The Simplest Message

A Wrinkle in Time – a metaphysical story?

As a young girl I eagerly read Madeleine L’Engle’s award-winning book, “A Wrinkle in Time“. I forget now whether it was assigned as school work or a book I discovered with the help of the school librarian at Park Elementary School in Dover, Ohio. I do remember the story line, the imagery I conjured as I read it and the feelings I carried with me into adulthood from reading it.

I have seen the movie and like it, too but it does differ somewhat in its imagery and I found myself desiring to revisit the original experience from reading it, so I borrowed the audio book version from our local library.

With a 30 to 45-minute commute each way to work, I am able to listen each day to about an hour of the book and with a mixture of sadness that it was over and delight that I had the whole experience once again, I finished the audio book on my way home from work on Thursday, February 14, 2019.

It was apropos, I realized, that I finished this book on Valentine’s Day as the core message of the story was something taught in metaphysical studies and some religions across the world: that LOVE is the only answer to the challenges in life – no matter what they are; no matter how big and scary they appear.

Upon this realization, I have added A Wrinkle in Time (the movie) to my list of Metaphysical Movies that help to teach the principles of spiritual living in a modern context.

As I wallowed in the sheer delight of revisiting this old friend and pondered the enlightened lesson I felt emerging from its core, my thoughts turned to the challenges of using LOVE as the answer the to problems we encounter in life: personal, professional or larger.

When we look at a person (or persons) who is ruining something that we hold dear, it can be harder than hard to love them. We may be able to get to the point of neutrality, where we wish them no ill, and stop fantasizing about their demise; but can we ever truly LOVE them and wish them well as they destroy what we cherish? That’s a tall order on the human scale – even for spiritual warriors.

In revisiting the plot and character evolution from the story, I saw the ending in a new light. Meg did not have to love IT to rescue her little brother; she simply had to reconnect with her love of Charles Wallace to break the hold that IT had on him.

Hmmmm,…

When Meg focused on IT, she was angry, frustrated, frightened; to have asked her to consider loving IT would have been a wholly different story – likely with a very different ending.

I began to think about situations and circumstances in my life where a malevolent force emerged and took over something that I cherished and loved. As evolved as I believe myself to be, I can say that it would be hard even now for me to feel LOVE for the ITs that embedded their tentacles into workplaces, neighborhoods, churches/centers, communities and other situations and changed them negatively. But is that truly what is needed?

While we can move into the space where we leave retribution to the Universe, I wonder if the next step is less about forcing ourselves to love the ITs and more about loving what it is that was there before the “…most horrible, the most repellent thing…more nauseating then anything…ever imagined…” showed up?

When a new CEO or VP turns our once-wonderful workplace into a hellhole, we can love the camaraderie we once shared; we can love the good times we remember; we can love the feelings we had about going to work when it was a wonderful place. We may not be able to rekindle that in the same environment, but that doesn’t mean it is lost forever (there are many other places to work!). When a new neighbor breaks up the old gang, and sews discord and dissent, we can love the memories of our community and experiences and we can assemble a new gang in a different community that shares the good and has learned the lessons from the negative experiences.

We don’t have to embrace the IT – and it is instructive to know that some ITs will never transform with our love but will subsume us into their darkness. But we must not despair! This does not mean that have to relinquish our Charles Wallaces either.

We all have the power to leave Camazotz and step away from the power of IT and take with us the good, the love and the beautiful things that we once had and start again; surrounded by the Good but now aware of the ITs in the world – a little older, with some bruises but with wisdom this time.

In our country right now there is an IT at the center of a beautiful dream that was once heralded across the globe as the shining light on the hill for humanity. Unfortunately, many of us are focused on how horrible IT is, when perhaps we should shift our energy, love and focus onto the democratic ideals that are represented by that light – to the republican tenets that inspired men and women over 2 centuries ago to seek a more perfect union.

American Flag – 2017

And if we, like Meg, turn our attention away from IT and laser focus our hearts toward the child that we hold dear – that still-young concept of democracy – I know that we, too will wake up in the garden, a little bruised, and a lot wiser to the dangers in the world – but back in the bosom of the hope, dreams, and love that is America as our forefathers and foremothers imagined it to be.

