What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
William Shakespeare

The only things worth saying are those things that are unsayable.
Mark Nepo

It is our duty to transcend words and concepts to be able to encounter reality.
Thich Nhat Hanh

What’s in a name? There are currently more than 7000 languages being spoken by human beings on this planet. Some of these languages are spoken by very small groups of people and will die out of human conversation in the near future. Letters, syllables, words, phrases, sentences…language is the primary way in which we humans communicate, convey our thoughts, describe our environment, our feelings and what’s happening to us.

Each word conveys a particular perception. Each perception is a product of our bodily senses that perceive the world around us, which is then conveyed to our brains and becomes an image, then a word. The words we use also are influenced by the way our parents used language to describe their perceptions, and by our education, our culture, our religion, etc. If I say the word, ‘tree,’ it will bring to my mind a totally different image than in anyone else’s mind, because each of us has very different nuances of perception. For the fun of it, ask several people you know to describe in detail exactly what they ‘see’ in their mind when you say the word ‘tree,’ (or ask them to make a drawing of their concept of ‘tree.’) Then, for more fun, ask them to do the same when you say, ‘pine tree.’

What’s in a name? GOD: such a small English word that conveys so little and yet is imbued with so much! Dios, Allah, Yahweh, Gott, Gud, Bondye; each language has a word for what humans perceive to be the ground and source of our beingness. In ancient Hebrew, the Tetragrammaton, YHVH, for God was unspeakable, so many other names were used to try to describe him/her.

I have a wonderful reflection book by Joyce Rupp, Fragments of Your Ancient Name, 365 glimpses of the Divine for Daily Meditation. Each day brings a new name/phrase for God over which to ponder. The old and new testaments of the Bible have 600+ names for God. There are 1000 names for God in the Hindu Vedic writings. There is the Muslim practice of reading and meditating upon the 99 names for God. Matthew Fox states that “the ancient texts of Buddhism say that God has a million faces.” Why do we humans think we can define God by any one name? Why do we think we can define the undefinable at all?

If God is the moon, each name for God is only a finger pointing at the moon. As humans, we can only be still, be open, and be present to the Presence deep within ourselves and all creation in order to experience the tiniest bit of what God is. To try to express the inexpressible is a futile effort, yet we must try to do so, for in naming God we name something inherently true about ourselves. It is only by personally experiencing God that we can even think about naming God. We must recognize that all names, all concepts, all words, and all perceptions that all humans have of God fall far, far short of the true reality of God. And yet, we must allow ourselves to be open to the many names of God that come into our hearts and consciousness. We must allow ourselves to be open to the many names we humans have for God. All are valid if they come through personal experiences of God’s presence. Knowledge of God can only be experiential!

How have you experienced God? How would you put your personal experiences of God into words?

There is a wonderful hymn, “God, Beyond All Names” by Bernadette Farrell. The refrain says, “All around us we have known you, all creation lives to hold you. In our living and our dying we are bringing you to birth.” The verses start “God beyond our dreams, God beyond all names, God beyond all words, God beyond all time.” Look it up and sing it. See what arises in you.

May you experience more and more names for the Presence in All.

-Rita Simon