The 7 Words System

We all get confused from time to time, some of us even live in a constant state of uncertainty about what’s happening and what to do about it. Inevitably this creates anxiety and stress, and usually leads to regrettable decisions.

The 7 Words System is a way to deal with this. It is surprisingly deep and effective considering how simple it is, all we have to do is remember to use it – at least once we have learned the basics. Its beauty lies in its simplicity; here it is…

The 7 Words System

In all occurrences, there are 7 and only 7 things to take into account, and we can understand what they are by using these 7 primary words: No, Hello, Thanks, Goodbye, Please, Sorry, and Yes.

In every single situation, we will be able to see better what is going on, and what problems there are, by doing a quick study from the 7 Words perspective. Then we can come up with an answer and more easily move forward.

Each of these 7 primary words have 4 keywords to unlock the deeper, hidden meaning of them-

Image from jamesburgess.com

No

Defines boundaries, develops clarity, and determines the scope of a situation so that we know exactly what are we dealing with. So very often the reason that we have no solution is quite simply because we have not clearly defined the problem in simple measurable terms. We imagine all manner of possibilities that are fantasies of the worried mind.

Hello

Expands the horizons of our perceptions and thoughts, helping us to consider new information, meet and consult with new people, and take on new ways to see things. If we look for a way out then we will usually find one, and that what we thought of as an impossible problem, another person sees as a ‘piece of cake’.

Thanks

Engages appreciation, softens the atmosphere, and enables us to feel more centered in the heart. The heart is not only soft, it is also strong; it creates solutions in a very subtle way. Yet we need to engage its strength, and we do this by feeling and showing gratitude for what we have, rather than disappointment over what we think we have not.

Goodbye

Brings resolution, decision, and movement – so that we do not get fearful and stuck in habitual patterns of negativity and boredom. It is not always the end of involvement; it can just be the end of a stage of involvement and the transformational move to the next level.

Please

Is used to seek to collaborate, to marry up what we want with what another person wants, and thus develop the power of synergy. It combines supplication with specificity. We need to ask for exactly what we want with an attitude of modest expectancy rather than forlorn hope. It is not the same as begging.

Sorry

Is said to repair the damage done when we have been too assertive or insensitive and caused a backlash that blocks our way forward. If it is to be effective then it must be said sincerely and with feeling. It includes remorse and also probably recompense.

Yes

Is to indicate our willingness to go with the flow, to accept that which we cannot change, and to trust that things always turn out well in the end. It ranges from reluctant permission to devoted surrender.

The system can be applied to absolutely anything. Let’s look at an example – meeting someone special.

At first, when meeting a stranger, we are naturally guarded in some way, a little careful with our words, protective of ourselves, and inclined to back away from too intimate a level of physical touch.

This is No. It carries an atmosphere of cool seriousness. Then we will probably exchange opinions and information. In this casual interaction we get to know each other a little bit on the surface level.

This is Hello. It is light and relatively inconsequential in any particular sense, although collectively it creates community and enables the everyday workings of routine life. It is also the first level of friendship.

Even though we would be willing to say Hello to almost anyone, over time some of them, especially those who appear in our lives more frequently, become a bit special because they are easier for us to deal with. We find ourselves more relaxed with them as they become more familiar.

We might make gestures to indicate this – for example a smile, a touch or doing them a small favor. We come to appreciate their company and grow to like them, having warm feelings that can touch the heart.

This is the Thank You stage. These stages take time, it could be months or years, yet it could also be a few minutes on a Friday night with a drink in hand; nonetheless, if we look for them then we will find that the stages are marked quite clearly.

Goodbye is next. Obviously, the more normal meaning of the word is to finish involvement and have no more to do with the person, and indeed that may well be the next thing that occurs, which would bring us back to another cycle of No, Hello, and Thanks.

But there is also implied here the idea of moving forward, by saying ‘Goodbye’ to a chapter of the story because there has been a dimensional shift.

In a romantic relationship, for example, there are various Goodbye moments whenever something occurs that is a game-changer: first date, first kiss, first night, first fight. This Goodbye process is a tricky one, a real examination of commitment and ‘willingness-to-share’ which always means stepping up, getting closer, and therefore giving up a degree of freedom in at least one area of life.

As Goodbye moments are successfully handled, what arises is the merging of purposes. Two people begin to share more and more of their personal visions and ambitions. They help one another and usually co-create a shared project.

Often this is the raising of a family, building a home, and indeed a whole future together.

Please is the magic word that makes it likelier that someone will help us fulfil our goals.

The word Sorry is a big challenge for many people, especially when pride gets in the way – sometimes it really does seem to be the hardest word. If we are uncaring or insensitive, we are certain to cause resentment with some person at some point. Then our purposes will be blocked, we will have made an obstacle, even an enemy. Saying Sorry goes a long way towards dealing with this.

People skilled in the first 6 words usually find the 7th easy. We can say Yes to life much more readily when we have no confusion or doubts, social skills, and supportive friends, no fear of progression, and the ability to rectify our mistakes without causing permanent upset. ‘Yes’ shows faith and optimism and usually brings adventure and enthusiasm.

The system is quite new in its current form – but its origins go back a long way. Various paths of mysticism have taught that existence can be seen as having 7 dimensions.

In Sufism these are called the 7 Planes of Consciousness, and the 7 Words System has been derived from that teaching.

Its applications are wide. It has been used extensively for personal profiling, relationship counseling, and personal development, and yet it is also currently in use in the business world for project management, decision-making, and feedback analysis. It is a neutral model and is universally appropriate.

As we study each of the primary words, we come to see that despite their simplicity and seeming lack of ambiguity there is actually a lot of misunderstandings and even confusion about their core meanings.

We can learn a lot to refine the clarity of our thinking by studying this method. To learn more, check out my Practical Guide to the 7 Word System.

This post is written by James Burgess, a writer and teacher of astrology. He is the creator of the 7 Words System.

James is a writer living in Ireland with a background in Sufism and has been a teacher and counsellor in astrology since the 1980s. He is the originator of the 7 Words System, a universal cosmology with applications in all fields of life, and the founder of various camps in England, Germany, Baltic States and Russia, in particular the celebrated Unicorn Camps.

He has published works on Sufism, Sabian Symbols and 7 Words and is currently working on a commentary about Dane Rudhyar’s contribution to Sabian Symbols.