(C) 2019 Practitioner's Path

More on Job (prosperity)

Are we missing the point when we focus on prosperity for ourselves?

I’ve not been shy about sharing my opinions on the standard prosperity teachings found in many New Thought churches and centers. While I find them to be wonderfully inspirational when first encountered, I have also found that many places are not teaching the follow-up curriculum that is the magic pixie dust that makes prosperity truly work in our lives.

It is this lack of transparency in the initial learning that I believe a) fails new members who come into a center or church to learn prosperity and b) fails long-time adherents who never move beyond the surface teachings.

In my version of the ideal world of teaching metaphysics, prosperity would always and only be taught with a disclaimer and requirement that students understand/sign off on knowing that this is spiritual warrior work, and not a magical incantation that they can learn in less than a few weeks. AND it would come with something I’ve not seen in spiritual prosperity teaching (disclaimer: what I am about to reveal may already be part of what is taught in some New Thought corners that I haven’t encountered)

In my previous blog I wrote about the wisdom of the story of Job and how it applies to something debated quite hotly in the New Thought arena: the role of consciousness in life’s difficulties. Today I want to address the wisdom found in Job that just so happens to be echoed in some modern-day research.

¹⁰ And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Job 42:10

To recap Job’s experience: he had suffered the loss of family, wealth, stature and health. His friends, being steadfast in their care for him, began to offer advice to him that was out of alignment with the truth. As the story goes, the Almighty was angry with Job’s friends for their error-filled advice and Job – even in his own misery – prays for mercy to be shown on his friends. Job was able to look past his own very present problems to pray for goodness and mercy for his friends.

In doing so, Job’s fortunes were restored, and he ended up with twice as much as he had before. Metaphorically presented, as the biblical canon is, the language is not meant to be precise in terms of measurement but impact: our own needs are more than met when we stop begging for our own good and lift up the needs of others.

In Lynne McTaggart’s latest book, The Power of 8, she documents the healing power of group intention. Built on the findings from her book, The Intention Experiment, The Power of 8 is a handbook on how to bring real healing out of the realms of the miraculous and into everyday practice.

In her body of work on intention and healing, that included reviewing research from many other similar studies, McTaggart highlights the significance of “the rebound power of praying for other people“.

Referencing a study by Dr. Sean O’Laoire (Irish Catholic priest and psychologist), and another by Karl Pillemer of Cornell University , McTaggart peels back the layers on intention to reveal something that was shared – in just 2-sentences – in the Book of Job: when we take our intentions and focus off of ourselves and turn them to the care and support of others, we are restored.

McTaggart writes of one participant who, after closing a business in 2013, struggled to regain her footing and was working hard to shift her prosperity consciousness. This participant’s experience did not move, and she was struggling with how to remove her limited thinking and realize more prosperity for herself. Then she was invited to participate in a healing circle that was focused on a young man who had experienced a terrible injury and whose recovery was complex.

McTaggart reports that after only two days of shifting her intention away from her own prosperity needs and instead focusing on the healing for the young man, the participant got an unexpected offer for paid work in an area that she loved. It is important to note here that McTaggart acknowledges that these research findings have been documented in many studies – she is not claiming all of these from her own research.

The powerful message from McTaggart’s shared wisdom along with the counsel found in the Hebrew scriptures Book of Job are a wake-up call for prosperity seekers and teachers everywhere: if you want more for yourself, give of yourself.

This is not new content for New Thought as Karen Drucker’s song, “If You Want More,…Give” lays it out nicely.

I have always wondered why, if this is such old, established wisdom, we aren’t teaching more prosperity classes that start with the focus on GIVING the extra that comes in to an external community need – with no thought to how the teacher or church/center gets paid?

Some will say “But we have BILLS to pay, and EXPENSES to meet, …” but this misses the point entirely.

The lesson is clear from the ancient story of Job. The research is evident – in McTaggart’s writings and beyond. The rest is up to us.

(C) 2019 Practitioner's Path

Job for the New Thought audience

One of the more prominent controversies in New Thought today is the blow back against those in the movement who teach that it is consciousness and consciousness alone that creates – and that when we are ill, or have bad fortune; we have created or even invited it into our experience.

