The 48 Laws Of Power

hismindbecameless

occupied

with

Jesus

fantasiesandmorefocusedon

his
labor.
Asthe
carpentry

work

took

precedence,

a

psychic

shifttookef-

fect:The

religious

fantasies

remained,

butfaded

comfortably

intotheback-

ground,allowing

themantofimctionin

society.

Interpretation

Communication

depends

on

metaphors

and

symbols,

whicharethebasis

of

language

itself.A

metaphor

isakindofmirror

to

the

concrete

and

real,

whichitoften
expresses

more

clearly

and

deeply

thanaliteral

description

does.When
you

are

dealing

withtheintractable

willpower

ofother

people,

directcommunicationoften

only

heightens

theirresistance.

This

happens

most

clearly

when

youcomplain

about

people’s

behav-

ior,

particularly

insensitiveareassuchastheir

lovemaking.

Youwilleffect

a.

farmore

lastingchange

if,

likeDr.

Erickson,

you

constructan

analogy,

a

symbolic

mirrorof

the

situation,

and

guide

theother

through

it.AsChrist

himself
understood,

talking

in

parables

isoftenthebest

way

toteachales-

son,
foritallows

people

torealizethetruthontheirown.

When

dealing

with

people

whoarelostinthereflectionsof

fantasy

worlds

(including

ahostof

people

whodonotlivein

mental

hospitals),

never
try

to

push

them

into

realitybyshattering

theirmirrors.

Instead,

entertheirworldand
operate

inside

it,

undertheir

rules,gently

guiding

themoutofthehallofmirrors

they

haveentered.

ObservanceVI

The

great sixteenth~centuryJapanese

tea master Takeno Sho~o once

passed

by

ahouseandnoticeda.

young

man

watering

flowersnearhisfront

gate.

Two

things

caught

Sho—o’s

attention——first,

the

graceful]way

theman

performed

his

task;and,second,

the

stunningly

beautifulroseofSharon

blossomsthatbloomedinthe

garden.

He

stopped

and

introducedhimself

tothe
man,
whose
name
wasSen
no
Rikyu.

Sho—owantedto

stay,

buthe

had
a
priorengagement

andhadto

hnny

off.Beforehe

left,

however,

Rikyu

invitedhimtotaketeawithhimthe

followingmorning.

Sho-o

hap-

pilyaccepted.

WhenSho—o

opened

the

gardengate

the

next

day,

hewashorrifiedto

seethat

nota

single

flowerremained.Morethan

anything

else,

hehad

cometoseetheroseofSharonblossomsthathehadnothadthetimeto

ap

preciate

the

day

before;

now,

disappointed,

hestartedto

leave,

butatthe

gate

he

stopped

himself,

anddecidedtoenterSenno

Rikyu’s

tea

room.

Im-

mediately

inside,

he

stopped

inhistracksand

gazed

in

astonishment:Be-

fore
hima
vase

hung

fromthe

ceiling,

andinthevasestooda

single

roseof

Sharon
blossom,
themostbeautifulinthe

garden.

SomehowSenno

Rikyu

hadreadhis

guesfsthoughts,

and,

withthisone

eloquentgesture,

had

demonstratedthatthis

dayguest

andhostwouldbein

perfectharmony.

Senno

Rikyu

wenton

to

becomethe

mostfamoustea.master

of

all,

and

his

trademarkwasthis

uncanny

ability

toharmonizehimselfwithhis

guests’

thoughts

andtothinkone

step

ahead,

enchanting

them

byadapting

totheirtaste.

One

dayRjkyu

wasinvited

to

tea

by

Yamashina

Hechigwan,

anad-

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