Recognizing the Battle Plan
Lesson avoidance has been confirmed and the student finds the self battling the other to prohibit further lesson presentation. The goal for the student has become to achieve victory over the other, rather than integrating the lesson. This approach guarantees lesson failure. Recognition of the lesson has failed; the student is now pursuing confirmation of the self’s rightness and the other’s wrongness. The focus has shifted from the lesson to the battle for victory. The student becomes least like the self at this time; guerilla tactics, in the form of damaging actions and words, are often utilized.
Identify the behaviors that are recognizable to the self when battling another.
| Behavior | Yes |
| Attempts are made to hide the evidence of my behavior; concealing or distorting the evidence, whenever necessary to do so | |
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I focus upon the other, notating similar behaviors as a favored tactic | |
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I focus upon the other and belittle or diminish their thinking or way of being | |
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I attempt to prove my superiority, utilizing mental gymnastics | |
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I minimize my participation to avoid the spotlight from being placed solely upon my self | |
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I shift the focus to another, guilefully misleading the other, so that the attention will be shifted from my self to the other | |
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I refuse the offering of the other, providing reason, utilizing past experience as a basis | |
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I will argue that the decision made was based upon sound reasoning and experience that cannot be discarded | |
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I become focused upon the other, pinpointing areas of weakness that have been exposed in the past | |
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I deflect all evidence that could prove that I am wrong; shifting the focus to the other’s response, rather than my own behavior | |
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I depart the scene of battle in any way possible, whether physically, mentally or emotionally; refusing to participate | |
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I refuse to discuss the emotional experience until I have arrived at conclusion | |
The student must recognize that battling another is merely battling the self; ego will encourage the battle, knowing that lesson failure is imminent, for the lesson has been lost due to the shift of focus. Recognizing the arrival of these behaviors indicates that the student has been tricked by the ego into battle, abandoning the lesson, once again. As soon as recognition has been achieved, the student need hesitate, calling forth the soul, to assist the self with lesson recognition, reaching higher for better conclusion, thereby achieving lesson integration. Hesitation provides the student with the opportunity to achieve field disconnection at any stage of lesson avoidance; opening the self to the other, asking for assistance with identifying the lesson, subsequently modifying the behaviors that support lesson failure, to those that support lesson integration. Failure to hesitate continues the battle, propelling the student forward to the next segment of lesson avoidance, the retreat.
Scoring for this survey is available at www.thepathtohealing.com.