Thread by @ThyConsigliori

John Minford, #SunTzu 6: 34 "The highest skill in forming dispositions is to be without form; formlessness is proof against the prying of the subtlest spy and the machinations of the wisest brain."

As your guide, I am delighted to recommend you this, and the following 10 verses to the conclusion of this chapter. In sum, these 11 verses come together as one of the most empowering passages in all of Master Sun's work. They form a whole.

In fact, it is just such passages that create the argument that Master Sun not only existed, but that he actually did write the 13 chapters himself. Either that, or possibly a descendent or student did, crediting the great master. That's happened in history.

If that occurred, though, we don't know it did. And, whoever was the genius pulled all this together deserves to be thought of as Master Sun, so it makes no difference. It's not just isolated passages like this either. All 13 chapters together form just such a perfect whole.

At any rate, Master Sun taunts us today with the idea of the highest skill. How do we in the #MAGA movement do anything other than instantly picture our leader @POTUS? His is, bar none, the highest skill any of us have ever witnessed. Who can question that?

The highest skill in forming dispositions. That's worth mastering! I just got this online for us:

"As nouns the difference between Position and Disposition is that:

* Position is a place or location, while
* Disposition is the arrangement or placement of certain things."

So applied, the highest skill in placing your men and materiel is precisely what we're directly studying. In a slightly different life stage, I dream of having a team of military historians happily writing up their papers on which military leader in history was best at this!

I promise to NOT go off on another sword fighting lesson right now. But we truly can reduce this to a single warrior and his weapon. Sword held high or low? Aggress forward rapidly or slow? Flank, void, retreat, how and when? Strike or thrust? Man disposes himself and his weapon.

We'll return to our leader's skill in a moment, but we must first complete the full phrase. The highest skill in forming dispositions is to be without form. Yes indeed, brain-braking territory again. Go slow. The best dispositions are formed, though mastery of formlessness. Wow.

We have great news! Master Sun completely and totally knows how difficult this is for us to master, and has led the way here carefully, so we can return to this chapter's previous verses again and again until the idea gels and takes...form in our minds. Retuning helps.

Better yet are the coming verses. Master Sun does NOT leave us dangling. By the time we finish this chapter we will be able to hold onto the ideas of form and formlessness forever forward. And, I promise, that's a very powerful kind of learning.

Just quick now, then, a form that is allowed to harden becomes completely visible to your enemy, revealing your strengths and weaknesses obviously. Formlessness allows you to follow the contour of the earth in the changing moments of battle, invisibly. That's power.

In fact, let’s rapidly go over the conclusion of today’s verse: Formlessness is proof against the prying of the subtlest spy and the machinations of the wisest brain. {Hint: chapter 13 is about spies. Just saying.} Bonus points are readily available for personal examples shared!

Let me assume you at least kind of get that formless fluidity defeats hardened forms, yes? Okay, consider @POTUS in London. He didn't vote Khan in as mayor, but oh what a great gift Khan is to him! He needs no hardened form to see the lovely opportunity his enemy provides.

How many layers of power does this give @realDonaldTrump? Surely, global media domination is one. Another is his perpetual unpredictability. Even just the sheer joy of battle, happy warrior. There are many, many other layers. Did I mention bonus points above? Hit me with some!

And then there's the Queen. I couldn't believe my ears that he's only the 3rd POTUS to meet with her. Amazing. Look at that tall man engaging every formal ceremonial step with care and love. Look at the wonderful little old most powerful woman on earth, partnering with him.

And look again now at the news. BOTH stories top the headlines, and are, in fact, compared and contrasted by a stunned media elite who can never see his invisible forms through blindness of their own hardened ones. His formless force completely blinds them. Still. After how long?

How long? The answer is he's been on the path of mastery, here, ever since the 1970s. Think about building skyscrapers in Manhattan. Think about @realDonaldTrump's relationships to city hall and the media. He's well into his 5th decade of mastery. This is the art of the deal.

No, don't you dare start to despair that you can never replicate his mastery. There's only one him. But, there's also only one you. And you too can learn from his role model. You can reduce the hardened assumptions that make you predictable, admit it, even blockheaded.

Can anyone make the .38 Special connection here? I'll give you a crack at it and place the answer in the next comment box below...

Just hold on loosely
But don't let go
If you cling to tightly
You're gonna lose control

That is formlessness. Hardened forms are those you cling to too tightly and they end up with you losing control. Loosely now. That is formlessness. I wonder if Don Barnes read Sun Tzu.

I laugh every time some so-certain big shot talks about how @POTUS would help himself out so much if he just tweeted less. Oh my, they're blind. He's got them just tied up in apoplectic hardened forms that they truly cannot see. But you can. And you too can learn to be formless.

144 verses completed, 278 to go.

To return to previous sections in our #WarForAmerica2020 and #SunTzuForMAGA series, don't forget to head over to @WarForAmerica21. You'll find the digital table of contents for this series, there. Please retweet each entry you enjoy.