“WORDS”

Last night, we (the team of nullity.nl) were discussing a fundamental question: What are “words” really?

We communicate through words, but do we truly understand the impact they have on us? Words shape our perception of reality, we communicate with words expressing our thoughts, our feelings and so on.

But animals and plants communicate without them, and you don’t see them engaging in wars or heated debates—could that be because they don’t use words?

Why do we so readily believe that something is real just because words tell us so? This is exactly what ACIM warns against—Lesson 1 reminds us: Nothing I see MEANS anything. And yet, through words, we constantly assign meaning to everything around us, reinforcing the illusion instead of seeing beyond it.

For example: What is the meaning of the word ‘government’? Why did we “invented” this word? So not just as a political structure, but as a word—an idea, a symbol, a vibration that brings something into being.

Let’s explain it step by step…first in etymology: What is the word “government” made of?

The word government comes from: – govern – from the Latin gubernare, meaning “to steer” or “to control.”

– ment – a suffix from Latin -mentum, indicating a process or state of being.

So, government literally means “the process of steering or controlling.”

But here’s the interesting part: who is being steered, and who is doing the steering?

When we ‘believe’ in government, we accept the idea that something outside of us is in control. But ACIM teaches that nothing outside of us has power unless we give it power by ‘believing’ in it. So is government a real structure, or is it just a thought-form made “real” through believing and repetition?

Imagine waking up one morning and saying: I need a government!

In that very moment, you create a need where none existed before. The concept of government is a self-fulfilling prophecy—it only exists because we say and believe it does.

This is the great illusion: We invent a system to manage a problem that we first created in our own minds. ACIM teaches that the ego thrives on solving problems that don’t exist—what better example than government, which is built to control something that, without belief, would have no need for control?

If no one spoke the word government, if no one believed in its necessity, would it still exist? Or would it fade like a dream, never having been real in the first place?

Let’s play with this idea in a simple dialogue. Imagine two friends, Alex and Jordan, discussing government in the context of ACIM.

Alex: “I think we need a government to keep everything in order.”

Jordan: “Order? From what?”

Alex: “From chaos! If no one’s in charge, it’s chaos!”

Jordan: “So… you believe in chaos?”

Alex: “Well… no. But without laws, people would do whatever they want.”

Jordan: “And what if what they want is peace and cooperation?”

Alex: “Uh… well, people need rules.”

Jordan: “Says who?”

Alex: “The government!”

Jordan: “And who created the government?”

Alex: “We did.”

Jordan: “So… we created something to tell us what to do, and now we obey it?”

Alex: “That sounds… kind of ridiculous.”

Jordan: “Now you’re getting it.”

If government exists only because we say it does, what else in this world is just a word-made-reality? Money? Time? Laws? Countries? Opinions?

ACIM invites us to go beyond words—to experience reality as silence, truth, and infinite being. Words are like labels we put on the vast ocean of awareness, but they can never capture what is real. The moment you stop believing in the label, the illusion it represents fades away.

So, if the word government is just a label, a structure we invented, why not replace it with a new word? Maybe cooperation, unity, or simply love? Because in truth, nothing needs to be governed—except, perhaps, our own thoughts.

Every time we use a word, we reinforce an idea. The question is: Are we using words to create freedom, or to reinforce illusions?

The next time you hear the word government, take a step back. See it for what it is—a construct, an idea that only exists because we repeat it. And then ask yourself: What would happen if I stopped?

After all, if the world is a dream, perhaps it’s time to wake up and govern your own awakening.

As always.. remember: “Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists.”

With love and light,

G.