There are some people in the world who are Master Manipulators.

For as long as humanity has existed they have been there.

Their ways are selfish. Their actions based in ignorance. Their lives bare no positive results. They cause great distraction and mess everywhere they go.

They are just regular people too. They have families. They work in every area of industry, education, service, and field.

They were not born this way.

Just like everyone else, they were born with great potential for good.

But along the way, the hurts, the devastations, the pains of this world’s life experience eventually eroded away what was positive in them.

They learned that the only way to feel safe was to gain power in the environments they were in.

They learned the only way to gain power (in their ignorance) was to hurt others, take away what others wanted or needed, to devastate them.

When someone who is a master manipulator devastates someone else and that someone else reacts with tears and sorrow, for example, the Master Manipulator uses this as an opportunity to show up and to say “Oh! You are upset! How can I help?”

The damage they have done has been in secret. And now they want to take advantage of the opportunity to get what they want.

The hurt they caused was behind the scenes, like a snake or an alligator, hiding in the bushes or water.

The Master Manipulator can use criticism, back-biting, and negative words or tone of voice to plant seeds of doubt in the minds of others in the environment.

This causes others to react in ways which hurts the individual who is the target of the attack.

Perhaps people in the environment decide to abandon projects. Or perhaps they initiate new laws or rules which negatively effect the individual. Perhaps they exclude the individual in one way or another.

It all comes from a scheme in the mind of the Manipulator, whose life experience has so filled them with fear that they have allowed their ego to completely take over and they act only to think of saving themselves. They act only for thought of their own survival.

What are we to do then, when a Master Manipulator shows up in a dream or real life?

The key is to become really flexible, resourceful, and positive.

With this, they cannot get their own way.

The reason they cannot get their own way when someone is dealing with them with flexibility, resourcefulness and positivity is because these virtues are like lights shining in a dark night.

When a light shines in a dark space, metaphorically, everything is illuminated and the snakes, alligators and night-time creatures scurry off.

It is the same for a Master Manipulator. So long as they are moving around feeling undetected they think they can get away with anything.

They cannot handle friendliness, truly. They cannot handle change easily. They cannot handle growth in a relationship or organization. They want things to stay the same because that’s how they can control things.

So, when someone shows up in your environment who seems to have a pattern of controlling, manipulating and harming you or someone you care about, don’t get angry. Just get Curious.

Ask: What is the biggest challenge here? When have I seen something like this before? What did I do in the past which was positive before? How can I do that again?

Have Courage. Have Confidence. Have a Sense of Peace.

And then continue to move forward with your positive self into the shadows.

By shining a light on the behaviour of others who are acting in ways to try to destroy you, then you can minimize the damage their actions have on you and your life and move on to do really great things to help others around you too.