Freeman's Mind Quotes

When people want to win they will go to desperate extremes. However, anyone that has already won in life has come to the conclusion that there is no game. There is nothing but learning in this life and it is the only thing we take with us to the grave—knowledge. If you only understood that concept then your heart wouldn’t break so bad. Jealousy or revenge wouldn’t be your ambition. Stepping on others to raise yourself up wouldn’t be a goal. Competition would be left on the playing field, and your freedom from what other people think about you would light the pathway out of hell.

Because a freeman ought not to be a slave in the acquisition of knowledge of any kind. Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.

It is remarkable that mind enters into our awareness of nature on two separate levels. At the highest level, the level of human consciousness, our minds are somehow directly aware of the complicated flow of electrical and chemical patterns in our brains. At the lowest level, the level of single atoms and electrons, the mind of an observer is again involved in the description of events. Between lies the level of molecular biology, where mechanical models are adequate and mind appears to be irrelevant. But I, as a physicist, cannot help suspecting that there is a logical connection between the two ways in which mind appears in my universe. I cannot help thinking that our awareness of our own brains has something to do with the process which we call "observation" in atomic physics. That is to say, I think our consciousness is not just a passive epiphenomenon carried along by the chemical events in our brains, but is an active agent forcing the molecular complexes to make choices between one quantum state and another. In other words, mind is already inherent in every electron, and the processes of human consciousness differ only in degree but not in kind from the processes of choice between quantum states which we call "chance" when they are made by electrons.

One more spin around the sun... Ain't nuthin' changed. Still got trouble on my mind. Still got suckas that need to get dealt with... Still in mortal combat with the wicked....

I’m perfectly alone right now, my mind is on overdrive, the gears are grinding in whirring dissonance – and it’s just how I like it.

I'd become an uncertain creature in her mind, and I found I liked it; she couldn't fathom what else I might be doing when her eyes weren't on me.

People don’t need any proof to decide what they believe, but if you want to change their minds, you need evidence.

The terrible lesson Burch taught me, impressed indelibly upon my mind the danger and uselessness of asserting I was a freeman. There was no possibility of any slave being able to assist me, while, on the other hand, there was a possibility of his exposing me.

To give us room to explore the varieties of mind and body into which our genome can evolve, one planet is not enough.

There is one mind common to all individual men. Every man is an inlet to the same and to all of the same. He that is once admitted to the right of reason is made a freeman of the whole estate. What Plato has thought, he may think; what a saint has felt, he may feel; what at any time has befallen any man, he can understand. Who hath access to this universal mind is a party to all that is or can be done, for this is the only and sovereign agent.

The reason Dick's physics was so hard for ordinary people to grasp was that he did not use equations. The usual theoretical physics was done since the time of Newton was to begin by writing down some equations and then to work hard calculating solutions of the equations. This was the way Hans and Oppy and Julian Schwinger did physics. Dick just wrote down the solutions out of his head without ever writing down the equations. He had a physical picture of the way things happen, and the picture gave him the solutions directly with a minimum of calculation. It was no wonder that people who had spent their lives solving equations were baffled by him. Their minds were analytical; his was pictorial.

The best lesson from the myths of Newton and Archimedes is to work passionately but to take breaks. Sitting under trees and relaxing in baths lets the mind wander and frees the subconscious to do work on our behalf. Freeman Dyson, a world-class physi- cist and author, agrees: “I think it’s very important to be idle...people who keep themselves busy all the time are generally not creative. So I am not ashamed of being idle.

Because a freeman ought not to be a slave in the acquisition of knowledge of any kind. Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind. Very true. Then,

To my mind, the history of science is most illuminating when the frailties of human actors are put into juxtaposition with the transcendence of nature's laws.

Our Western minds are trained to go down the path of explaining. We think if we can understand it, then we can control it...We are conditioned to believe the only reason we should do things is if we know why, where we are headed, and for what purpose. No wonder we have trouble making decisions. If we don't have clear answers or sure things, then taking a big step feels like a risk at best and a wasteful mistake at worst.

Picture a girl with her arms full of small packages, too many to hold all at once. When they topple and fall all around her, she stoops down and scoops them all back up, literally re-collecting all the gifts that are already hers. To set your mind is to recollect truth that already belongs to you.

The rituals done with single-pointed attention served to concentrate the mind to make it capable of meditation.

Feed your mind. Learn something, read something, see something new.

my muscles are confused but my mind is steady

When a woman reaches a certain age, she’s earned the right to speak her mind.

What if you began to see your art as something other than your idea? What if it was less lofty and more necessary to your daily rhythm? What if your art is part of a bigger picture, part of a daily grace God has in mind for someone else?

We are so afraid of being pulled under the water with the anchor. Scared of letting these memories swirl around our mind as they should. As tragic as it might feel, it’s evident that the sea we are drowning in is the same sea we were born into.

People can only react to things in the best way they know how. Experiences change people; we grow and evolve as we get older and learn how to deal with many of the situations and emotions we encounter in our own way. Remember that not everyone has had the same journey as you and not everyone views life in the same way you do. Some people are extremely self-aware and empathetic, while others lack that entirely. Some people wear their heart on their sleeve and share every thought, and others are a complete mystery and you can never really tell what goes on inside their mind. It can explain why we get so hurt by someone and the other person has no idea, or how sometimes we can say or do things that hurt someone else without knowing.

I had always functioned by reacting to uncertainty and then feeling good about preventing my fears from coming true. I depended on the monster spewing out uncertainties and anxieties and feelings I didn't like so I had a direction in life. I washed, I ate, I exercised, I socialised, I worked, I studied, I dated, I did everything imaginable as a reaction to whatever the anxiety monster vomited unto my life. I lived only to react. I didn't know how to function without constantly fixing problems.

If it ever feels like you have waited so long that you aren't moving forward anymore, if you feel like you have taken an unexpected detour, if you wonder if your tomorrow will ever come... Remember that sometimes it won't be until tomorrow that the Lord will do wonders among us, but His wonders will come. He will provide a way through. Keep in mind that the miracle you seek may not be discernible from the middle of the journey. In fact, you might not discover it until you have exhausted every effort and followed every detour. Then, suddenly, one day it will be there. You should know that it will be magnificent. Remarkable. And in that moment you will stand still and admire the greatness of God. It will be worth the detour it takes to get there.

If you will only consider, you will remember many a person of whom the world never heard and will never hear, whose years have been as full of generosity, loyalty to duty, faith in God, fidelity to every day's work, as those of Franklin or Garfield, Lincoln or Emerson. They, also, have put their hands to the plough and have not looked back. Having made up their minds to what ought to be done, they did not hesitate, did not procrastinate, did not worry or grow anxious, but faithfully performed the duty of the hour. They had faith in Providence, and so did with their might what their hands found to do. They gave, and it was given to them again, "full measure, pressed down and running over." They did good, hoping for nothing again, and the reward came in lives full of content; in cheerfulness, peace, and satisfaction.

As you flail, knowing you’re not supposed to panic – panicking will drain your strength – your mind pulls away as it does so easily, so often, without your even noticing sometimes, leaving Robert Freeman Jr. to manage the current alone while you withdraw to the broader landscape, the water and buildings and streets, the avenues like endless hallways, your dorm full of sleeping students, the air thick with their communal breath. You slip through Sasha’s open window, floating over the sill lined with artifacts from her travels: a white seashell, a small gold pagoda, a pair of red dice. Her harp in one corner with its small wood stool. She’s asleep in her narrow bed, her burned red hair dark against the sheets. You kneel beside her, breathing the familiar smell of Sasha’s sleep, whispering into her ear some mix of I’m sorry and I believe in you and I’ll always be near you, protecting you, and I will never leave you, I’ll be curled around your heart for the rest of your life, until the water pressing my shoulders and chest crushes me awake and I hear Sasha screaming into my face: Fight! Fight! Fight!

In his play Antigone, Sophocles summed it up: Wonders are many and none more wonderful than man . . . In the meshes of his woven nets, cunning of mind, ingenious man . . . He snares the lighthearted birds and the tribes of savage beasts, and the creatures of the deep seas . . . He puts the halter round the horse’s neck And rings the nostrils of the angry bull. He has devised himself a shelter against the rigours of frost and the pelting rains. Speech and science he has taught himself, and artfully formed laws for harmonious civic life . . . Only against death he fights in vain. But clear intelligence—a force beyond measure— moves to work both good and ill . . . When he obeys the laws and honors justice, the city stands proud . . . But man swerves from side to side, and when the laws are broken, and set at naught, he is like a person without a city, beyond human boundary, a horror, a pollution to be avoided.29 The

Sharon McMahon (known online as America’s Government Teacher) says, “Anyone who changes their mind based on new and better information is criticized and denounced. So it disincentivizes people from using critical thought when in reality the ethical thing is to change your mind based on new and better information.

O ye men, how exceeding strong is wine! it causeth all men to err that drink it: 19. It maketh the mind of the king and of the fatherless child to be all one; of the bondman and of the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich: 20. It turneth also every thought into jollity and mirth, so that a man remembereth neither sorrow nor debt: 21. And it maketh every heart rich, so that a man remembereth neither king nor governor; and it maketh to speak all things by talents: 22. And when they are in their cups, they forget their love both to friends and brethren, and a little after draw out swords: 23. But when they are from the wine, they remember not what they have done.

Instead of being your own worst enemy, be a little kinder to yourself. Give yourself the credit you deserve, and try to see the situation for how it is and not how you have created it in your mind. Give your mind a little rest, beautiful. Save that brain space for new ideas and new adventures, for the things you love and the people you love. Breathe in, breathe out. You’ve got this.

Old people forgot quickly. He thought they minded about things less. Like Aunt Lily. She adored her husband but when he died she cried for a day or two, then tidied up the house, ate more heartily and drank more stout than ever before. She talked about ‘poor old Fred’ as if he had never really lived in the place. Dick knew that in a few days Gran would refer to Grand-dad as ‘poor’. The dead were always ‘poor’.

I believe that we are here to some purpose, that the purpose has something to do with the future, and that it transcends altogether the limits of our present knowledge and understanding. If you like, you can call the transcendent purpose God. If it is God, it is a Socinian God, inherent in the universe and growing in power and knowledge as the universe unfolds. Our minds are not only expressions of its purpose but are also contributions to its growth. —Freeman Dyson, Infinite in All Directions

A quick summary of Sāṁkhya might go like this: the mysterious pure consciousness, puruṣa, somehow interfaces with the buddhi, which generates an ego-making function. This manifests the dividing-constructing and symbol-making mind, which takes in and organizes data from the senses and sends actions and reactions back out into the world through organs of action like the hands. The world is composed of the five gross elements and other puruṣa-prakṛti cognitive systems called other sentient beings. All of this is an interweaving of the energetic strands of the three guṇas, strands that stretch as a unified whole, a tapestry or network of time itself.

