Remember that when someone is purposely being mean to you and choosing you as a target, it is NOT your fault. They are projecting their insecurities, envy, and thirst for power/control on you. You have NOTHING to do with what they choose to say and do. These type of people are bullies and love a negative reaction. They would be the ones to cause a storm and watch everyone and everything fall right in front of them without any remorse or accountability. It gives them life and enjoyment that other people are unhappy. They will purposely push your buttons, talk down on you, yell at you, micro-manage your every little action, act like they know more than you, and even if you never done or said anything to them, they love to get a reaction out you, no matter how big or small—they will feed on it and can really make nothing to something. They love getting you in trouble because it makes them feel bigger.

They will purposely choose certain people to be nice to and to be mean to. For the people they choose to be nice to, they want to project and present (pretend) themselves to be very kind, well-liked by everyone, over-braggy about their “accomplishments”, and a know-it-all. They revel that these people do not know or see their true colors and therefore, they are oblivious to their manipulation. For the people they choose to be mean to, there is LITERALLY no end to the disrespect and constant snapback these people will get. These people know the true colors of who they are so they will constantly get badgered even though they never did anything to this person. They are afraid of the “nice people” knowing their true cruel intentions and true character so they continue to be extra kind and boisterous towards these people so they will stay deluded and “best friends.” They are afraid of the “mean people” being “more friendly” with everyone especially the “nice people” they choose. They are also afraid the “mean people” will take their own power back and actually be happy and be their true selves. When they see a lot of people like the “mean people”, they will grow jealous and try to get their “nice people” and friends manipulated, gossip, and get them to not like the “mean people.” They like to use their “nice people-best friends” as shields to cover up their true personality and it makes them feel bigger and better knowing they have manipulated their delusional friends under their spell. They love to charm everyone into falling for their smoke and mirrors because they can put on a show to pretend to be the person they want everyone to see and not their true actual character. The ironic part is, using “fake delusional friends” as shields doesn’t erase anyone from their own flaws. Everyone still has their own darkness to deal with. It’s gonna come back to them no matter how much they try to hide behind their group of friends or run away from their problems.

One way to gain your power back from these toxic people (and it is really hard) is to try your best to not react to them. Every word you say and action you take, they will twist it around against you. They love to get a reaction out of you and push your buttons because it is what gives them a thrill. They love to play mind games with you and get you stuck into their chess game, but you DON’T have to stay stuck in their game and manipulation. They are clearly using you as a pawn because they feel it makes them feel bigger and stronger. When I say “try not to react to them,” I don’t mean “completely surrender and let them bully you while you do/say nothing”. When you actively choose to ignore them, not respond to them, literally giving them ZERO attention, they coward back and don’t know what to do. They are confused because they were always used to being the one in control and using their tactics to pull you in but the moment you choose to say “NO” and take your power back by being silent, their minds will be going in circles trying to figure you out and running out of tactics to trap you in. They are a big ball of toxic negative energy that sucks you right in and feeds on your light but you can walk away from them knowing that you don’t deserve to be treated that way and they don’t deserve any part of your light and energy. They are jealous of you because you are authentically yourself and everyone generally likes you for who you are and they can’t stand it. However they treat you and say/do to you is on them, not you. Everyone is responsible for their own energy and unfortunately, we have people in the world that don’t care about the energy they put out. They cause a storm, leave, and expect everyone to just deal with their mess. No one deserves to be unwillingly pulled into other people’s toxic mess. You are NOT someone’s punching bag, door mat, or dartboard. They need to learn to deal with their own feelings/battles on their own and not take it out on other people, which is only a reflection on them. Their version of you is NOT your version of yourself.

Dharma: What do we call them?

Larry and Abby: People.