Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 6: 12 "He retreats, eluding pursuit, too swift to be overtaken."

Have you heard the old joke, told in so many different ways about the two friends, camping, when they hear a bear outside their tent? Without hesitating, one of the campers starts lacing and tying his boots. The other says, what you are doing, you can't outrun a bear. No...

No, I sure can't outrun a bear, but I don't have to. I only have to outrun you.

I know, it's not a great joke, but it vividly illustrates the power of eluding. Swift in retreat, so fast you cannot be overtaken. If you check yesterday's Yin/Yang map, this would be rising Yin.

I'm not an outdoorsman, and I have never fought on an actual field of combat. I have, in my real life, done a fair bit of real fighting though, while I do not mean the physical kind. Just fighting opposition, argument, overcoming obstacles and such. There's a skill I've built.

I think of it as smelling the air before combat engagement. What does the air tell me? Can I smell the scent of the bear coming, before I hear the sounds of rooting through the camp? Can I smell fear or rage, weakness or strength in my enemy? Which way does the wind blow?

I employ the Yin/Yang map in the form of four questions:

1) Is Yin rising?
2) Has Yin peaked?
3) Is Yang rising?
4) Has Yang Peaked?

I call this determining the kind of moment I'm in. What sort of a moment is this?

Kenny Rogers immortalized the exact same analysis:

You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done

Perhaps the place where I've learned to retreat, to elude my enemy is best illustrated in two ways. One, during the sales process, and second, in serving new clients. In both cases, there are always many voices my prospect and/or new client hears. Voices of opposition.

The voices come mightily after we've spoken, and my prospect or new client has expressed something they've been hiding from. After they confide in me, giving me an uncomfortable truth, their inner voices come yelling at them. This is a storm of inner conflict, often very painful.

I've learned that the voices have 24/7 access and I have but a few minutes in which to engage. Their advantage is vast. Thus, when their Yang is rising, I must grow in Yin. I must allow them their access, so I beat a rapid retreat. I run faster than they can. They can't catch me.

Yet the seed of truth, and the hope of transformation lingers. There is a quiet Yin spot inside the rising loud Yang of the inner voices in their opposition to change and transformation. It shrinks at first, but as they expend their shrill screeching power, the Yin again grows.

Why do I run away from the inner voices? The reason is that for me to linger is to empower the voices with my own Yang, giving them access to my energy against which to attack. It is the still, small voice within my prospect or client's inner yearning that is my ally.

It's not easy to detect the shift in the moment but it's possible. There are ways to observe, to feel the silence, to detect the tide has turned. The loud, shrill Yang has expended itself and Yin is now in its rising. That's when retreat converts to advance. It's time to call.

Due to my public analysis, and publication of analyses provided to #GenFlynn on behalf of @realDonaldTrump's 2016 run, I am often asked why @POTUS doesn't do this or that? I often try to explain; he didn't have the power to accomplish this or that. This never satisfies.

My many Q-following friends often challenge me about the nature of 16D chess, and wasn't Sessions pulling off one of @POTUS secret plans? The presumption of power is so vast, I try to avoid the debate, mostly. I try to explain; power is always limited. You must know when to run.

Consider the 1.5 million documents @POTUS provided to the SC investigation. Consider the unlimited access he granted to his staff. Consider that he never used executive privilege when he might have, legally. Why didn't he? He would have aided the enemy if he had. Rather, he ran.

When you ascertain that your own Yin is rising, you run. Running requires that you access your inner Yang, the power you still have. You must use it to escape, and NOT use it to foolishly attack when it was time to fold, not hold. You must know when it's time to run, not walk.

What is the most searching map Master Sun demands we master? His most frequent analysis is over strength and weakness, the enemy's and our own. Here it is:

1) Enemy's Strength
2) Enemy's Weakness
3) My Strength
4) My Weakness

We end today's lesson with three optional assignments:

First, list which combinations indicate advance, and which indicate retreat, which indicate waiting or scouting?

Second, assess @POTUS strengths and weaknesses, and his enemy's strengths and weaknesses.

Third, and most powerful of all, apply the four assessments to yourself in a moment of opposition. Tell a story of your past experiences or analyze a current situation. Remember, though, in this, ego is your enemy. A searching inventory of the truth leaves little room for ego.

122 verses completed, 300 to go.