No matter what room we find ourselves in, help us to remember that because of Christ: We are free to holler with the world changers. We are free to ponder with the contemplatives. We are free to campaign with the activists and be still with the liturgists. We are free to be quiet and free to be loud. We are free to live in the center, on the side, or in the back. We are free to go. We are free to stay home. We are free to linger and to leave early. We are free to dream big and free to dream small. We are free to draw boundaries and free to change our minds. There’s room at the table for all of us. We are free. We are free. We are free. May this change how we walk into rooms.

150 years later, Constantinople suffers an even worse fate. The emperor Justinian, faced with similar violence, the Nika revolt of 532, was encouraged by his wife, Theodora, to send in troops. Between 30,000 and 50,000 citizens are believed to have been massacred. It was the arbitrary exercise of this absolute power that was most unsettling. The fact that Justinian supposed himself to be a quintessentially Christian monarch made no difference. It was, after all, fully accepted that God might act punitively, and there were dozens of Old Testament texts to back the point. So why should his representative on earth be different? In any case, as the contemporary historian proposes, the king did not see it as murder, as the victims did not share his beliefs.

OVER-THOUGHT Sometimes things don’t make much sense when they are circling around in your brain. You think about something over and over and over until you have created a whole situation that may not exist or ever happen. It isn’t until you speak about it or write it all down that your emotions become clear. Stop overthinking and stop convincing yourself there is no one who will listen to the thoughts that go on inside your head. Chances are someone is experiencing the exact same feelings as you are. Overthinking is a vicious cycle that is hard to break. So speak up; try to recognize when you are overthinking, reach out to a friend and share what’s on your mind. You’ll find strength in sharing the things you worry about and comfort in the fact that you are not alone.

How tragic it is that so much of the popular version of Christianity preaches a secularized message. It keeps God isolated, but popping in from time to time. It has lost the sense of the permeation of matter by divine Grace, the sacramental vision of reality; it insists that the Eucharist is just bread and wine, baptism is just a bath, and the world operates independently of God. It preaches a moralism of being “good,” leading only to obsession with guilt, and then, when that becomes too much, to shamelessness. It preaches that our salvation is acquired by a simple confession, and that it consists of going to “heaven” instead of going to “hell”—not a life lived in cooperation with divine grace, a body, mind, and heart sanctified by the Presence, which, having been “born again by water and the Spirit” in baptism, will continue to live forever, surviving death itself, to be resurrected. The

In the history of science it happens not infrequently that a reductionist approach leads to a spectacular success. Frequently the understanding of a complicated system as a whole is impossible without an understanding of its component parts. And sometimes the understanding of a whole field of science is suddenly advanced by the discover of a single basic equation. Thus it happened that the Schrodinger equation in 1926 and the Dirac equation in 1927 brought a miraculous order into the previously mysterious processes of atomic physics. The equations of Erwin Schrodinger and Paul Dirac were triumphs of reductionism. Bewildering complexities of chemistry and physics were reduced to two lines of algebraic symbols. These triumphs were in Oppenheimer's mind when he belittled his own discovery of black holes. Compared with the abstract beauty and simplicity of the Dirac equation, the black hole solution seemed to him ugly, complicated, and lacking in fundamental significance.

DAY 10 Finding Contentment But godliness with contentment is a great gain. 1 Timothy 6:6 HCSB Everywhere we turn, or so it seems, the world promises us contentment and happiness. We are bombarded by messages offering us the “good life” if only we will purchase products and services that are designed to provide happiness, success, and contentment. But the contentment that the world offers is fleeting and incomplete. Thankfully, the contentment that God offers is all encompassing and everlasting. Happiness depends less upon our circumstances than upon our thoughts. When we turn our thoughts to God, to His gifts, and to His glorious creation, we experience the joy that God intends for His children. But, when we focus on the negative aspects of life—or when we disobey God’s commandments—we cause ourselves needless suffering. Do you sincerely want to be a contented Christian? Then set your mind and your heart upon God’s love and His grace. Seek first the salvation that is available through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and then claim the joy, the contentment, and the spiritual abundance that God offers His children. When you accept rather than fight your circumstances, even though you don’t understand them, you open your heart’s gate to God’s love, peace, joy, and contentment. Amy Carmichael Oh, what a happy soul I am, although I cannot see! I am resolved that in this world, contented I will be. Fanny Crosby If I could just hang in there, being faithful to my own tasks, God would make me joyful and content. The responsibility is mine, but the power is His. Peg Rankin The key to contentment is to consider. Consider who you are and be satisfied with that. Consider what you have and be satisfied with that. Consider what God’s doing and be satisfied with that. Luci Swindoll Jesus Christ is the One by Whom, for Whom, through Whom everything was made. Therefore, He knows what’s wrong in your life and how to fix it. Anne Graham Lotz God is everything that is good and comfortable for us. He is our clothing that for love wraps us, clasps us, and all surrounds us for tender love. Juliana of Norwich

ENTHUSIASM FOR CHRIST Therefore, get your minds ready for action, being self-disciplined, and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance but, as the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct. 1 Peter 1:13-15 HCSB John Wesley advised, “Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn.” His words still ring true. When we fan the flames of enthusiasm for Christ, our faith serves as a beacon to others. Our world desperately needs faithful women who share the Good News of Jesus with joyful exuberance. Be such a woman. The world desperately needs your enthusiasm—and your testimony—now! We must go out and live among them, manifesting the gentle, loving spirit of our Lord. We need to make friends before we can hope to make converts. Lottie Moon One of the great needs in the church today is for every Christian to become enthusiastic about his faith in Jesus Christ. Billy Graham A TIMELY TIP If you become excited about life . . . life will become an exciting adventure.

were more than mere insects. Over time I realized the bees could tell my emotional or energetic state. When I embodied kindness around them, they treated me with the same. A cloud of exuberance surrounded us, as though the bees were templating euphoria into the air. I want you to know I didn’t just tear off my bee suit one day and “become one with the bees.” That took years. But eventually I did retire my bee suit. The first time I walked right up to the hives wearing only a T-shirt and shorts, I felt a bit anxious and self-absorbed, but then I remembered to turn my thoughts away from myself, to open myself to the bees and let them feel me out — which they did. They landed on my bare arms and licked my skin for the salty minerals. When I held a finger next to the entrance, a sweet little bee delicately walked onto my fingertip and faced me. She looked right into my eyes, and for the first time, we saw each other. And so I became part of bee life. Becoming Kin I soon found myself having more intuition about the hives. One morning in early spring, before the flowers had come into bloom, I suddenly had the idea that I should check one of my hives. I found the bees unexpectedly out of food; so I fed them honey saved from the year before. That call I intuitively heard from the hive likely saved its life. Another time I had the feeling that a distant hive in the east pasture was on the verge of swarming. When I walked up to see, sure enough, they were. Events like this taught me to trust my intuition more, and listening to my intuition continues to bring me into a closer relationship with all the hives. In my sixth year with bees, something new happened. I had begun a morning practice of contemplation, quieting my mind and opening my heart. I entered this prayerful state, asking for guidance, direction, courage, and truth. Even though I didn’t mention honeybees, they immediately began appearing in my thoughts and passing me information I had never read or learned from other sources. I believe the sincerity of my questions opened a door. When the information began coming to me, I listened with attentiveness, respect, and gratitude. The more I listened, the more information they shared. Since my first intuitive conversation with the bees, I have had many others. At first I didn’t know how to explain where the information came from, and that bothered me. I told my husband’s

The black hole solution of Einstein's equations is also a work of art. The black hole is not as majestic as Godel's proof, but it has the essential features of a work of art: uniqueness, beauty, and unexpectedness. Oppenheimer and Snyder built out of Einstein's equations a structure that Einstein had never imagined. The idea of matter in permanent free fall was hidden in the equations, but nobody saw it until it was revealed in the Oppenheimer-Snyder solution. On a much more humble level, my own activities as a theoretical physicist have a similar quality. When I am working, I feel myself to be practicing a craft rather than following a method. When I did my most important piece of work as a young man, putting together the ideas of Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Julian Schwinger, and Richard Feynman to obtain a simplified version of quantum electrodynamics, I had consciously in mind a metaphor to describe what I was doing. The metaphor was bridge-building. Tomonaga and Schwinger had built solid foundations on the other side, and my job was to design and build the cantilevers reaching out over the water until they met in the middle. The metaphor was a good one. The bridge that I built is still serviceable and still carrying traffic forty years later. The same metaphor describes well the greater work of unification achieved by Stephen Weinberg and Abdus Salam when they bridged the gap between electrodynamics and the weak interactions. In each case, after the work of unification is done, the whole stands higher than the parts.

Do you have vows?” Freeman asked. Zane nodded, but he didn’t move to take out a piece of paper or any notes. He licked his lips instead and took a deep breath. “Ty,” he said, and the sound was almost lost in the night. “Some roads to love aren’t easy, and I’ve never been more thankful for being forced to fight for something. I started this journey with a partner I hated, and a man in the mirror I hated even more. The road took me from the streets of New York to the mountaintops of West Virginia, from the place I born to the place I found a home. It forced me to let go of my past and face my future. And I had to be made blind before I could see.” Zane swallowed hard and looked down, obviously fighting to finish without choking on the words or tearing up. Ty realized his own eyes were burning, and it wasn’t because of the cold wind. Zane squeezed Ty’s fingers with one hand, and he met Ty’s eyes as he reached into his lapel with his other. “I promise to love you until I die,” he said, his voice strong again. He held up a Sharpie he’d had in his suit, and pulled Ty’s hand closer to draw on his ring finger. With several sweeping motions, he created an infinity sign that looped all the way around the finger. When he was satisfied with the ring he’d drawn, he kissed Ty’s knuckles and let him go, handing him the Sharpie. Ty grasped the pen, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Zane. He ran his thumb over Zane’s palm. He had a set of vows he’d jotted down on a note card, folded up in his pocket, but he left them where they were and gazed into Zane’s eyes, their past flashing in front of him, their future opening up in his mind. He took a deep breath. “I promise to never leave you alone in the dark,” he whispered. He pulled Zane’s hand closer and pressed the tip of the Sharpie against Zane’s skin, curving the symbol for forever around it. When he was satisfied, he kissed the tip of Zane’s finger and slid the pen back into his lapel pocket. Freeman coughed and turned a page in his book. “Do you, Zane Zachary Garrett, take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?” Zane’s lips curved into a warm smile. “I do.” Freeman turned toward Ty. “Do you, Beaumont Tyler Grady, take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?” “I do,” Ty said, almost before the question was finished. “Then by the power vested in me by the state of Maryland, I pronounce you legally wed.” Freeman slapped his little book closed. “You may now share the first kiss of the rest of your lives.” Ty had fully expected to have the urge to grab Zane and plant one on him out of sheer impatience and joy, but as he stood staring at his brand-new husband, it was as if they were moving underwater. He touched the tips of his fingers to Zane’s cheek, then stepped closer and used both hands to cup his face with the utmost care. Zane was still smiling when they kissed, and it was slow and gentle, Zane’s hands at Ty’s ribs pulling them flush. “Okay, now,” Livi whispered somewhere to their side, and a moment later they were both pelted with handfuls of heart-shaped confetti. Zane laughed and finally wrapped his arms around Ty, squeezing him tight. The others continued to toss the confetti at them, even handing out bits to people passing by so they’d be sure to get covered from all sides. They laughed into the kiss, not caring. They were still locked in their happy embrace when Deuce turned the box over above them and rained little, bitty hearts down on their heads.