This has caused a tidal wave of backlash, and terminology like “sick shaming” and “spiritual malpractice” has emerged to push back against this largely unhelpful interpretation.

Some New Thought “purists” may scorn the push back as being evidence of a weakening commitment to the principles of spiritual living, but a deeper dive into the ancient spiritual foundations may provide more support for the push back than the purists.

In the Hebrew scriptures, the book of Job tells a story of a wealthy and prosperous man who seemingly has everything one could desire: health, wealth, family, power and stature in his community. AND,…he had a strong relationship with the Creator.

According to the scriptural canon, God allows Satan to test this man by inflicting all measure of horrors on him. Satan believes that Job’s love and devotion to God are situational, and so to prove Satan’s error, God allows him to test Job.

Those with any biblical history in their background will recall that Job suffered the loss of his livelihood, his servants, his family and then suffered horrible physical ailments.

During the trials and tribulations that Job suffered, 3 of his friends came to him and provided comfort and commentary. They also suggested that Job has created all of his own problems through his relationship with God and encouraged him to repent – or in New Thought parlance: to get his consciousness straightened out.

This is rejected in the telling of the story: we read that the reason was Satan’s desire to prove Job as a “fake” and we see in the end that Job remained steadfast in his devotion to God throughout the ordeal, and was restored and increased – no repentance or consciousness change needed.

This same Truth is reiterated in the teachings of Jesus in John 9, where Jesus and his disciples come across a blind man who was begging.

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” 

John 9:1-3

The lesson here is clear: the blindness was NOT due to a lack of consciousness on the part of the man, or his parents – but presented instead as an opportunity to show the power of Spirit to heal.

The spiritual tools taught in New Thought are indeed powerful and life-changing. However, adherents and practitioners without an in-depth knowledge of the historical spiritual canons (Hebrew scriptures, New Testament, Bhagavad Gita, Dao de Ching, etc.) must take care to study beyond the counsel of a limited circle of teachers before pronouncing the truth as they know it and teaching it to others.

The challenges in our lives, and the lives of others, present a grand opportunity to tap into the rich spiritual history of humanity and to use the refined and modern tools of 21st century spirituality to do good works in the world.

New Thought practitioners – and their clients – benefit greatly when the perspective of first do no harm is practiced throughout the spiritual guidance process. The counsel to “first do no harm” is taken from the writings of Hippocrates and used today in the oath taken by medical professionals (physicians) upon entrance into professional practice.

Seeing lack, illness, misfortune and other trials as an opportunity to shine the Light of Spirit is a noble undertaking. Pointing out that the person experiencing these challenges has invited them into their lives is not only cruel and unusual and often harmful; it’s unsound spiritual practice and well-documented in the historical spiritual canons as wrong.

The healing benefits of spiritual living are accessible to all, but there is a responsibility for those who put themselves forward as professionals in the art that extends beyond passing the tests, paying licensing fees and hanging out a shingle. There is a responsibility to own the wisdom we are sharing and ensure that it is based on sound principles that stand the test of time and align with the teachings across the ancient wisdom canons.

(C) 2019 Practitioner's Path

Practical Matters

Wisdom

It’s hard to believe that it has been more than 10 years since the movie The Secret came out and brought talking points into mainstream conversations that were once reserved for a small group of New Thought adherents in religious science and similar churches.

I remain ambivalent about the balance of positive and negative in regard to the movie. It was most certainly a gateway to a larger spiritual understanding for many and offered freedom from some of the more egregious old school religious dogma for others.

On the flip side of the issue, it presented some simple-but-not-easy spiritual principles as being so simplistic that they led to more than a little disappointment for many people.

Today I want to address the counsel offered in spiritual prosperity studies that I have often seen misinterpreted and misapplied: the advice to live “as if” your desired goal is already here.

This is a critical piece of the prosperity puzzle, but it holds within it the risk that we will place ourselves in greater financial peril if we misinterpret the advice.

So the question becomes: can we utilize spiritual principles to manifest real life abundance into our lives?

The short answer is yes.

The longer answer is that we have to take care not to be idiots in the process.

