Culture, Measurement, and Language
Nonfiction / Language and Physiology
Date Published: December 6, 2023
Publisher: Mindstir Media
One way to understand self is through the skeletal frame. Skeletal bones hold many secrets which can be unlocked to tell stories of humankind; they become lessons for life. This book provides four perspectives on bone: culture, measurement of bones and body postures, grammar, and bone names. Word roots and definitions related to bone vocabulary allow the reader to gain insight. A major theme is to know oneself-to develop self-awareness. What can a person learn about self from bones? This book accompanies each person on their quest to know themselves, whether or not on a conscious or subconscious level. The current popularity of DNA kits that are being sold today-as well as the many websites offering assistance to people delving into their ancestry-validate this. Whether it is to delve into possible hereditary health conditions or to locate relatives and forge a connectedness to others in the world around them, people want to learn more about themselves. Bones provide such framework, for body and self.
INTRODUCTION
Words in this book are methodically explored with their
etymologies and definitions to reveal the fundamental nature of the skeletal
structure. See Method of Word Exploration below.
Before exploring bone names culture, bone as symbol,
correlations in grammar and sentence structure, and measurements and growth of
the skeletal frame are presented. This book has four parts. The first part
discusses bone as symbol and as an integral part of cultural beliefs and
practices. The second part introduces the relationship of language and grammar
to bone names. The third part shows how everyday language is related to
measurement of bone. The last part presents an exploration of the meaning of the
names of bones in the body. The four parts of this book are like sets of
skeletal keys that can be used to develop body awareness. Each set of keys
opens up a greater understanding of self.
The quest to “Know Self” is just one of several wisdom
precepts integral to understanding the “Lessons” presented in this book.
Knowing self is key to promoting wisdom. Another precept, “Know thy measure,”
is related to passages that state man is made in the image of God. St. Bernard
of Clairvaux (circa 1090-1153), founder of the Cistercian order sates, “What is
God? He is length, width, height, and depth.” Knowing self through measurement
is a way to, at least, begin to understand the Creator.
Humankind, in many
world paradigms, is made in the image of the Creator, and therefore is him/her
self a Temple, a Holy and Sacred body. The human can recognize measurement as
an attempt to know self, compared to other. Pythagoras, the 6th cent. BCE Grk
philosopher and mathematician states that all is number. Geometry is part of
the field of mathematics. Since geometry can be defined as a measure of the
Earth and the heavens, and humans are of the Earth, geometry also applies to
the “measure of Man.” Geometry as fixed measures also reveal implied continuous
motion of angles and dimensions. There are standards of measurements that are
recognized as criteria for normal development. Bone growth development of an
individual as measured in height and body proportions has recognized standards.
Measurement of growth of the skeletal structure is vital data as part of
cultural values including medical evaluations. Words related to human posture
are explored. This represents one’s stance in life at any given time.
How does a person measure him/her self? What standards are
applied to self or other? What is my capacity to judge something? What
constitutes my ruler? When is it wrong to measure through comparisons? Am I
competent to measure? The answers to these questions are part of the quest to
know self, down to the very bones in the body.
About the Author
Lois Liggett is a retired physical therapist and a world traveler. She worked in Japan in 1990 as a geriatric rehabilitation consultant. She has an M.A. in gerontology and a B.S. in physical therapy from Russell Sage College. She has an avid interest in the interface of language with mythology, religion, and spirituality. She developed a method she calls “spiritual linguistics” to find common and essential meanings of a nomenclature using word roots and definitions. Her first book, Decoding Norse Myths with Pet Ravens, published by Mindstir Media, LLC in 2021, reflects this linguistic method, as does this book, Bone (& Body) Lessons.
Contact Links
Social media @rootedtongue
Purchase Link
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