The Art of War

"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.


Invincibility lies in the defense, the possibility of victory in the attack.


A whole army may be robbed of its spirit; a commander-in-chief may be robbed of his presence of mind.

Now a soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it has begun to flag; in the evening, his mind is bent only on returning to camp.

A clever general, therefore, avoids an army when its spirit is keen, but attacks it when it is sluggish and inclined to return. This is the art of studying the moods.



There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general:
1 Recklessness, which leads to destruction;
2 Cowardice, which leads to capture;
3 A hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults;
4 A delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame;
5 Over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.

These are the five besetting sins of a general, ruinous to the conduct of war.



All armies prefer high ground to low and sunny places to dark.



When envoys are sent with compliments in their mouths, it is a sign that the enemy wishes for a truce.


Soldiers must be treated in the first instance with humanity, but kept under control by means of iron discipline. This is a certain road to victory.




When the position is such that neither side will gain by making the first move, it is called temporising ground.

In a position of this sort, even though the enemy should offer us an attractive bait, it will be advisable not to stir forth, but rather to retreat, thus enticing the enemy in his turn, when part of his army has come out, we may deliver our attack with advantage.



Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons and they will stand by you even into death.



The skilful tactician may be likened to the shuai-jan. Now the she-jan is a snake that is found in the Chung Mountains. Strike at its head and you will be attacked by its tail; strike at its tail and you will be attacked by its head; strike at its middle and you will be attacked by head and tail both.



It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying and thereby they achieve great results. Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army's ability to move."



in The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Act As If Principle

"Your values are only expressed in your actions!

Living in truth means that you do not pretend or practice self-delusion. You face life, your relationships and your circumstances exactly as they are, not as you wish they would be. Living in truth means that you never stay in a situation that makes you unhappy or which you feel for any reason is wrong for you.
Living in truth means that you set peace of mind as your highest goal and as your core organising principle. You never compromise your peace of mind for anyone or anything else.


I have a vision of something greater or better than my current circumstances. Personal greatness means having a sense of destiny and a conviction that my thoughts and imagination are the only real limits to my possibilities!"


in Design Your Life by Rachel Roy

Dealing Directly with the Energy Within

"Many people are tricked by their own Qi in the same way that I was. One of my teachers, perhaps the best I have met at Tao: Fang Zhong Shu, explained that when he engages in sexual contact or intercourse with a woman, he is not looking at their mind or their bodies, he is "dealing directly with the yin energy within them" which he "worships" as a "goddess". That is to say, from my perspective, that he is cognisant and present in the reality of what is going on, the subtle "transaction" behind the scenes, which our psyches delude us into believing is about something else. That is not to say that you cannot or do not love a person who you are in a committed relationship with. Indeed, you very well might! But that is something very different than what happens when you are first attracted to a woman. You can choose to believe this or not, the reality doesn't change based upon what you convince yourself of. True love of an individual is something that takes time and cultivation, just as true power takes many decades of cultivation."

in Tao Fang Zhong Shu “Sexual Kung Fu” Level 1 Training for “Sexual Alchemy” Taoist Love-Making by Hern Heng

Essa Confiança Remove Qualquer Semente de Dúvida

"Às vezes você dá um passo em direção à confiança e diz: "Ok, eu vou confiar!" Então resolve seguir os comandos do coração, mas se alguma coisa não acontece da maneira como imagina, você se frustra e novamente deixa de confiar. Ocasionalmente faz parte do aprendizado da confiança quebrar a perna, porque para se libertar do medo e crescer em auto-confiança você precisa viver uma experiência como essa. E a verdade é que não há garantia nenhuma de que as coisas sempre serão como você espera. Faz parte do aprendizado da confiança correr riscos. Então aos poucos você chega num lugar de confiança interna no qual as dúvidas se encerram e você tem certeza de estar no lugar certo, mesmo que tudo pareça estar errado. Essa é a verdadeira confiança, aquele que independente do que está acontecendo no mundo externo, pois ela vem de dentro. Essa confiança remove qualquer semente de dúvida e providencia para que todas as suas necessidades sejam atendidas. Ela liberta seu sistema do medo, especialmente do medo da escassez."


em Propósito A Coragem de Ser Quem Somos de Sri Prem Baba

To Be Authentic

"It's easier to hold your principles 100% of the time than 98%.



An individual crab is extremely effective at escaping almost any trap. However, a very simple trap can be used to catch large groups of crab.
Here's how it works: inside of each open-top trap sits a pile of crab feed. The first crab to happen upon the feed enters and enjoys the spoils. The second crab sees his feasting colleague and joins him for the partaking. The third and fourth crab follow suit. Soon, dozens and dozens of crabs have entered the trap and lingered, even after all the food is gone.
Here's the catch: if one crab chooses to exit the cage and looks for food elsewhere, it is challenged by its mates. While trying to crawl out of the trap, the other crabs will pull it back down. If this brave fellow persists, the others will break off its claws. If it persists further, the group will kill it.
Sadly, humans are not too different. We all have extreme egos. We don't like seeing others succeed beyond our own perceived abilities. We prefer when other fail or, at least, fall behind us in the peloton of society. We've created collective barriers in our language, actions and even thoughts which maintain the status quo.
Rejection and ridicule are real barriers. To be authentic is to be vulnerable. Visions and goals are regularly shot down and considered absurd."



In Slipstream Time Hacking by Benjamin P. Hardy