7 Practices of Deceptive People ...

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!" --from Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll

Have you ever heard someone say: “I’m just a terrible liar,” meaning: “When I try to tell a lie my true intentions just shine through!” That’s a good thing!

But if you don’t recognize a liar, and get caught in his web --- that’s a bad thing.

So here are 7 practices of deceptive people, those who want to hide their real actions and their true motives. Catch them if you can. Knowledge is power, and this kind of knowledge can give you the power to stay away from their influence.

Tactic #1 They divide their mind into compartments, and do not think about one part of their life while they are living out another part of their life. They do the same to the minds of others, and to the people within groups. Truth is all of one piece, so the more they divide, the more they conquer … (conquer the truth, that is, by keeping actions and intentions covered).

Tactic #2 They surround themselves with merciful people. They let them know how much they are hurting. Mercy people will not risk adding to their pain by pointing out their inconsistencies. Mercy givers may even choose to doubt their own perceptions rather than risk misreading others’ motivations.

Tactic #3 They say things that are true about an opponent, give them a bad interpretation, and then repeat them dozens of times.

Tactic #4 They take full advantage of the fact that most good people believe, or want to believe, that others are honest. This gives them an open platform to lie. Very few people have the confidence in their own discernment (or even their own memory) to directly challenge a lie.

Tactic #5 They frequently and publicly declare their love and good intentions toward everyone, including those who oppose them, while secretly taking actions against them. Secrecy makes actions hard to prove without a full-scale espionage and counter-attack operation. If they are exposed and counter-attacked, they can continue to publicly declare love and good intentions. (This tactic has the added benefit of making them appear gracious and forgiving.)

Tactic #6 They make a statement one day and deny it another day, hoping to confuse the person they are talking to.

Tactic #7 They give—a lot—to those whose loyalty they want to promote, but the gifts are always liberally sprinkled with the following poisons: fear, obligation and guilt. A person who takes their gifts will then be slowly suffocated in a FOG. The poisons are hard to see because of the shiny packaging of the gift, but they will wreak their deadly confusion over time.

DON’T let this person happen to you! If you catch someone doing these things, and others like them, you can be sure that their inner intention is not kind. They are not your best friend … no matter how loudly and often they declare it.

“One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.”