I'm currently reading As a Man Thinketh by James Allen again. It's a small book, but full of power and great words. I can only recommend everyone to internalize this book from time to time.

In this article I would like to pick up on a passage where he says:

For many people, the reality is: "We are slaves because there is an oppressor. So let's hate this oppressor!" However, there is also a growing group of people who say: "There is an oppressor because there are so many slaves. Let's despise the slaves!"

The truth, Allen says, is that the oppressor and the oppressed are co-dependent and both have a weakness: One allows himself to be oppressed, the other abuses the power he has. If you look at the situation in full love, you can see that both sides are suffering: Both are not happy, not emotionally fulfilled, they are not living the Purpose. If we had ideal compassion, we could embrace both sides.

This topic is very close to my heart again at the moment, firstly because I recently spoke about it in a lecture, and secondly because I keep getting into conversations about the debate on the minimum wage, Hartz IV and so on.

These conversations are always about the fact that there are "oppressors" - employers and entrepreneurs - and that one must therefore help "the poor", even if it is only with ever new laws.

But if we take up Allen's train of thought, we understand that misunderstanding and ignorance prevail on both sides of the polarity: Some abuse their power out of false arrogance, others believe they see no other way than to submit to power. The pride of the oppressor and the weakness of the oppressed-both are illusions.

One thing is important for all of us to understand: No matter which polarity we live in, we don't belong there! We belong in the middle and where we live our purpose and correctly assess realities. And this includes first and foremost - and this is also the subject of the book mentioned above - controlling our own thoughts and not allowing ourselves to be "distracted".

I ended my talk with the poem by Marianne Williamson, which was made famous by Nelson Mandela: "Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our greatest fear is that we are immensely powerful, that our light shines."

Make sure that you are in the center of your strength. Let your light shine.