Negative words, the stealing of our ideas can have debilitating effects on our psyches. It can damage our reputations and do great harm to our careers—if we do nothing. However, accepting and embracing feelings of powerlessness caused by such is the beginning of accepting our humanness and therefore positions us ahead of our adversaries. “To be human is to err”. By forgiving ourselves we can forgive those who trespass against us. To become enlightened is to see without judgement. In this environment our power, our strength returns similar to the way sap returns to a tree—spreading up the trunk outward from limb to limb. The path to protect and defend our territory, our ideas, our livelihoods becomes more clear. This could mean copywriting or patenting ahead of publishing and so on. This could also reveal our deepest flaws and remind us of a need to make right the wrongs we have done to others. Our enemies teach us such lessons. And, although these lessons can be the most painful part of our lives they teach us how to properly and responsibly deal with life in human form. Dread, humiliation, these are fundamental to higher spiritual growth. When an enemy brings us to these feelings even in their deepest form it is an expression of love and care from G-d, from the Great Spirit—from our Creator. This puts us in touch with our Creator. Through this fire of deep humiliation we learn how to walk a straight path and never give up on ourselves, our pursuits. Each step in this direction makes us stronger in the eyes of all who know us including our enemies. The strongest form of branding begins with such temperance of our souls.