Spiritual Solutions

The Law of Compensation is one of the most important and basic laws of life and has sometimes been described as “the great law.” The ancient enlightened ones called it the law of karma. The scientifically-minded may call it the law of cause and effect or the law of action and reaction. Ralph Waldo Emerson called it the law of compensation.

When Jesus talked about it, He explained it as the principle of sowing and reaping, giving and receiving, and doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Emmet Fox, commenting on this teaching, said, “If the average man understood for a single moment the meaning of these words and really believed them to be true, he would immediately revolutionize his whole life from top to bottom, turn his everyday conduct inside out, and he would be so changed that his closest friends would hardly know him.”

Some persons doubt the existence of such a law, because its workings are often so slow that they are not readily perceived by human understanding.

Some persons believe that since this law doesn’t seem to work consistently in the world, it must come into operation in the next world. And with this belief many persons have carried on in the face of the vicissitudes of life with cheerful courage, comforting themselves with the faith that they would get their reward in some future “heaven.”

This law of perfect justice and fair compensation permeates the activities of humankind whether we know it or not, whether we see it or not. Every day is a day of judgment, for every day of our life we are reaping the harvest we have previously sown, whether good or bad. And the law guarantees that in the long run every virtue is rewarded, every wrong is redressed - in silence, in certainty, in Divine order.

What does this law mean to you in your everyday living? It has many practical applications. First of all, knowledge of the great law should cause you to make a constant effort to keep from letting anything that is evil or negative go out from you in thought, word, or deed.

In the final reckoning, the thief steals from himself. The liar lies to himself. The person who is cruel is hurting himself, for he is attracting to himself, under inexorable law, as much pain as he is afflicting.

But in like manner, the good one does is blessing himself, and the giver is giving to himself. For he is setting into operation, in his own behalf, the law that guarantees that as he has given, so shall he receive; as he has done, so shall it be done unto him.

This is the great law of compensation. And we never understand life or the experiences of life until we grasp this real truth. Understanding this law should always bring you greater tranquillity because it is deeply comforting to know that regardless of appearances to the contrary, you will eventually be compensated through every virtue, and no good will go unrewarded.

When you really understand the workings of this great law, you know that you don’t have to hold resentment or anger toward anyone. You no longer need to feel any concern if what you have been doing for others goes unappreciated. You no longer have to harbor ill will toward those who have treated you unjustly. You can let go of all feelings of anger, resentment, injustice, or unforgiveness.

You can rest in the comfortable assurance that the law of compensation will even every score and balance every account. Whatever your would-be grievance, know that God is taking care of the situation and is working in and through the minds and hearts of all involved. Go peacefully about your business and let the law balance your accounts.

If there is something in your life that you don’t like, in order to remove it from your experience you must first uproot it from within your soul or your mental attitude. 

On the other hand, if there is something missing from your life, build it into your soul and mentality, and the law will maintain a perfect balance by making it manifest in your world.

Once we accept this great Truth, once we free ourselves of the human weakness of trying to blame circumstances and people for our troubles, then and perhaps for the first time we’re ready to stand up to life with a new-found strength.

Develop an attitude of looking for the good. Give expression to constructive, beneficial thoughts and feelings in every situation.

And don’t just do your share, go the extra mile. It is not enough to give love and friendship; give it back with an extra measure. Likewise with justice, kindness, cooperation, and devotion - give back dividends.

(A great guest article by Marlene Buffa)

May 29, 2009

My friend Ann and I walk two miles to the nearby gourmet grocery store. Contained within the store, resides a most decadent Boulangerie. The bakery also sells pastries and sweets, making it a Patisserie as well. One day, we decided to satisfy our craving for sweets, so Ann ordered a large cinnamon roll. The clerk asked, “Would you like that heated and covered in butter?” Ann and I both looked at one another and in unison responded, “Of course! Isn’t everything better heated and covered in butter?” Laughing at the excessive indulgence, I realized that we taste life as plain little necessities, instead of indulging in everyday experiences more warmly and engulfed in goodness!