What is something you’re thinking about pursuing, starting, quitting, making, finishing, or embracing? If you don’t see the clear path, the end game, or the five-year plan, take heart. Be excessively gentle with yourself. Get still. Stop talking. Pause the constant questioning of everyone else’s opinion. Now hold that thing, whatever it is, in your mind. Pay attention to your body and your soul—Does it rise or does it fall?

We have an enemy who loves to cloud our minds over with generalities and a vague sense of anxiety. No wonder we can’t make a decision. Let’s begin to create space for the naming and, in turn, a more gently informed decision-making process.

Each of us has a terrorist inside, a mad impulse to abandon that which is rightfully ours, to blow ourselves to smithereens. You cannot outsmart it, for it has hijacked the mind that you use. It believes it is you; you believe you are it.

In his book Hearing God, Dallas Willard shares that when he asks something of God—for direction or clarity in some way—he states it simply in prayer and then devotes the next hour or so to “housework, gardening, driving about on errands or paying bills,” things that keep his hands busy but his mind open.3

Theological contemplation contemplates through a light infused by God, but the philosopher contemplates through an acquired disposition of wisdom.’ The two philosophies were linked, however, in that Albert believed that when God acted he did not do so through sudden unnatural interventions but through the observable causation of natural events.

Our Western minds are trained to go down the path of explaining. We think if we can understand it, then we can control it.” It’s true, don’t you think? We are conditioned to believe the only reason we should do things is if we know why, where we are headed, and for what purpose. No wonder we have trouble making decisions. If we don’t have clear answers or sure things, then taking a big step feels like a risk at best and a wasteful mistake at worst. If I understand it, then I can control it.

Starve the mind and it naturally falls away.

the amateur historian Charles Freeman published a volume called The Closing of the Western Mind that is an almost perfect compendium of every trite caricature of early Christianity devised since Gibbon departed to his long home.

She screams because she has to. And the scream acts as a thread, keeping the sides of her mind together.

Our Western minds are trained to go down the path of explaining. We think if we can understand it, then we can control it.” It’s true, don’t you think? We are conditioned to believe the only reason we should do things is if we know why, where we are headed, and for what purpose. No wonder we have trouble making decisions.

What if changing our minds could be less like a house fire and more like a prescribed burn: healing and expected?

Making the Right Decisions Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. James 1:5 HCSB Some decisions are easy to make because the consequences of those decisions are small. When the person behind the counter asks, “Want fries with that?” the necessary response requires little thought because the aftermath of that decision is relatively unimportant. Some decisions, on the other hand, are big … very big. If you’re facing one of those big decisions, here are some things you can do: 1. Gather as much information as you can: don’t expect to get all the facts—that’s impossible—but get as many facts as you can in a reasonable amount of time. (Proverbs 24:3-4) 2. Don’t be too impulsive: If you have time to make a decision, use that time to make a good decision. (Proverbs 19:2) 3. Rely on the advice of trusted friends and mentors. Proverbs 1:5 makes it clear: “A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel” (NKJV). 4. Pray for guidance. When you seek it, He will give it. (Luke 11:9) 5. Trust the quiet inner voice of your conscience: Treat your conscience as you would a trusted advisor. (Luke 17:21) 6. When the time for action arrives, act. Procrastination is the enemy of progress; don’t let it defeat you. (James 1:22). People who can never quite seem to make up their minds usually make themselves miserable. So when in doubt, be decisive. It’s the decent way to live. There may be no trumpet sound or loud applause when we make a right decision, just a calm sense of resolution and peace. Gloria Gaither The Reference Point for the Christian is the Bible. All values, judgments, and attitudes must be gauged in relationship to this Reference Point. Ruth Bell Graham The principle of making no decision without prayer keeps me from rushing in and committing myself before I consult God. Elizabeth George If you are struggling to make some difficult decisions right now that aren’t specifically addressed in the Bible, don’t make a choice based on what’s right for someone else. You are the Lord’s and He will make sure you do what’s right. Lisa Whelchel We cannot be led by our emotions and still be led by the Holy Spirit, so we have to make a choice. Joyce Meyer

A guilty man," said the priest, with a smile, "shudders at the rustling of the wind or the chattering of a stork's beak: a murderer's conscience preys upon his mind till he sees what is not.

Let us see that we cannot see it all—around all the edges and corners of creation and the mind of God. We must allow ourselves to be reminded daily of the wonder of the universe—of God exposing Godself to us through our lives and the world and the vast expanse of the whole of creation, without believing we will ever, or should ever, have all the answers.

quiet. night. silence moving about while our minds weave in and out, dreaming our ways into tastes of something we cannot express. you come to us in dreams. of wheat stalks, of angels and ladders to heaven, of fat and thin cows, and blankets filled with forbidden foods descending while voices tell us to take and eat, to take the child and flee, to take heart. come to the windows of our dreams again now where night opens the portals and we resist no more your movings in our soul.

how'm I doin' the mayor said am I living up to what you had in mind am I letting down the side or surprising you with my wit. how'm I doin' I ask the Lord am I living up to what you had in mind holding up my part for the side using my best wits to move the game how'm I doin' dear Lord on who I can become

Dante Alighieri described the ninth and deepest pit of hell as an almost gaping void, locked in a perpetual state of suspended animation. It was reserved, in his interpretation, for the great traitors of history who were encapsulated in a lake of ice and contorted in all manner of unnatural positions. Joining them was Satan himself, waist-deep in the lake and beating his six wings in a foolhardy attempt at escape. And in Satan’s three mouths, condemned to an eternity of being slowly chewed to bits, were the most treacherous souls imaginable: Brutus, Cassius, and Judas Iscariot. But hell was a very real place on earth, as Ryan Freeman understood, and at the moment, he was convinced it sat on the top floor of the United States Capitol. There, he was trapped in the icy grips of four blue-faced beasts, his words contorted within their minds in all manner of unnatural positions as he was slowly chewed to bits, deep in the confines of a vaulted room where no one could hear him scream. Dante was wrong. The deepest pit of hell was reserved for the spymasters.

One translation of the Greek word for repent is "to go beyond the mind you have.

All our bright minds,” Feynman said sardonically, “and we can’t figure how to stop the enemy from dumping dirt on us.” Freeman said with delicate precision, “We are hothouse flowers, really. Not made for the blunt edge of war.” Nods

Freeman Dyson, of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, called him ‘the most original mind of his generation’, while in its obituary The New York Times described him as ‘arguably the most brilliant, iconoclastic and influential of the postwar generation of theoretical physicists’.

When he entered the anteroom, two women looked up at him. One was Miss Robertson, the governor's secretary; the other he did not recognize till she smiled and said his name in a gentle voice. She was Mrs. Freeman, the wife of the bishop; he saluted her and went to Miss Robertson. 'Will you tell them I'm here?' he said. 'I'm sorry, Mr. Haffner, they don't even want me to take minutes right now.' 'Well, just go tell them I'm out of the running.' There was not so much as a flicker in her eyes. 'They locked the door,' she said, 'and besides, I don't think they'll accept your withdrawal.' 'Won't they though. Just give them my message, Miss Robertson. I'm leaving.' 'Oh, Mr. Haffner, I know they'll want to see you. It's very important.' 'They will, huh. I'll give them half an hour.' He sat down beside her to talk. It was not that he liked Miss Robertson particularly. Her soul had been for a long time smoothed out and hobbled by girdles and high heels as her body; her personality was as blank and brown as her gabardine suit; her mind was exactly good enough to take down 140 any sort of words a minute without error, without boredom, without wincing. But she could talk idly in a bare room like this well enough; he remembered that she liked science-fiction; he drew her out. Besides, she was not Mrs. Freeman. Mrs. Freeman was a good woman; that is, she did good, and did not resent those who did bad but pitied them. For example, now: she was knitting alone while the other two talked, neither trying to join them nor, as John actively knew, making them uncomfortable for not having included her; and she was waiting for the bishop, who for reasons no one understood, hated to drive at night without her. John liked good people—no, he respected them above everyone else, above the powerful or beautiful or rich, whom he knew well, the gifted or learned or even the wise; indeed, he was rather in awe of the good, but their actual sweet presence made him uncomfortable. Mrs. Freeman there: with her hair drawn back straight to a bun, she sat in a steel-tube, leatherette chair, against a beige, fire-resistant, sound-absorbent wall, knitting in that ambient, indirect light socks for the mad; he knew quite well that if he should go over beside her she would talk with him in her gentle voice about whatever he wished to talk about, that she would have firm views which, however, she would never declare harshly against his should they differ, that she would tell him, if he asked about her work with the insane, what she had accomplished and what failed to accomplish, that she would make him acutely uncomfortable. He felt himself deficient not to be living, as people like Mrs. Freeman seemed to live, in an altogether moral world, but more especially he was reluctant to come near such people because he did not want to know more than he could help knowing of their motives; he did not trust motives; he was a lawyer. Therefore, though it was all but rude of him, he sat with Miss Robertson till the door opened.

...you sometimes note an impatience on the part of a specialist that the public does not show sufficient interest in his assemblage of information as such. He is likely to conclude that the average person is somewhat stupid. The opposite is true. It is a sign of native intelligence on the part of any person not to clutter his mind with indigestibles.

