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 Rahz
Spore Viewer
Registered: 11/10/05
Posts: 1,937
Last seen: 1 minute, 37 seconds
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 What is the nature of power?
#8597516 - 07/05/08 01:58 PM (3 months, 1 day ago) |
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Anyone read the 48 Laws of Power?
I have a friend who calls it his bible. I try to tell him it's manipulative, and he just defends it as truth.
For instance, the third law "Conceal Your Intentions" provides an example where a young man is courting a young woman. An older guy tells him to treat her as a friend, and nothing more, but to continue giving her affection. Somewhat good advice, and is working, but then the young man expresses his love and the girl runs off, never to entertain him again.
The moral in the book is that with his love revealed, the "game" was up because all his moves had been played. His intention was revealed as seduction, and the charm was seen as manipulation. Better to keep ones true intentions hidden.
Now, that's all fine, but my question is, was his admission of love truthful or not?
1- It was a lie, and was code for "I want to own you and use you."
2- It was truth, love and lust are two sides of the same coin.
3- It was truth, he was admitting with the word "love" that he didn't really love her, and that he had been playing her. His higher self felt guilty, and he was setting them both free with his admission. This provided him with a valuable lesson into the nature of love, whereas if he had played the game better, he would have only made himself a better manipulator.
I go with #3, but my friend doesn't see it. Made me realize he really doesn't seem to experience his spiritual heart. Without this experience, answer 2 would be more correct, but it would have been, as the book points out, a fault to express it.
So what is the nature of power? Proper manipulation of the environment, or being as honest as possible regardless of the material implications?
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rahz
comfort pleasure power love truth awareness peace
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 Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 21,682
Loc: underbelly
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Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: Rahz]
#8597785 - 07/05/08 03:33 PM (3 months, 1 day ago) |
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Power is energy flowing in a specific direction.
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What the thinker thinks, the prover proves. R.A.W.
I don't believe anything, but I have many suspicions. R.A.W.
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 PhanTomCat
Wildcat that Never Was....
 
Registered: 09/07/04
Posts: 5,531
Loc: My Youniverse....
Last seen: 46 minutes, 26 seconds
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 Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: Icelander]
#8598453 - 07/05/08 07:48 PM (3 months, 1 day ago) |
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Quote:
Icelander said:
Power is energy flowing in a specific direction.
How do you explain AC power....? 
>^;;^<
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"The most important things in life that are often ignored, are the things that one cannot see...."
>^;;^<
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PhanTomCat
Wildcat that Never Was....
Registered: 09/07/04
Posts: 5,531
Loc: My Youniverse....
Last seen: 46 minutes, 26 seconds
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 Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: Rahz]
#8598502 - 07/05/08 08:02 PM (3 months, 1 day ago) |
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I have not read the book....
Dropping the "L" bomb on someone that is not expecting it, or open to it, can be fatal to the "relationship"....
It is a tricky game....
Showing someone that you love them thru your actions, but not saying the words, can be equally as fatal to a relationship....
Keeping your intentions always locked up inside doesn't seem like the answer either....
It is too, a tricky game....
I am not good at these kinds of games.... 
>^;;^<
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"The most important things in life that are often ignored, are the things that one cannot see...."
>^;;^<
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Rahz
Spore Viewer
Registered: 11/10/05
Posts: 1,937
Last seen: 1 minute, 37 seconds
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Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: Icelander]
#8599098 - 07/05/08 11:01 PM (3 months, 21 hours ago) |
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My observation is that power is God (the highest truth) in some people's eyes. In my mind and my interpretation of the book, power is solar plexus (yellow chakra) oriented, which is a step "above" lower belly (lust/orange chakra). The guy in the story fell for lust, and lost his power. He never actually loved her. If he had been more powerful, he would have played out his "game" until he had her. Instead, he "fell" in love (lust).
It was funny, because when my friend and I started this conversation, I asked him to take a deep breath and observe which part of his body felt best while doing this. He pointed to a spot about an inch from where I consider the solar plexus to be.
So the observation, is that to society, satisfying their body from the solar plexus down is the goal. Being powerful (yellow) facilitates self-esteem and sexual gratification (orange), and provides comfort and security (red), and this is all that's required for a person to live with some reasonable level of "success" in society's eyes.
Having a heart isn't required. I find it odd because everyone secretly wants to have that emotion, but most don't. This is the point of the story from my view. If the guy had actually been open hearted, he wouldn't have had any problems, and love, in my world, is a higher power, yet to be open hearted is to be vulnerable. It's a paradox. People avoid love because it requires vulnerability (viewed by ego as powerless?), yet it makes them more powerful... right?
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rahz
comfort pleasure power love truth awareness peace
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Dizzwizzle
Philanthropist
Registered: 05/20/07
Posts: 2,116
Loc: Falling From Grace....
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Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: Rahz]
#8599182 - 07/05/08 11:33 PM (3 months, 20 hours ago) |
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sure that was manipulation because his intent was selfishness the whole way. possibly better to keep ones true intentions hiiden in that particular situation.