Living “as if” we have more abundance is too often interpreted to mean that we should go out and shop as if we had a bank full of money. This is not only wrong-headed, but it is a path of peril that can lead to more credit card debt, bounced checks and less money for things like housing, food and transportation. This path leads us further away from prosperity – not towards an increased experience of it.

Living “as if” works best when it takes the form of our feelings and our beliefs. Living as we would if we had the abundance we desire in our lives does not require that we have anything tangible in our hands. It does require that we THINK differently; that we react and speak in new ways about our circumstances.

We don’t have to spend anything additional to think differently when bills come in. We don’t have to check the balance in our bank account to speak positively about our financial circumstances. We don’t need to worry about the credit limit on our credit card to react in a calm and peaceful way to money-specific situations that arise in our lives.

We can bless the bills that come in – feel real gratitude for the things they represent in our lives.

Are you paying student loans? Feel the gratitude for the learning you achieved and the opportunities that your education has enabled for you. Pay the bill each month with gratitude and appreciation.

As you pay utility bills, housing (rent or mortgage), car payments and insurance – stop and think about the GOOD that these things bring into your life. It’s 15F tonight in Pittsburgh, PA and I’m very grateful for the natural gas that powers my furnace; for the electric that powers the lights, the blower on the furnace and the stove and microwave that cook my food as I hunker down indoors this weekend.

I am grateful for the many entertainment options I have from my cable company and for the connection I have to my family and friends through my cell phone.

Last weekend I took my Jeep into the garage for the annual inspection. It’s a 9-year old vehicle and I knew there were a couple things going on. I left the garage after paying $729 for the inspection and repairs. Instead of complaining or being miserable, I told everyone who asked that I was GRATEFUL for the garage, and THANKFUL that the repairs were made. I recognized that the bill for inspection and repairs represent less than 2 months of car payments (I own my Jeep outright). There was a LOT to be thankful for wrapped up in that $729.

2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

The REAL secret – one that is much less sexy than gazing at a gold necklace in a window and having it show up around our neck – is that getting our HEAD where it needs to be also requires action on our part.

We must act by intentionally feeling grateful for things in our lives. We must act by resisting the urge to spend money we don’t have. We must act by cultivating the knowing that all is well, and by remaining open to opportunities that come our way and being willing to take the job; take the extra work or accept the offer.

It’s important to remind ourselves that we will not realize expanded prosperity if we poorly manage the financial circumstances in our lives. And we will not realize increased abundance in our lives without any inputs from us. There are indeed no free lunches and Newton’s 1st Law applies to finance as well as physics:

Every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force.

Our financial experiences will remain as they are today unless we are willing to change: our thinking, our attitudes, our behaviors, our actions.

If we want a new experience of prosperity but we are unwilling to act in accordance with our desires, we get what we deserve. We must take care that we are not praying for abundance while shopping ourselves into poverty – all in the name of “feeling prosperous“.

We can change our experience of abundance using spiritual principles and practice when we remember that the most POWERFUL prosperous feeling comes when we are in control of our finances: physically, emotionally and mentally – and it doesn’t cost a cent.

(C) 2019 Practitioner's Path

The Christmas blessing

As a part time church musician, I once again had the good fortune to be immersed in the music of the season this year as I played for another church who had reached out to me several months ago (just after I completed my time with the Christian Science folks).

As I listened again to the Christmas story, I was reminded that the birth of the Light of the Christ consciousness was announced to lowly shepherds and not to the kings, queens or noble people of the time. I wrote about the significance of this Light in an earlier blog and as I re-read that blog, I remembered an incident that happened last week.

I work in healthcare in a large, integrated delivery system. My office is on a campus where a long-term care facility in our system is located, and so any given morning when I walk from my office to the Starbucks to get some coffee, I pass a number of older Veterans (almost always male) sitting in wheelchairs in the central area of the building.

One morning last week I was feeling heavy of heart for a number of reasons, and as I passed by one fellow, he raised his hand to me, made the sign of the cross and said, “God be with you“.

He was dressed in pajama pants, slippers with no socks and a zip up flannel sweatshirt. He had long, unruly white hair and wore wire-frame glasses and a ball cap that said “Vietnam Veteran” on it.