The beginning of karma yoga is the need to eat, to survive, and perhaps to get a paycheck. The result of that food or paycheck is the survival and hopefully the health of body and family. Body and family are not the happiness, joy, or the final goal or purpose of work: wisdom and compassion are. The underlying premise of karma yoga is that as you work, you should work eventually for the joy of working rather than becoming attached to the fruits of your labors. If

The distinguishing feature of karma yoga is that even though you may offer the fruits of your work to the benefit of others, you honestly do not have any expectations whatsoever that you will gain anything from that offering. In this way work itself is important to you, and eventually the work becomes art. In

when people say, The sky’s the limit! implying there is limitless potential and you can do anything you set your mind to, remember that’s simply not true, and if it were true, I’m not sure it would be a good

A WOMAN OF PRAYER Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NKJV On his second missionary journey, Paul started a small church in Thessalonica. A short time later, he penned a letter that was intended to encourage the new believers at that church. Today, almost 2,000 years later, 1 Thessalonians remains a powerful, practical guide for Christian living. In his letter, Paul advised members of the new church to “pray without ceasing.” His advice applies to Christians of every generation. When we consult God on an hourly basis, we avail ourselves of His wisdom, His strength, and His love. As Corrie ten Boom observed, “Any concern that is too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.” Today, make yourself a woman of prayer. Instead of turning things over in your mind, turn them over to God in prayer. Instead of worrying about your next decision, ask God to lead the way. Don’t limit your prayers to meals or bedtime. Become a woman of constant prayer. God is listening, and He wants to hear from you. Now. The manifold rewards of a serious, consistent prayer life demonstrate clearly that time with our Lord should be our first priority. Shirley Dobson A TIMELY TIP Today, ask yourself if your prayer life is all that it should be. If the answer is yes, keep up the good work. But if the answer is no, set aside a specific time each morning to talk to God. And then, when you’ve set aside a time for prayer, don’t allow yourself to become sidetracked.

MORE FROM GOD’S WORD “I say this because I know what I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NCV People may make plans in their minds, but the Lord decides what they will do. Proverbs 16:9 NCV There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord. Proverbs 21:30 NIV Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is useless. Psalm 127:1 NLT The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” Psalm 32:8 NLT The Lord is the strength of my life. Psalm 27:1 KJV However, each one must live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called him. 1 Corinthians 7:17 HCSB SHADES OF GRACE We’re not only saved by grace, but the Bible says we’re sustained by grace. Bill Hybels

MORE FROM GOD’S WORD Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 NIV Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous. 1 Peter 3:8 NKJV So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12 NASB But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously. Micah 6:8 MSG Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 HCSB The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my savior; my God is my rock in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the strength of my salvation, and my stronghold. Psalm 18:2 NLT SHADES OF GRACE The grace of God runs downhill toward the ones who are emptied and vulnerable, toward the ones who admit that they struggle. Angela Thomas A PRAYER FOR TODAY Today, Lord, let me count my blessings with thanksgiving in my heart. You have cared for me, Lord, and I will give You the glory and the praise. Let me accept Your blessings and Your gifts, and let me share them with others, just as You first shared them with me. Amen

Finding Genuine Peace But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace. Ephesians 2:13-14 NKJV On many occasions, our outer struggles are simply manifestations of the inner conflicts that we feel when we stray from God’s path. What’s needed is a refresher course in God’s promise of peace. The beautiful words of John 14:27 remind us that Jesus offers peace, not as the world gives, but as He alone gives: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful” (HCSB). As believers, our challenge is straightforward: we should welcome Christ’s peace into our hearts and then, as best we can, share His peace with others. Today, as a gift to yourself, to your family, and to your friends, invite Christ to preside over every aspect of your life. It’s the best way to live and the surest path to peace … today and forever. To know God as He really is—in His essential nature and character—is to arrive at a citadel of peace that circumstances may storm, but can never capture. Catherine Marshall In the center of a hurricane there is absolute quiet and peace. There is no safer place than in the center of the will of God. Corrie ten Boom I believe that in every time and place it is within our power to acquiesce in the will of God—and what peace it brings to do so! Elisabeth Elliot I want first of all…to be at peace with myself. I want a singleness of eye, a purity of intention, a central core to my life…. I want, in fact—to borrow from the language of the saints—to live “in grace” as much of the time as possible. Anne Morrow Lindbergh When we do what is right, we have contentment, peace, and happiness. Beverly LaHaye Prayer guards hearts and minds and causes God to bring peace out of chaos. Beth Moore Every one of us is supposed to be a powerhouse for God, living in balance and harmony within and without.

OPTIMISM NOW! And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 NLT As Christian women, we have every reason to rejoice. God is in His heaven; Christ has risen, and we are the sheep of His flock. But, when the demands of life seem great and our resources seem small by comparison, we may find ourselves exhausted, discouraged, or both. What’s your attitude today? Are you fearful, angry, or worried. Are you confused, bitter, or pessimistic? If so, God wants to have a little chat with you. God wants you to experience His joy and abundance. But, God will not force His joy upon you; you must claim it for yourself. So today, and every day thereafter, celebrate this life that God has given you. Think optimistically about yourself and your future. Give thanks to the One who has given you everything, and trust in your heart that He wants to give you so much more. Developing a positive attitude means working continually to find what is uplifting and encouraging. Barbara Johnson Every major spiritual battle is in the mind. Charles Stanley A TIMELY TIP If you want to improve the quality of your thoughts, ask God to help you.

Galison uses the phrase "critical opalescence" to sum up the story of what happened in 1905 when relativity was discovered. Critical opalescence is a strikingly beautiful effect that is seen when water is heated to a temperature of 374 degrees Celsius under high pressure. 374 degrees is called the critical temperature of water. It is the temperature at which water turns continuously into steam without boiling. At the critical temperature and pressure, water and steam are indistinguishable. They are a single fluid, unable to make up its mind whether to be a gas or a liquid. In that critical state, the fluid is continually fluctuating between gas and liquid, and the fluctuations are seen visually as a multicolored sparkling. The sparkling is called opalescence because it is also seen in opal jewels which have a similar multicolored radiance.

Galison uses critical opalescence as a metaphor for the merging of technology, science, and philosophy that happened in the minds of Poincare and Einstein in the spring of 1905. Poincare and Einstein were immersed in the technical tools of time signaling, but the tools by themselves did not lead them to their discoveries. They were immersed in the mathematical ideas of electrodynamics, but the ideas by themselves did not lead them to their discoveries. They were also immersed in the philosophy of space and time. Poincare had written a philosophical book, Science and Hypothesis, which Einstein studied, digging deep into the foundations of knowledge and criticizing the Newtonian notions of absolute space and time. But the philosophy by itself did not lead them to their discoveries. What was needed to give birth to the theory of relativity was a critical moment, when tools, ideas, and philosophical reflections jostled together and merged into a new way of thinking. Galison would like to put an end to the argument between Kuhnians and Galisonians. In this book he takes his position squarely in the middle: "Attending to moments of critical opalescence offers a way out of this endless oscillation between thinking of history as ultimately about ideas or fundamentally about material objects.

Spiritual Growth Grow in grace and understanding of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Glory to the Master, now and forever! Yes! 2 Peter 3:18 MSG Are you continuing to grow in your love and knowledge of the Lord, or are you “satisfied” with the current state of your spiritual health? Your relationship with God is ongoing; it unfolds day by day, and it offers countless opportunities to grow closer to Him … or not. As each new day unfolds, you are confronted with a wide range of decisions: how you will behave, where you will direct your thoughts, with whom you will associate, and what you will choose to worship. These choices, along with many others like them, are yours and yours alone. How you choose determines how your relationship with God will unfold. Hopefully, you’re determined to make yourself a growing Christian. Your Savior deserves no less, and neither, by the way, do you. Growing up in Christ is surely the most difficult, courageous, exhilarating, and eternally important work any of us will ever do. Susan Lenzkes You are either becoming more like Christ every day or you’re becoming less like Him. There is no neutral position in the Lord. Stormie Omartian There is nothing more important than understanding God’s truth and being changed by it, so why are we so casual about accepting the popular theology of the moment without checking it out for ourselves? God has given us a mind so that we can learn and grow. As His people, we have a great responsibility and wonderful privilege of growing in our understanding of Him. Sheila Walsh If all struggles and sufferings were eliminated, the spirit would no more reach maturity than would the child. Elisabeth Elliot Maturity in Christ is about consistent pursuit in spite of the attacks and setbacks. It is about remaining in the arms of God. Abiding and staying, even in my weakness, even in my failure. Angela Thomas Suffering is never for nothing. It is that you and I might be conformed to the image of Christ. Elisabeth Elliot We set our eyes on the finish line, forgetting the past, and straining toward the mark of spiritual maturity and fruitfulness.

MORE FROM GOD’S WORD If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18 NIV And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:7-8 NKJV Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9 NIV A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30 NIV The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace. Psalm 29:11 NIV SHADES OF GRACE All men who live with any degree of serenity live by some assurance of grace. Reinhold Niebuhr A PRAYER FOR TODAY Dear Lord, let me accept the peace and abundance that You offer through Your Son Jesus. You are the Giver of all things good, Father, and You give me peace when I draw close to You. Help me to trust Your will, to follow Your commands, and to accept Your peace, today and forever. Amen

MORE FROM GOD’S WORD We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. Romans 5:3-4 NCV The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9 NASB You pulled me from the brink of death, my feet from the cliff-edge of doom. Now I stroll at leisure with God in the sunlit fields of life. Psalm 56:13 MSG Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV The Lord is the One who will go before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8 HCSB For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV SHADES OF GRACE Grace grows best in the winter. C. H. Spurgeon A PRAYER FOR TODAY Heavenly Father, You are my strength and my refuge. As I journey through this day, I know that I may

MORE FROM GOD’S WORD According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the standard of faith; if service, in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:6-8 HCSB Do not neglect the gift that is in you. 1 Timothy 4:14 HCSB Each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that. 1 Corinthians 7:7 NKJV So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, “Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.” His lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” Matthew 25:20-21 NKJV I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you. 2 Timothy 1:6 HCSB SHADES OF GRACE When you experience grace and are loved when you do not deserve it, you spend the rest of your life standing on tiptoes trying to reach His plan for your life out of gratitude. Charles Stanley A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, You have given me abilities to be used for the glory of Your kingdom. Give me the courage and the perseverance to use those talents. Keep me mindful that all my gifts come from You, Lord. Let me be Your faithful, humble servant, and let me give You all the glory and all the praise. Amen

After all, Rutherford had as deep a sense of the mysteries of nature as Einstein. And the human spirit expresses itself as eloquently in the work of human hands as in the work of human minds. Rutherford was supreme as an experimenter and Einstein was supreme as a theorist, but each of them held the other in deep respect. Both of them understood that the human spirit is at its best when hands and minds are working together.

the objective of all man’s toil in this world: To reach beyond his own mind.

recalled a quote I picked up somewhere: “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.