I would say it was nothing truthfull, pure lust
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The Sweet smell of Sophistication 
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery
Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 21,682
Loc: underbelly
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Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: PhanTomCat]
#8600144 - 07/06/08 09:07 AM (3 months, 11 hours ago) |
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Quote:
PhanTomCat said:
Quote:
Icelander said:
Power is energy flowing in a specific direction.
How do you explain AC power....?
>^;;^<
I ignore it.
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What the thinker thinks, the prover proves. R.A.W.
I don't believe anything, but I have many suspicions. R.A.W.
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BlueCoyote
Beyond
Registered: 05/07/04
Posts: 3,629
Loc: Between
Last seen: 8 hours, 4 minutes
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Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: Rahz]
#8604254 - 07/07/08 01:49 PM (2 months, 30 days ago) |
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'Love' as I see it, equals honesty and truth. That includes one's sexual origins and by-players. As they even lead to the outcome of 'theoretical' love as well. No distinction there.
If one likes to play games and prefers wicked 'love', all power to them, as far as they leave me out of 
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Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion
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redgreenvines
irregular verb
Registered: 04/08/04
Posts: 10,033
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Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: BlueCoyote]
#8604339 - 07/07/08 02:17 PM (2 months, 30 days ago) |
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i see power as the siezure and occupancy of rights over territory
the territory may be spatial or temporal
or it may include work
it may even include domain over ideas and forms such as the power of a patent or copyrights.
power can be traded
money can be used to do this.
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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WornTraveler
Captain Cannabis
Registered: 06/15/08
Posts: 354
Last seen: 1 month, 5 days
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Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: redgreenvines]
#8604612 - 07/07/08 03:45 PM (2 months, 30 days ago) |
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I dunno, but concealing your intentions in my opinion is not exactly the best thing to do in a relationship. It might be a good thing to do if you're a spy, politician, or used car salesman, but if both people in a relationship are not clear on what they want, then it only leads to trouble.
I'll use my first "real" relationship as an example. I got with a really hot girl- what luck. Hot as in, could be in a Playboy magazine, and not in the "cute girl next door" section either. I couldn't believe it; I was at best awkward with girls (junior year of high school), and at worst a bumbling tongue tied fool.
We went on a few dates, and after she showed no sign of getting bored with me, I decided to give a feel a try one night. Instant success. I couldn't believe it- I'd assumed I was going to be thirty before I got a feel of anyone, based on my awkwardness with girls. She loved it, though.
And then one night, we got to third, and I wondered "Gee, is it supposed to get this serious this fast?" Whatever.
And then, we ended up naked in her room about to have sex, and I asked her, "What are we going to do after we go to college?" I wanted to stay in state for the lower tuition, she was going out.
She shrugged. "We'll just move on."
And that was definitely NOT what I wanted to hear. Suffice to say that there was no horizontal tangoing for me that night, and there would not be for a while.
Because, if we would have been honest with each other, we wanted totally different things. She wanted to lose her virginity to a "nice guy" and then graduate to college guys later. I wanted to have a real relationship with someone who at least would think of staying with me.
So yeah, I wouldn't follow that rule of power with my girlfriend again.
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Captain Cannabis, Guardian of Ganja, Sultan of Shrooms, Giver of Green, Tabbed Tripper, and all around Good Guy.
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wyldeman007
Student
Registered: 06/03/06
Posts: 266
Loc: Minnesota
Last seen: 5 hours, 31 minutes
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Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: WornTraveler]
#8604849 - 07/07/08 04:48 PM (2 months, 30 days ago) |
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Everything in human communication is manipulation. Whether it is just or righteous is subjective... Whatever you say to another soul, you have caused an involuntary chemical/neural impulse, everything is manipulation.
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"We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here." - Richard Dawkins
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WornTraveler
Captain Cannabis
Registered: 06/15/08
Posts: 354
Last seen: 1 month, 5 days
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Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: wyldeman007]
#8605411 - 07/07/08 06:57 PM (2 months, 30 days ago) |
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Yeah, that is true. Everything you say to someone has the intention of making them do, think, or feel a certain way. But I think the difference is where, sometimes, the person knows exactly what your aim is. Like, if I tell my girlfriend "I love you,", she knows it's because I want her to feel special, cared about, etc., and not because I want to get in her pants.
BTW, if anyone appreciates these posts... I appreciate ratings, lol. I'm a little low- I got a 0 rating and a "Nigger" comment, random right?
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Captain Cannabis, Guardian of Ganja, Sultan of Shrooms, Giver of Green, Tabbed Tripper, and all around Good Guy.
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Boots
Disenchanted
Registered: 07/25/07
Posts: 1,113
Loc: Northwood, Ohio, U.S.A.
Last seen: 28 minutes, 41 seconds
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Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: WornTraveler]
#8605932 - 07/07/08 09:05 PM (2 months, 29 days ago) |
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The nature of power is to control. The more things you control, the more power you have but power doesn't equal respect. The question is, which is more valuable to the individual?
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backfromthedead
Activated
Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 3,590
Last seen: 2 months, 9 days
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Re: What is the nature of power? [Re: Boots]
#8607814 - 07/08/08 11:28 AM (2 months, 29 days ago) |
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BTW, if anyone appreciates these posts... I appreciate ratings, lol. I'm a little low- I got a 0 rating and a "Nigger" comment, random right?
That made me chuckle...!!
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