I was deeply touched by this unexpected and sacred encounter and tears welled in my eyes as I hurried along to my office after thanking him and wishing him a Merry Christmas.

Almost immediately my cynical side popped up and I told myself that he sat there and blessed everyone that walked by – that I wasn’t special so I should stop trying to make something out of nothing.

Interestingly, as if in response to my own harsh thoughts, a couple days later I was passing through the same building and looked down the hall and saw the same man. There were many people around him, and walking past him; but when our eyes met, he straightened up a bit in his chair and once again made the sign of the cross in my direction.

It was at that time I remembered a verse from Hebrews that reminds us not to dismiss strangers as insignificant.

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

Hebrews 13:2

I’ve seen enough this past year alone to stop discounting such encounters. And when I thought about it, how truly apropos this seemingly random Christmas blessing was in its entirety.

Christmas Eve marks the end of Advent – that time of preparation for the coming of the Christ. One of the most haunting and beautiful Advent songs is O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Emmanuel translated means “God with us“.

Is it not told that lowly shepherds spread the news of the Christ child? Shabbily dressed, at the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum and certainly not members of the privileged classes, it was the shepherds that were tipped off by the angels to the great gift of the Light; it was shepherds who spread the word throughout the land.

^“And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.”

Luke 2:16-18

Is a blessing given by an educated, ordained holy person in a freshly pressed, ornate robe a higher blessing than one given any other way? Do we garner more holy favor lined up in our wealthy suburban houses of worship, surrounded by the sounds and sights of the season?

The telling of the Christmas story every year reminds us, gently but persistently, that the Light of the Christ consciousness was sent through a homeless family; that the first news given by the angelic beings passed to lowly shepherds. We are reminded of the Truth of this Gift – that the Light belongs to the world – not the wealthy, the powerful, the prominent – the entire world from the least of us to the most exalted.

As I ponder the random blessing I received in what I now think of as my shepherd encounter, I know that I received a gift from an angel, appearing very much in the garb of a shepherd. This gentle, disheveled older gentleman reminded me of the important meaning of this holiday on a tough week; assuring me that God is with me – always and in all ways.

And so it is.

(C) 2018 Practitioner's Path

The day of small things

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.”

Luke 16:10

This verse is often quoted to warn us that being honest and trustworthy in small matters portends our default responses in larger matters.

Modern versions of this counsel appear as memes such as ‘When someone shows you who they are, believe them; the FIRST time‘ and ‘Integrity: doing the right thing, even when no one is watching‘.

And we can be sure that when we discover unethical behavior in someone – no matter how small – they will not disappoint us. We will have additional and more significant opportunities to be disappointed in them.

So this verse is on point about ethics, but does it tell us anything else?

I think it does.

A while back I wrote a blog about a small gift I received many years ago at a work gift exchange. Each year around the holidays I think of that little wreath and the lesson it taught me. 

This year as I pondered its wisdom, another Truth emerged: that when we learn to be GRATEFUL for the small things in our lives, we open the door for opportunities to be grateful for larger things. 

The American consumer culture seems to be set up as the polar opposite of this concept, urging us to spend more, buy more and “go big or go home“.

But if we truly want to enjoy the “more” we must learn to appreciate the “less“. Florence Scovel Shinn wrote in the early part of the last century that we should “…not neglect the day of small things; for little beginnings have big endings”. 

If we accept that the Universe is an energetic entity, and that what we put out, we receive back in full measure; the way we accept things – regardless of size or importance – must also have an impact.

It is easy to receive a “small gift” from a young child, or an elderly neighbor; but easy doesn’t translate into growth. Gratitude in small things when we are expecting something more is where the magic lies, and it’s not confined to holidays.

• Can we be grateful for the raise that wasn’t what we hoped for, or think we deserve?
• Can we find gratitude in the 1-hour we were let go the day before the holiday when we really were expecting a half-day? 
• Can we find a way to be thankful for the partial task that someone helped us with when wanted them to complete it all?

Like a former smoker who can smell a cigarette from miles away, when we realize these Truths, we can spot their opposites in a microsecond. And I can think of several people who will soon be heard complaining at work about the holiday party, the gifts and the food.