Perhaps it was that relief that let us sleep, for the next thing I knew something else had caused my eyes to open, and I saw shadows crawling across the patch of light cast through the thin curtains by the streetlights outside. The room was sketched in a murky grey-orange, but most of it was still black – a black so dense that it seemed to swarm. Perhaps that wasn’t entirely an illusion though, for I could hear something moving within the room. It hardly seemed possible for the noise to be in here with us, for the only thing I could relate it to was the creaking of tree branches in the wind, and indeed that’s what the shadows in the patch of light brought to mind. But when I looked up at the window, there was no tree outside, and the sounds were too close, and somehow too furtive. It was almost the noise of an animal scurrying about in the dark, something trying to stay hidden.

By the fifth century, not only has rational thought been suppressed, but there has been a substitution for it of “mystery, magic and authority”, a substitution which drew heavily on irrational elements of Pagan society that had never been extinguished. Pope Gregory the Great warned those with a rational turn of mind that, by looking for cause and effect in the natural world, they were ignoring the cause of all things, the will of God. This was a vital shift of perspective, and in effect denial of the impressive intellectual advances made by the Greek philosophers.

There is an outward journey to travel to better understand the outside world. and an equally significant inward journey to upgrade the depths of our mind, body, and spirit. There’s simultaneously an evolution of the world and an “in”volution of self-growth. New global citizens are conscious of both and always continue to grow.

Pause, Assess, Then Decide Remember, it is not enough to be hit or insulted to be harmed, you must believe that you are being harmed. If someone succeeds in provoking you, realize that your mind is complicit in the provocation. Which is why it is essential that we not respond impulsively to impressions; take a moment before reacting, and you will find it is easier to maintain control. (Epictetus, Enchiridion XX) Whenever you are assailed with a powerful emotional reaction, immediately take a deep breath and separate the event from your impression of it. The event is what happened; your “impression” is how you have, initially, instinctively viewed it. Will you assent? Anything outside your control is of no real concern. It cannot touch the you that matters. But your considered response is, indeed, yours to control. Will you choose to be angry? Depressed? Afraid? Why? How do those things help you? How do they make you stronger or more virtuous? How do they lead to a life of eudemonia? Instead, take a deep breath and reach for some perspective. Whatever it was that happened, it’s already drifting into the past. What does this moment require of you?

She was so uncomfortable with these Southern Negroes, with their outlandish voices and unfettered laughter, their raucous worship and unlearned minds, their ignorance of words and places and ideas she took for granted. And she had never understood until, perhaps, just this night, the simple strength of them, the abiding courage of them, the unadorned wisdom of them.

the world is given to us, but the other half is created by how we frame it.

everything relates to everything else and consequently is in constant flux.

It also requires a willingness to make adjustments when we see our assessment is incorrect.

By practicing Brahmacarya, we cultivate respect for others and maintain the perspective of not knowing, not assuming, and not introducing ego (even in the form of preconceptions)

We learn to be focused and disciplined while letting go, surrendering the ego while steadying the mind, and all the while remaining tuned in to the complexity of whatever is arising.

As Alexander quickly matured and embarked upon adolescence, his father realized that he needed a skilled tutor to instruct his son not only in the physical arena, but also in the theatre of the mind. For King Philip only one man was worthy of this task: the Greek Philosopher and prolific writer, Aristotle.

spiritual discipline is more about receiving power to live in the kingdom. It’s about being aware of the presence of God and putting myself there on purpose so that my character might be transformed. It’s about training my mind and my will to practice what my heart deeply believes. It’s about knowing that each moment is packed with grace, but sometimes I need practice to see it. It’s about becoming the person I already am in Christ.

We’re letting everyone else’s agenda live for free in the sacred space of our creative mind, and it’s time for an eviction. This space is necessary for ideas to form, for questions to rise up, for hope to weave her way into our vision for the future, and for the dots of decision to begin to connect in the quiet places of our mind and heart. Good decisions require creativity, and creativity requires space.

In our mind, has he chosen a number between one and ten, waiting to see how close we’ll get? Is he standing in the corner of the room with his arms crossed and eyebrows raised? Does he roll his eyes, turn his back, or slam the door when we make a bad decision?

Once you’ve spent some time reflecting on the category and time frame you chose, hold that season in your mind and ask yourself in each area if it felt life-draining or life-giving. Write your answers down on an actual list. I usually have my two lists on one page, with life-draining at the top and life-giving at the bottom (trust me, it’s better to end with the life-giving stuff). When I did this for myself, I realized one of the things on my life-giving list was having a cookout with our extended family. But we only did that one time the whole summer. This helped me know what I might like to add more of to my life.

I can’t do it all, but I can do one thing. And then I can do one more thing after that. What about you? What is something on your mind? Turn it into a question and add today. Sometimes the thing on your mind is happening today. The next question is still the same—What is one next right thing you can do today? Because that’s all you can do anyway. You can only do one thing at a time.

Without a name, we can’t be specific. And there’s nothing fear likes more than non-specificity. We have an enemy who loves to cloud our minds over with generalities and a vague sense of anxiety. No wonder we can’t make a decision. Let’s begin to create space for the naming and, in turn, a more gently informed decision-making process.

A PRAYER Father, you hear everything, even the things we are afraid to say. For all the ways we’ve experienced healing, we know there is still much within us that remains unseen and unnamed. Give us the courage to face what we have so long tried to ignore. Shine the warm light of grace into the shadows and be the courage we need to respond. Hold shame, fear, and anger back with your powerful hand and extend to us your Father-kindness, we pray. As we turn our face to you, may we see our true self reflected in your gaze, not as people who have a spirit of fear but one of power, love, and a sound mind. Be our peace as we take one step forward and do our next right thing in love. Remind us that, in Christ, we live a narrative of joy.

In my mind I heard Father Freeman, his head bowed, announcing the punishment 'Say ten Hail Marys and go to the Hotel Paradise every summer for the remainder of your life.

A PRACTICE: PAY ATTENTION What is something you’re thinking about pursuing, starting, quitting, making, finishing, or embracing? If you don’t see the clear path, the end game, or the five-year plan, take heart. Be excessively gentle with yourself. Get still. Stop talking. Pause the constant questioning of everyone else’s opinion. Now hold that thing, whatever it is, in your mind. Pay attention to your body and your soul—Does it rise or does it fall?

A PRAYER Unbound by time or place or gravity, you go ahead of us into an unknown future. You walk toward us with love in your eyes. You stand beside us when we find ourselves in unsure places. You sit next to us in silence and in joy. You watch behind us to protect our minds from regret. You live within us and lead from a quiet place. When you speak with gentleness, we won’t ignore you. When you direct with nudges, we move with ease. When you declare your love for us, we refuse to squirm away. When you offer good gifts, we receive them with gratitude. When you delay the answers, we wait with hope. We resist the urge to sprint ahead in a hurry or lag behind in fear. Let us keep company with you at a walking pace, moving forward together one step at a time. Help us to know the difference between being pushed by fear and led by love.

What keeps me in New York is neither the high culture of museums and concert halls nor the unrivaled opportunities for working, eating, and spending that New Yorkers revel in. Rather it is a sensibility that is distinctly working-class—generous; open-minded but skeptical; idealistic but deflating of pretension; bursting with energy and a commitment to doing.

Through our yoga practice we learn to cultivate this observational skill, seeing what is immediately before us, so that eventually the practice transforms into something that penetrates every aspect of life. We hone the skill of focusing the mind on whatever pattern of perception it lights upon; whatever we are thinking, feeling, sensing, emoting becomes the object of meditation. By paying attention to the pattern of whatever is happening right now—and it could be a pattern we would normally consider to be miserable or neurotic or even ecstatic—by allowing the mind to rest there we find a gateway into understanding the whole beneath it. Through this meditative approach the context of that which we are observing is revealed, and quite easily, without a sense of anxiety, we perceive the background as an interlinking web of pure consciousness that has manifested as whatever we are observing. It becomes clear that the one point that appeared so separate within our attention is actually interpenetrating its immediate background, and that this same background (that also could be perceived as separate) melts into its own background, and so on. We experience this in a deeply physical, embodied way when the practice of yoga postures is done well. A viscerally grounded understanding of interconnectedness prompts the mind to soak deeper and deeper through various layers of background to where our perceptions and even sensations appear to us as sacred, inexplicable, and wonderful. When

We have just been seeing political power concerned to break a "clandom" which preceded it in time. Let us now see how it behaves in regard to a clandom which is its contemporary. It may be said in effect, paraphrasing Shakespeare: "Monarchy and feudal aristocracy are two lions born on the same day." There was something of an act of piracy about the foundation of the European states. The Franks who conquered Gaul, the Normans who conquered England and Sicily, and even the Crusaders who went to Palestine, all behaved like bands of adventurers, dividing the spoil. What was there to divide? First of all, the ready cash. Afterwards, there were the lands; no deserts, these, but furnished with men whose labor was to maintain the victor. To every man, then, his share in the prize. And there we have the man-at-arms turned baron. This is shown to the evolution of the world of the word baro, which in Germany meant "freeman" and in Gaul denoted the name of the class. There the remains for seizure the apparatus of state, which there was one: naturally it is the share of the chief. But when a barbarian like Clovis found himself confronted with the administrative machine of the Late Empire, he did not understand it. All he saw in it was a system of suction pumps, bringing him a steady flow of riches on which he made merry with no thought for the public services for which these resources were intended. In the result, then, he divided up along among his foremost companions the treasure of the state, whether in the form of lands or fiscal revenues. In this way, civilized government was gradually brought to ruin, and Gaul of the ninth and 10th centuries, was reduced to the same condition as that in which William of Normandy was to find England of the 11th. There was imposed the system of barbarian government known as government by retainers. Let the Charlemagne use as points d'appui of Power, the influential men who are already on the spot, or let William create his own influential men by a share-out of big fiefs in England - it was all one. The important thing to note is that the central authority appoints as its representatives in a given district either the chief proprietors of the soil who were there already, or those whom it sets up in their place. By a slant common to the barbarian mind, or rather by an inclination which is natural to all men, but in barbarians encounters no opposing principle, these influential men soon confound their function with their property and exercise the former as though it were the latter. Each little local tyrant then becomes legislature, judge and administrator of a more or less extensive principality; and on the tribute paid by it he lives, along with his servants and his men-at-arms. Power thus expelled soon returns, however, under the spur of its requirements. The resources at his disposal are absurdly out of proportion to the area, which depends on it and to the population, which calls it the sovereign. The reason is that the manpower has been taken over by the barons. What was in other days a tax is now a feudal due. The only way is to rob the baronial cell of its withheld resources. That is why monarchy establishes townships on the confines of the baronial lands; they act as cupping-glasses, drawing away the best elements in the population. In that way, the barons will get fewer villeins, and the king more bourgeoisie who will be grateful for the franchises conferred on them and will help the king in his necessities from their purses.

