcast on July 22, 2018, with repeat on July 26, 2020 (This was edited to add Scent of Light (SOL) to the introduction, as this episode was produced before SOL was chosen as the name for the series).

 Recording for Radio Spotlight Magazine with host Andre' Marc

Transcript

This is Ken Norton and for this 5-minute segment of the Scent of Light I look at our reliance on the Word.

There are over 780,000 words in the Bible, and about 78,000 words in the Koran. There are about 4,500 words in the US Constitution and over 22 million words in the US Code of Law. There are 750,000 to 1 million words in the growing English language.

To prove a point one can use any number of words from a number of sources. A citation from the Bible will give a hue of religious authority. A citation from the US Constitution will give a hue of national government authority. A citation from a cook book will give a hue of culinary authority. There is a word for everything, and a word waiting to be created for something new.

One would think we have understanding under control with all these words, yet we continued to be baffled as the mystery of life surprises us with yet another experience of the unfamiliar, that is somehow common. My mentor William Hermanns wrote the following poem in his 85th year.

My Mystery

The I Am is a mystery:
From the uncreated flows the word,
and the word is Mystery.
It has no beginning, no end.
My I Am is a part of mystery.
If my I Am had a name,
awe would forbid me to write it down.

My I Am is sent
to walk the earthly road for awhile.
Though wretched the load
and sackcloth on my skin,
my hope is not spent.
I walk on and smile —
inexhaustible my spiritual wealth within.

William Hermanns

This poem is archived at www.williamhermanns.com. 

I used words to write a poem a couple of years ago about the Word. Allow me to read it:

Word

In the beginning was the word,
the word was with God, the word was God,
writes John with some words.
Yet word is a symbol to communicate meaning among humans
objectification exists with the word
therefore the search back to oneself
never to find as long as one seeks it in the word
for the word will say here or there
us and them
God and us.
In the beginning of warring times was the word
our God and their god,
us and them,
rah rah team,
beat them.
There is a time out of word,
a time of stillness,
no word, no sentence,
a time to breathe
and release emotion
a time of sound with no meaning and lots of feeling
a time of plenty for all
and a sense of all in each I.

I have posted this poem on my website www.kennethenorton.com. You can contact me through this site. This is Ken Norton, thanks for listening.

                About the Author and Producer

Ken Norton earned his master's degree in Materials Science from Stanford University as the Vietnam War was ending. During that time Ken served as the personal assistant to a poet/sociologist Dr. William Hermanns as he prepared his writings for publication, exposing Ken to not only the sciences but also the humanities and comparative religion for making conscious and conscionable choices.

Ken is a regular contributor to Radio Spotlight Magazine with his episodes on the Scent of Light. Ken lives in Santa Rosa with his life partner Elaine and their little dog Rosey.

Ken Norton in practice of Tai Chi Chuan

 2018 Photo by Elaine B. Holtz

I co-produce Women's Spaces Show with my loving partner and its host Elaine B. Holtz. Take a visit.  All the shows are archived on the website.

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I am the Trustee and Archivist. Visit the website I built in honor of my mentor.

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Be still and know,
We're in the flow
Of Love to grow
From seeds we sow.*

                    Kenneth E. Norton

* stanza from his poem Intuition's Joy