More Snow Melt

To Name a Few

This is my response to "Invalid Entry"  the Monday, May 4, 2009 leading entry for "Follow the Leader" .

The concept of names giving us power over something is intriguing and scary. However, how does one determine what a person’s true name is? Is an individual’s true name the one he or she receives at birth or what that name means.

All names have meanings; both a person’s first and last name has meaning derived from a specific cultural background. For instance, my first name means Snow, my middle name means Prosperous and my last name means either Bum or Where the Wild Things Live. So what is my true name? Is my true name it the names my parents gave me at birth? Is my true name the combined meanings of the names my parents gave me? On the other hand, is my true name something else entirely?

The thing that makes a human being human and differentiates the human species from the rest of creation is the human soul. Does the soul of an individual have a different name from the name given at birth to the body of the individual? I can’t answer this question. I’m not sure anyone can answer this question while living on the material plane. I think that is a question we will receive an answer to only after the body and soul separate at the body’s death.

In the mean time, we are stuck with the names given us at birth or with names we choose for ourselves. If a person chooses a name for him or herself, then that person has the choice of either going to court to make the chosen name his or her legal names or use an AKA (Also Know As) or Pen Name.

I just thought of another issues with a person’s true name giving the individual who knows it power. Most names are common, I use common in the sense that several different people have the same first, middle and last name. There are variations in the spelling of names, but even the variations are finite. Therefore, if someone named Sally or Joan has the same name as another Sally or Joan, then does the person knowing the true name have power over all the people named Sally and Joan or over one specific Sally or Joan? This is an intriguing question, sort of like visualizing the sound of one hand clapping.