Insults: "Insults serve as arguments for those who are in the wrong." — Fénelon Insults: "The use of insulting language towards an enemy arises generally from the insolence of victory, or from the false hope of victory, which latter misleads men as often in their actions as in their words; for when this false hope takes possession of the mind, it makes men go beyond the mark, and causes them to sacrifice a certain good for an uncertain better." — Niccolò Machiavelli

Foreign policy, domestic policy: What is a foreign policy issue for one nation is a domestic issue for another. It is essential for statesmen to remember this as they go about their business. Foreign policy, innovation in: "The statesman is unlikely to make bureaucracy as he finds it into a cockpit for innovation, or to be able to make it over for that purpose. He is unlikely, too, to draw new ideas from outside help. Then where on earth are his ideas to come from? The answer is simple. They are to come from his own mind. He has to think them up himself. A statesman capable of innovation on his own is capable of statecraft on his own. A statesman incapable of statecraft should find himself another job." — James Eayrs, 1967

Foreign policy, politicization of: "No administration can conduct a sound foreign policy when the future sits in judgement on the past and officials are held accountable as dupes, fools or traitors for anything that goes wrong." — Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr., 1954 Foreign policy, popular support for: "No foreign policy — no matter how ingenious — has any chance of success if it is born in the minds of a few and carried in the hearts of none." — Henry A. Kissinger, 1973 Foreign policy, process by which formed: A camel is a horse designed by a committee. A platypus is a bird put together by bureaucrats. An elephant is a mouse built to military specifications. A shrimp is a fish conceived in the legislative process. More often than not, a foreign policy is a course of action devised by a committee of bureaucrats and military men under the oversight of a legislature. Not surprisingly, such a thing defies simple description.

Our minds are a lot like our rear-ends. Sometimes they are constipated, other times stricken with mental diarrhea, and occasionally a little bubbly. However, none of these and all of these conditions define our rear-ends or our personalities. Could contentment come from accepting all of our rocks, rumbles and runs?

In other words, the reviewer rejects Freeman’s argument that group e-mails consume a disproportionate amount of our time by countering that he had recently sent such an e-mail and had received useful replies in return. This is the essence of our convenience addiction: because we lack clear metrics for these behaviors’ costs, we cannot weigh their pros against their cons. Therefore, the evidence of any benefit is enough to justify continued use. Though group e-mails might be costing a company thousands of man-hours of value-producing deep thought, this mind-set argues, if such e-mails occasionally make an employee’s life easier, they should be allowed to continue.

MORE FROM GOD’S WORD Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. Ephesians 3:19-20 MSG I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. John 10:10 MSG It is pleasant to see dreams come true, but fools will not turn from evil to attain them. Proverbs 13:19 NLT Where there is no vision, the people perish…. Proverbs 29:18 KJV Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD. Psalm 31:24 KJV There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 23:18 NIV SHADES OF GRACE Grace calls you to get up, throw off your blanket of helplessness, and to move on through life in faith. Kay Arthur A PRAYER FOR TODAY Dear Lord, give me the courage to dream and the faithfulness to trust in Your perfect plan. When I am worried or weary, give me strength for today and hope for tomorrow. Keep me mindful of Your healing power, Your infinite love, and Your eternal salvation. Amen

The Need for Silence Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him. Psalm 37:7 HCSB The world seems to grow louder day by day, and our senses seem to be invaded at every turn. If we allow the distractions of a clamorous society to separate us from God’s peace, we do ourselves a profound disservice. Our task, as believers, is to carve out moments of silence in a world filled with noise. If we are to maintain righteous minds and compassionate hearts, we must take time each day for prayer and for meditation. We must make ourselves still in the presence of our Creator. We must quiet our minds and our hearts so that we might sense God’s will and His love. Has the hectic pace of life robbed you of God’s peace? If so, it’s time to reorder your priorities and your life. Nothing is more important than the time you spend with your Heavenly Father. So be still and claim the genuine peace that is found in the silent moments you spend with God. If you, too, will learn to wait upon God, to get alone with Him, and remain silent so that you can hear His voice when He is ready to speak to you, what a difference it will make in your life! Kay Arthur I always begin my prayers in silence, for it is in the silence of the heart that God speaks. Mother Teresa Deepest communion with God is beyond words, on the other side of silence. Madeleine L’Engle The world is full of noise. Might we not set ourselves to learn silence, stillness, solitude? Elisabeth Elliot Be still, and in the quiet moments, listen to the voice of your Heavenly Father. His words can renew your spirit. No one knows you and your needs like He does. Janet L. Weaver Jesus taught us by example to get out of the rat race and recharge our batteries. Barbara Johnson My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. Psalm 62:5 NKJV

The elements of instruction . . . should be presented to the mind in childhood, but not with any compulsion; for a freeman should be a freeman too in the acquisition of knowledge . . . . Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion has no hold on the mind. Therefore do not use compulsion, but let early education be rather a sort of amusement; this will better enable you to find out the natural bent of the child (536).

Well, you don't really forget the crap, do you? ... You might put a blanket over it & push it to the back of your mind, but that doesn't really make it go away.

Knowledge is of no use unless it is actually in your mind, so that it can be produced at a moment’s notice.

Since the human mind is incapable of discerning truth from falsehood, it is forced to constantly create erroneous stories to explain, justify and categorize everything.

Quite possibly with the image of the library of Alexandria still fresh in his mind, Caesar wished to have buildings of learning along with with people of learning. He sought the construction of his own massive library.

In the face of severe trauma, the brain could conjure entire worlds that didn’t exist as a way of blocking out reality. Hallucinations of people and places. Delusions that the mind refused to give up.

In an attempt to learn more about what happened during a lobotomy, Freeman tried performing them with the patient wide awake, under local anesthesia. During one of these procedures, Freeman asked the patient, while cutting his brain tissue, what was going through his mind. “A knife,” the patient said. Freeman told this story with pleasure for years.

personal equation. Thorndyke's brain was not an ordinary brain. Facts of which his mind instantly perceived the relation remained to other people unconnected and without meaning. His powers of observation and rapid inference were almost incredible, as I had noticed again and again, and always with undiminished wonder. He seemed to take in everything at a single glance and in an instant to appreciate the meaning of everything that he had seen. Here was a case in point. I had myself seen all that he had seen, and, indeed, much more; for I had looked on the very people and witnessed their actions, whereas he had never set eyes on any of them. I had examined the little handful of rubbish that he had gathered up so carefully, and would have flung it back under the grate without a qualm. Not a glimmer of light had I perceived in the cloud of mystery, nor even a hint of the direction in which to seek enlightenment. And yet Thorndyke had, in some incomprehensible manner, contrived to piece together facts that I had probably not even observed, and that so completely that he had already, in these few days, narrowed down the field of inquiry to quite a small area. From these reflections I returned to the objects on the table. The spectacles, as things of which I had some expert knowledge, were not so profound a mystery to me. A pair of spectacles might easily afford good evidence for identification; that I perceived clearly enough. Not a ready-made pair, picked up casually at a shop, but a pair constructed by a skilled optician to remedy a particular defect of vision and to fit a particular face. And such were the spectacles before me. The build of the frames was peculiar; the existence of a cylindrical lens—which I could easily make out from the remaining fragments—showed that one glass had been cut to a prescribed shape and almost certainly ground to a particular formula, and also that the distance between centres must have

the face of severe trauma, the brain could conjure entire worlds that didn’t exist as a way of blocking out reality. Hallucinations of people and places. Delusions that the mind refused to give up.

The girls’ parents, Lord and Lady Redesdale – David Freeman Mitford and his wife Sydney – are perhaps better known to posterity (thanks again to the above-mentioned books) as ‘Farve’ and ‘Muv’. They were honest, well-meaning, salt-of-the-earth, admittedly slightly eccentric, socially retiring minor aristocrats; thoroughly nice people who, because of their extraordinary daughters, were propelled unwillingly, blinking and unprepared, into an international spotlight. Yet if there is a heroine in this book it is surely Sydney. Her loyalty to, degree of concern for and tactful support of all her daughters were unflagging, even when pre-Second World War polemics caused the disintegration of her formerly happy marriage. This strength may come as a surprise to those who recall the ‘Muv’ of her daughters’ writings as a slightly batty, absent-minded and vague personality almost disassociated from the reality of her children’s lives.

Diplomatic mission, chief of: Within a foreign country, an ambassador must be the paramount authority for the coordination and implementation of his nation's policy. Diplomatic mission, management of of: An ambassador must be ever mindful that he is responsible for representing his whole state and nation, and his entire government, not just his foreign ministry, through which he receives his instructions. In large and important embassies, an ambassador directs a staff drawn from many civilian and military departments, not just the foreign ministry. In his management of relations between disparate elements of his diplomatic mission and in his direction of their work, he must be dedicated to getting the job done, and be seen to be impartial, regardless of the bureaucratic divisions of labor in his capital. Diplomatic work, importance of: The work of diplomats affect the life of the nation. In ordinary times, it helps determine the sense of confidence, security, and well-being of the citizenry, their general welfare, the balance of trade and payments, whether employment opportunities are created or destroyed through exports and imports, and whether citizens traveling or residing abroad are treated with dignity or subjected to humiliations by foreign governments. In extraordinary times, diplomats manage the prelude of war, protect citizens from its consequences, and set the terms of the return to peace. Diplomats: "A diplomat is a person who tries to solve complicated problems which would never have arisen if there had been no diplomats." — Robert Regala, quoting an unidentified foreign minister

Diplomats, image of: "In their own mind's eye, diplomats are imperturbable, courteous, painstaking, capable of seeing all sides of a problem and firm or conciliatory, depending on the situation. In the view of many members of the general public, they are callous, cynical, standoffish, indolent, superficial, supercilious and vacillating." — Charles Roetter, 1963 Diplomats, insults: A diplomat is someone who never unintentionally insults another person. Diplomats, professional affinities of: "Professional diplomatists constitute ... a distinct society, which has its peculiar maxims, lights, manners, and desires, and maintains, in the midst of the disagreements or positive conflicts of the states it represents, a tranquil and permanent unity." — F. Guizot, 1859

Economics: "Economics, national or international, ... is not an end in itself, but a means of peace and a base on which may be developed a more satisfying life for peoples and individuals." — Adolf A. Berle, 1964 Embassies, locally hired staff of: Ambassadors come and go, as do their diplomatic subordinates. The locally hired staff of an embassy do not. They are the embassy's roots in the community and its essential continuity. Their morale, like their performance, is crucial to an ambassador's success and must not be neglected by him. Empires: "Great empires and little minds go ill together." — Edmund Burke

This is just the beginning. You have so much more to do and discover. Even if it feels like you should be further along by now, be patient with yourself; good things take time and there is no need to rush this beautiful journey you are on. Take each day as it comes and make the most of it. Rest easy knowing that things are falling into place, and everything is coming together just like how you hoped they would in your mind. Don’t waste any of your precious breaths comparing your progress to anyone else. Inspiration goes so much further than comparison and you’re far too special and unique to measure your success by external factors. Good things take time, and my dear, you’re destined for the extraordinary.