These same complainers are stuck in ruts with their jobs, lives and complain loudly that they can’t get ahead. They don’t seem to understand it, and will be stuck until they retire at which point they will likely complain about their pension payments and social security checks.

They don’t understand that the quickest way out of the here that we are miserable with is to appreciate the little things that are in front of us, for appreciation of the small clears the way for bigger and better things to come into our lives.

Like the Christmas gift that is not what we expect, the “gifts” that come our way at work are also an opportunity to practice receiving with gratitude; and the way we receive sets the tone for our future at work and in life.

The more we make the positive assumptions, and see the underlying good in the actions of others; the more positive opportunities open for us.

Happiness or misery at work and in life: it’s ours to decide.

So as we gather over the next week or so to celebrate the season, let’s remember that the way we receive is setting the tone for our life in the coming year. I don’t know about you, but I’m planning to set a tone that sees good people, cooperation and kindness – all around me.

And so it is.

(C) 2018 Practitioner's Path

No weapon

Outer Banks, NC ~ (C) 2017 Rebecca Harmon

Some subscribe to the Abraham-Hicks counsel to be careful with our “vibration” while others say “Vaya con Dios” – go with God. Christians talk about walking with Jesus and New Thought spiritual teachers speak of being “in the flow“.

All of these refer to the concept of living in alignment with Spiritual Law; staying connected to the Creator. This advice can seem trite – something we say as we leave a gathering of like-minded friends. But is there more to this than it seems on the surface?

The late Louise Hay taught that as we come into alignment with Spirit, we begin to get the “green lights and parking spaces“. She is referring to the way that life opens up in front of us and things begin to work in our favor when we connect with Source and walk a spiritual path.

This is not new advice. It hearkens back to ancient wisdom texts, such as the Hebrew scriptures. 

¹⁷ No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

Isaiah 54:17

In a previous blog I wrote about leaving paybacks/revenge to spiritual law. This past week I had the opportunity to see a long-ago wrong righted in a very public way.  The individuals involved had behaved abominably toward me and a number of my colleagues and friends in a previous job. Their reign of terror seemed to be one that would go unpunished and yet, just last month both met a public reckoning that was past due.

I found the timing to be most poignant. Although late on a human timeline, the action coincides almost perfectly with my own spiritual evolution – as if I needed to get my head and heart in the right place before the karmic justice could be meted out. It’s not a stretch to say that I have grown immensely since leaving that job and matured spiritually in ways that I could not have foreseen or even understood at that time.

Appreciating the timing and reminder that all things work together for Good helps me to stay in alignment which means that more and more these days I avoid meeting anger with anger; wishing ill for those who have no good intentions for me; plotting the demise of those who work to undermine my success. I have learned first hand that my job is to stay in peace, and let spiritual law exact the balance on things. And it always does. The Universe keeps a perfect balance sheet.

This is what the prophet Isaiah was telling the Hebrew people in chapter 54 verse 17 (above). Metaphysically, we could revise the statement as follows:

No weapon formed against me will succeed; and every word spoken against me in anger, jealousy, and viciousness will not harm me but will impact those who speak against me (because they are vibrating at a lower level and attracting the negativity they want to throw my way, into their own lives). This is the way life works.

Knowing this has stopped me from reacting in anger; from getting even with people – even when I had a perfect opportunity, it would have been easy to do and I thought they really deserved it (I’ve struggled with some of these things, I admit!). And the more I make the peaceful pivot – the more things work out for me in wonderful and miraculous ways.

Learning this has allowed me to remain in peace when I learn that things are moving in ways that appear to put me at risk or in a difficult position. I know that regardless of appearances, I can relax; I am safe and truly – all is well.  This has worked for me in financial circumstances, work scenarios, and more.

I’ve been so successful employing this peaceful pivot and reaping the benefits that when someone starts throwing shade my way or getting a ‘tude with me, I want to gently say, “you don’t want to go there – it’s not going to work out well for you,…” 

But I don’t. We all must evolve on our own timeline and in our own ways. I’m responsible for me, and so knowing what I do, I walk away in peace, assured that no weapon (or word) formed against me – no matter who aims it, no matter what it is – will be successful. 

And so it it.

(C) 2018 Practitioner's Path