“Anger is the most impotent of passions. It effects nothing it goes about, and hurts the one who is possessed by it more than the one against whom it is directed.”

–Edward Hyde Clarendon

It’s not always so easy to deal with untruths and bad energy coming from others, but it can be a lot easier. I am as close as it gets to immunity from being affected by the negative thoughts of others, but I cannot say that I arrived at this place alone. I have a powerful saying that helps me combat these sorts of things, and it comes from a part of the Oprah 20th anniversary DVD collection (you know, the one my brother loaned away).

In an intimate chat with Maya Angelou, Oprah reminded her about a time when she was so affected and enveloped by what the tabloids were saying about her relationship with Stedman. As Maya added, Oprah was being “vilified” by the press with the common untruths and negativity one would expect from tabloids. But Oprah told Maya that it was something she said that helped her snap out of that place, and this is a message that I have carried with me ever since.

“You are not in that.”

But what does that mean? It means that those untruths are untruths, and they have absolutely nothing to do with your spirit or your being–you just are simply not a part of it!