But so many of the stay-at-any-cost standards we may hold ourselves to come from an ingrained belief that if we leave, quit, or change our mind, then that says something about our character. Maybe that means I’m flaky or unreliable. Maybe this is a verdict about not just my actions but also my identity: Not only did I quit; I am a “quitter.

Espionage, vital importance of: "What enables an intelligent government and a wise military leadership to overcome others and achieve extraordinary accomplishments is foreknowledge. "Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, and cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people who know the conditions of the enemy." — Sunzi [故明君贤将，所以动而胜人，成功出于众者，先知也；先知者，不可取于鬼神，不可象于事，不可验于度；必取于人，知敌之情者也。——《孙子兵法·用间》] Evasion: "If, as frequently happens, an indiscreet question which seems to require a distinct answer is put to you abruptly by an artful minister, parry it either by treating it as an indiscreet question or get rid of it by a grave and serious look; but on no account contradict the assertion flatly if it be true, or admit it as true if false." — Lord Malmesbury Exiles: "It seems not amiss to speak ... of the danger of trusting to the representations of men who have been expelled from their country; this being a matter that all those who govern states have to act upon almost daily ... We see ... how vain the faith and promises of men are who are exiles from their own country. As to their faith, we have to bear in mind that, whenever they can return to their country by other means than your assistance, they will abandon you and look to the other means, regardless of their promises to you. And as to their vain hopes and promises, such is their extreme desire to return to their homes that they naturally believe many things that are not true, and add many others on purpose; so that, with what they really believe and what they say they believe, they will fill you with hopes to that degree that if you attempt to act upon them you will incur a fruitless expense, or engage in an undertaking that will involve you in ruin." — Niccolò Machiavelli

Coalitions: Coalitions are created out of fear, not out of affection between states. Coalitions: Many rush to the aid of the victor, the allies of the defeated melt away. Coalitions, command and control: War cannot be fought successfully by committee; a simpler structure of command and control is required for victory. Wars must be led single-mindedly; they need a single point of authority to lead the collective enterprise, but the jealousies of coalition members make this resolution difficult. Coalitions, command and control: "If a great state is forced to act in a situation of great peril, it must at least secure for itself the position of supreme leadership." — Metternich, 1854

International organizations, as police: "The paradox is that men of liberal mind, who would be offended by the idea that the police are the most important factor in assuring social cohesion, do not hesitate to become fierce police ethusiasts when they discuss the international system. The zealots of world community and collective security might have spared themselves these anomalies if they had been less despairing about the wide field of cooperation that lies open to international organizations, once the fantasy of coercion is laid aside. If there is not much to be done by law and enforcement, there are still the alternatives of politics and adjustment. The tragedies of our age should not blind us to the achievements of noncoercive diplomacy. Indeed, unrealistic dreams about enforcement may have led statesmen and diplomats to underestimate the promise and dignity of their task as conciliators. Even in our unsatisfactory world clashes of national interest are usually settled without the threat or use of force. Most of them are resolved by routine processes of diplomacy and conference. If coercion is abandoned, only persuasion remains; and in a world of sovereign nation-states, each devoted to its particular national interest, there is no substitute for persuasion. In the final resort, the prevention of war, like the prevention of civil strife within society, does not depend on legal procedures or policy coercion, but on the art of adjustment." — Abba Eban, 1983

Interpreters, briefing of: Interpreters should know the basis and logic of the case their side wishes to make before they are called upon to render it into other side's language. They can play an invaluable role in shaping arguments in ways that the other side can most easily understand and accept. Interpreters, knowledge required by: "A good interpreter must know almost as much about world affairs as the statesmen whose speeches he translates. Otherwise he will miss subtle but significant references to events in some distant part of the world or ignore nuances which may herald a change of attitude on the part of the government which the speaker represents. He must study the great international figures, because he will be translating them time and time again. The more he can learn about their mannerisms, their turn of phrase, their cast of mind, the better he will do his job." — An unidentified interpreter quoted by Charles Roetter, 1963 Interpreters, style of speech suited to: The statesman who wishes to assure the accuracy of interpretation and to hold the interest of a foreign interlocutor who does not speak his language is well advised to speak briefly in one or two sentences expressing a complete thought rather than at great and tangled length. Interpreters, use of by negotiators: It is wise for a negotiator, even if he speaks the language of the other side well, to use an interpreter. This preserves the principle that he regards his own language as authoritative, assures that his statements reflect a full command of the nuances involved, maintains a record of discussion in his own language, reassures those on his own negotiating team who may not speak the foreign language as well as he, and gives him extra time to consider how best to conduct himself as discussion proceeds.

Mediation, joint: "Statesmen should adhere rigorously to an ad hoc approach, looking at each conflict on its merits. The peacemaker must be a tailor, not a haberdasher. When considering joint peacemaking endeavors ... with ... anyone else, we should apply common-sense criteria: what clout do they have with the protagonists? How 'relevant' are they to the conflict at hand, and how will their participation (or non-participation) be perceived? What do we get in return for accepting or creating a role for them, and what must we pay for it? What is the cost of excluding them?" — Chester A. Crocker, 1992 Mediation, knowledge of peacemakers: "Every Conflict contains unique properties. It is the peacemaker's first obligation to study the particular factors of history, culture, and power that are found in all conflicts. The peacemaker is doomed to fail — no matter how powerful or credible or 'legitimate' — unless he can place himself (like a good historian) inside the minds of the parties while remaning coldly realistic about them." — Chester A. Crocker, 1992

Pope Gregory the Great warned those with a rational turn of mind that, by looking for cause and effect in the natural world, they were ignoring the cause of all things, the will of God. This was a vital shift of perspective, and in effect a denial of the impressive intellectual advances made by the Greek philosophers.

Faith” is a complex concept, but whether it is trust in what cannot be seen, belief in promises made by God, essentially a declaration of loyalty or a virtue, it involves some kind of acquiescence in what cannot be proved by rational thought.

Anyone who changes their mind based on new and better information is criticized and denounced. So it disincentivizes people from using critical thought when in reality the ethical thing is to change your mind based on new and better information.”2

Persuasion: "On the whole, the difficult thing about persuading others is not that one lacks the knowledge needed to state his case nor the audacity to exercise his abilities to the full. On the whole, the difficult thing about persuasion is to know the mind of the person one is trying to persuade and to be able to fit one's words to it. ... The important thing in persuasion is to learn how to play up the aspects that the person you are talking to is proud of and to play down the aspects he is ashamed of. Thus, if the person has some urgent personal desire, you should show him that it is his public duty to carry it out and urge him not to delay. If he has some mean objective in mind and yet cannot restrain himself, you should do your best to point out to him whatever admirable aspects it may have and to minimize reprehensible ones. If he has some lofty objective in mind and yet does not have the ability needed to realize it, you should do your best to point out to him the faults and bad aspects of such an objective and make it seem a virtue not to pursue it. If he is anxious to make a show of wisdom and ability, mention several proposals which are different from the one you have in mind but of the same general nature in order to supply him with ideas; then let him build on your words, but pretend that you are unaware that he is doing so, and this way abet his wisdom. If you wish to urge a policy of peaceful coexistence, then be sure to expound in terms of lofty ideals, but also hint that it is commensurate with the ruler's personal interests. If you wish to warn the ruler against dangerous and injurious policies, then make a show of the fact that they invite reproach and moral censure, but also hint that they are inimical to his personal interests." — Han Feizi, as translated by Burton Watson [cf. 《韩非子·说难》：凡说之难，非吾知之有以说之之难也，又非吾辩之能明吾意之难也，又非吾敢横失而能尽之难也。凡说之难，在知所说之心，可以吾说当之。……凡说之务，在知饰所说之所矜而灭其所耻。彼有私急也，必以公义示而强之。其意有下也，然而不能已，说者因为之饰其美而少其不为也。其心有高也，而实不能及，说者为之㪯其过而见其恶，而多其不行也。有欲矜以智能，则为之㪯异事之同类者，多为之地，使之资说于我，而佯不知也以资其智。欲内相存之言，则必以美名明之，而微见其合于私利也。欲陈危害之事，则显其毁诽而微见其合于私患也。 see also, Flattery, influence through] Persuasion, bargaining and: Persuasion generally precedes bargaining in negotiations. Persuasion differs from bargaining in that it represents an effort to bring the other side to an acceptance, through appeals to reason or emotion, of the reasons that your demands are so important to you and of your views of why their demands are excessive, unacceptable, and contrary to their own interest. Bargaining is characterized by conditional offers, threats, and inducements intended to promote acceptance of proposals for compromise and a trade-off between competing interests. Placement: The art of seating guests in such a manner as to recognize their status and order of precedence, and to please rather than enrage or bore them.

Insinuation: "One often meets men who are as difficult to convince as they are to arouse and who disdain all ideas other than their own. Neither a lack of intelligence nor a lack of sentiment is the cause of this difficulty: it is rather their attachment to their own thoughts, their vanity of never learning anything from anyone else, their suspicion of formal propositions, which renders men deaf to the voice of persuasion. With characters of this kind one must use insinuation, which is a roundabout way of suggesting ideas so that the hearer believes he has invented them himself. Since the little passions that block these minds' entrance to truth are very common and are found somewhere in every character, the art of insinuation is of more general usage than that of direct persuasion." — Fortune Barthélemy de Felice, 1778

v. It cannot be many, because the many is made up of additional ones, so that since the one does not exist, the many do not exist either. (c) A mixture of Being and Not-Being is impossible. Therefore, since Being does not exist, nothing exists. II. If anything exists, it is incomprehensible. If the concepts of the mind are not realities, reality cannot be thought; if the thing thought is white, then white is thought about; if the thing thought is non-existent, then non-existence is thought about; this is equivalent to saying that “existence, reality, is not thought about, cannot be thought.” Many things thought about are not realities: we can conceive of a chariot running on the sea, or a winged man. Also, since things seen are the objects of sight, and things heard are the objects of hearing, and we accept as real things seen without their being heard, and vice versa; so we would have to accept things thought without their being seen or heard; but this would mean believing in things like the chariot racing on the sea. Therefore, reality is not the object of thought, and cannot be comprehended by it. Pure mind, as opposed to sense-perception, or even as an equally valid criterion, is a myth. III. If anything is comprehensible, it is incommunicable. The things which exist are perceptibles: the objects of sight are apprehended by sight, the objects of hearing by hearing, and there is no interchange; so that these sense-perceptions cannot communicate with one another. Further, that with which we communicate is speech, and speech is not the same thing as the things that exist, the perceptibles; so that we communicate not the things which exist, but only speech; just as that which is seen cannot become that which is heard, so our speech cannot be equated with that which exists, since it is outside us. Further, speech is composed from the percepts which we receive from without, that is, from perceptibles; so that it is not speech which communicates perceptibles, but perceptibles which create speech. Further, speech can never exactly represent perceptibles, since it is different from them, and perceptibles are apprehended each by the one kind of organ, speech by another. Hence, since the objects of sight cannot be presented to any other organ but sight, and the different sense-organs cannot give their information to one another, similarly speech cannot give any information about perceptibles. Therefore, if anything exists and is comprehended, it is incommunicable. (Sextus Empiricus 1.3/Freeman, 128-129, fragment 3/Baird, 45-46)

Advocacy, policy: "Most people do not mind being surpassed in good fortune, character, or temperament, but no one, especially not a sovereign, likes to be surpassed in intelligence. For this is the king of attributes, and any crime against it is lèse-majesté. Sovereigns want to be so in what is most important. Princes like to be helped, but not surpassed. When you counsel someone, you should appear to be reminding him of something he had forgotten, not of the light he was unable to see. It is the stars who teach us this subtlety. They are brilliant sons, but they never dare to outshine the sun." — Baltazar Gracián Advocacy, policy: "Ideas do not sell themselves. Authors of memoranda who are not willing to fight for them are more likely to find their words turn into ex post facto alibis than guides to action." — Henry A. Kissinger, 1994

Diplomacy, coercive: "The general concept of coercive diplomacy becomes a strategy only when the policymaker ... [decides]: (1) what to demand of the opponent; (2) whether — and how — to create in the adversary's mind a sense of urgency about complying with the demand; (3) how to create a threat of punishment for noncompliance that is sufficiently credible and potent in the adversary's mind to persuade him that compliance is more in his interest than facing the consequences; and (4) whether to couple the threatened punishment with positive inducements — a 'carrot' — to make it easier for the adversary to comply. It should go without saying that the more far-reaching the demand, the stronger the opponent's motivation to resist and the more difficult the task of coercive diplomacy." — Alexander L. George, 1993

Diplomats, qualities of: "In the exercise of the functions of the diplomat, the qualities which will be most useful are a sharp discernment, sound judgement, studied opinion, firm convictions, and a humble bearing." — Baron Silvercruys, 1956 Diplomats, qualities of the perfect: "The essential qualities of a diplomatists ... [are that]: He is conciliatory and firm; he eludes difficulties which cannot immediately be overcome only in order to obviate them in more favorable conditions; he is courteous and unhurried; he easily detects insincerity, not always discernible to those who are themselves sincere; he has a penetrating intellect and a subtle mind, combined with a keen sense of humor. He has an intuitive sense of fitness; and is ... adaptable. He is at home in any society and is equally effective in the chanceries of the old diplomacy or on the platforms of the new." — A. L. Kennedy, 1922 Diplomats, training of: "[Apprentice diplomats] must be made fully to understand that there is nothing more important for the good of the service and their own advancement than to secure for themselves a well-established reputation of being safe and trustworthy men, so that those who shall have to do with them may feel that they will not be betrayed and that any secret revealed to them will be kept." — Marquis de Torcy, 1711, cited by J. J. Jusserand

Tact: "Tact is the capacity of doing spontaneously what is suitable." — Armand von Dumreicher Tact: "What is paramount necessity for a diplomat is tact. Tact requires the respect for form that a mediocre mind alone despises. The more society is civilized, the more form is respected as a wholesome barrier to the inevitable antagonisms to which incompatibility of character and birth give rise. Politeness is not an untruth. It merely reminds us of the justice and inner moderation which ought to guide us. It is only in bad company that we have to scream to make ourselves heard." — Charles de Martens, 1866 Tariffs: "It is often maintained that Protection is useful as a bargaining weapon for breaking down the economic nationalism of other countries and thus serves to promote freer trade. But experience has shown that tariff wars have generally ended in higher tariffs. Is it not far more probable that the real bargaining power lies in the threat to introduce Protection and that once in being that power is largely lost?" — Victor Wellesley, 1944 Taste, tact and: A diplomat must have both taste and tact. Taste is a feeling for beauty; tact, for what is fitting.

Wartime, diplomacy in: "If we accept the notion that the object of war is to induce a certain frame of mind in the consciousness of the adversary and not to destroy him or to render him helpless in the determination of the postwar settlement, it follows that diplomacy is never in suspense. It has a three-phased task: to prevent war when possible; to control its course once it has broken out, and to end it as soon as possible in conditions likely to prevent its renewal." — Abba Eban, 1983 Weapons: Weapons are tools for making your enemies change their minds. Weapons: "Weapons are of little use on the field of battle if there is no wise counsel at home." — Cicero Will: "There are no purely political solutions any more than purely military solutions and ..., in the relation among states, will may play as great a role as power." — Henry A. Kissinger, 1957 Wisdom: "Men and nations do behave wisely, once all other alternatives have been exhausted." — Abba Eban, 1967

War, rules of: "The laws of war, that restrain the exercise of rapine and murder, are founded on two principles of substantial interest: the knowledge of the permanent benefits which can be obtained by a moderate use of conquest, and a just apprehension lest the desolation which we inflict on the enemy's country may be retaliated on our own." — Edward Gibbon War, state of: "Every city [state] is in a normal state of war with every other, not indeed proclaimed by heralds, but everlasting." — Plato [See The Laws, Book 1 Section 626a, also cf. Peace] War, termination of: "Do not exact conditions which will compel your former adversary to await his time for revenge." — Attributed to Count Otto von Bismarck War, termination of: "If it is difficult to start a war, it is almost impossible to end it until it has run its course — that is, until one side is completely ruined and the other side almost, if not quite, ruined." — R. B. Mowat, 1936 War, termination of: "Diplomacy has an important part to play at the onset of a war. When no adjustment can be found which satisfies all parties, and they are left with the decision to resort to force, the role of the diplomat is to look to the future, to the conditions in which after the clash of arms the effort to compel can once more give way to the dialogue of persuasion. ... Wise statesmen ... will ... bear in mind the future settlement with the enemy, and will see the advantage of making their demands on him as palatable as possible, so that he will be more easily brought to accept them and easier to live with in international society afterwards." — Adam Watson, 1983

Sanctions, revolutionary states: Sanctions and other measures to reduce engagement with a country in revolution are often secretly welcomed by its leaders. Sanctions provide the evidence of foreign hostility revolutionary leaders need to harness the spirit of nationalism to their cause. Sanctions also help them to rid their country of objectionable foreign influences, and justify their speedy reorientation of foreign relations toward the enemies of those imposing the sanctions. Sanctions, targets of: Economic sanctions are most likely to be imposed on enemies but are, seemingly paradoxically, more effective against allies and the like-minded. Those who desire to preserve a cooperative relationship with the nation imposing the sanctions have a much greater incentive to bend on specific issues than those who do not. Secrecy: Secrecy is necessary to enable governments that have taken extreme positions in public to compromise in private and to be protected against the consequences of disclosure until the terms of agreement are final and can be defended successfully against domestic critics.

Now it is Christmas Eve and we are alone together, for I am there in your heart as truly as if I were actually present. You have been looking forward to this little interval of peace and quiet; you see, I know that without being told. And of course that is one of the most precious and wonderful things that has come into being during the past year—that each of us can know, with unquestioning certainty, the sort of thoughts and feelings that are filling the mind and heart of the other.

Refoulement: The forcing back of a person seeking sanctuary as a refugee. Regionalism: A concept of cooperation and combination for common purposes between neighboring states, generally to promote their defense against a potentially hegemonic power or to enhance their economic competitveness vis-à-vis a dominant economic power. Rejection: The act of refusing to accept a diplomatic note or other formal statement of position of a foreign state or government because of its offensive contents. Relations, breaking diplomatic: "Diplomats ... resent the degree to which the word 'diplomacy' is equated in the public mind with the external forms rather than with the living content of their craft. ... [This] applies to one of the oldest and most fallacious habits of the diplomatic system: the habit of treating diplomatic relations as a grace to be awarded or withheld rather than a convenience to be universally employed. Nothing could be more full of anomaly than the 'breaking off' of diplomatic relations in moments of crisis. It is precisely when there is conflict that there is more need of such relations, and it is in such conditions that they are often eroded. ... This [reflects] the erroneous belief that diplomatic relations have a moral rather than a utilitarian significance." — Abba Eban, 1983 Relations, breaking diplomatic: "Severing relations is like playing the Ace of Spades in bridge. You can only use it once. When you play it, you haven't got any more, so your hand is considerably weakened. Breaking relations has the direct disadvantage of sometimes redounding to your own discomfort, because the maintenance of relations between governments has been found to be generally advantageous to both parties. If you break off relations with another government, the chances are, over the next few years, you are going to find you need relations with that country. Now the other fellow, as the aggrieved party, is usually not in a position to take the initiative in resuming relations, and that means you have to swallow your pride and go to him on your hands and knees and say, 'Come on old fellow. Let's make up.' That is not anything a government likes to do." — Geroge F. Kennan, 1946