(Marlene is a freelance writer and Cold Fusion Web Applications developer living in Phoenix, Arizona. Her column, “Words of Mind” is widely published internationally in spiritual and holistic journals, newspapers and magazines, as well as mainstream media.

Taking a quiet sideways glance at life, Marlene offers insight through her words from experiences. A student of new-thought teachings, Marlene finds practical spirituality around every corner and seeks wisdom through observation of life’s inter-relationships. Sometimes playful, sometimes poignant, always thought-provoking, her writing inspires readers in meaningful ways.)

For most of us non-resistance does not come easily. It goes against our normal reaction to life, where we usually tend to push ahead against all obstacles. Jesus’ teaching of “Resist not evil” is one of supreme spiritual power, for when you antagonize any given situation you give it power against yourself. But when you offer mental non-resistance the opposition will crumble before you.

Unfortunately, there is a tendency to resort to using force to get our way, to use a battering ram rather than a key to open doors. And it is this tendency which is the cause of most world conflict, and most of our own inner conflicts, which in turn cause most of our physical and mental ills.

To foster a clear perspective of our relationship to life, it would be helpful to reflect upon this statement by Jesus: “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” In other words, in the world there are many conflicts, dilemmas, and problems; but, says he, I have risen above these things and do not let them stand in my way. He made a clear distinction between the world “out there” and the world within.

Life is “outer-directed” for most of us, the world around us and the people within it setting the tone of our lives. When you are outer-directed, you have permitted yourself to grow a relationship to life wherein anyone has the power to push the buttons which disturb, frighten, or anger you, or make you discouraged.

Jesus says for us to be inner-directed, to “go into your room and shut the door.” Go into yourself to find your inner direction; forsake the outer-directed way. When you are inner-directed, you know that you are your own person and your life is lived from within out; you possess an inner poise and an inner security.

With your mind stayed on God, you are free from fear of outer conditions or person. Our troubles really stem from whether we are outer-directed or inner-directed. In the one case, we react and get disturbed, blaming the outer person, situation or event; in the other case, we are committed to keep our inner peace, refusing to react to the turmoil. In a consciousness of inner peace and calm, we can deal effectively with the situation. When inner-directed, we can deal with people in an understanding manner, realizing that they may have good reason to be feeling and acting as they do; however, we never have a good reason to let them cause us to be upset or hostile.

The real test is how you react in every experience. You have heard it said, “Life is consciousness.” You react not only from your particular level of consciousness, but your reaction begins a new chain of causation which then becomes your new level of consciousness. If you react in an outer-directed manner, then in a way the other person or situation has done you a favor in showing you that you are in the wrong state of consciousness, so you need to change that; and it is a good thing that you have been reminded of it.

Non-resistance does mean simply following the path of least resistance or taking the easy way out. If, in contemplation, you find something disagreeable, stop thinking about it and go out and meet it with an attitude of serene non-resistance.

The key to non-resistance is what Jesus pointed out; it is overcoming. It is to change the mind and to keep it changed, not to fight the person, the job, the debt, the situation. It is to “overcome the world” or worldly view, not to come over these particular things.

Love is another key to non-resistance, which is why Jesus tells us to love our enemies, not because they are deserving of our love, but because when the other person causes us resistance we are not acting the part of our divinity. The power that accompanies our divinity is only ours when we act the part. When you take an inner-directed approach, you reach for and act in accordance with your higher, divine self.

Jesus says that we must go into the inner room and close the door in order to restore our contact with God and with our innate potential. So, when we find resistance in our world, instead of fighting it or resisting it, we are to perceive it as a warning light that we are dealing with the rest of the world in an outer-directed consciousness.

In other words, don’t fight the other person, change yourself! Bless the situation; love the other person, not because he or she deserves your love, not because of what it will do to him or her, but because in the act of blessing and loving you can rise above it and get your thoughts back on the right track.

Non-resistance is a key element in our personal development and spiritual growth.

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at Spiritual Solutions. Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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(A positive word from Karl, www.karlblog.com)

I hope that in spite of all the doom and gloom in the world that you’re feeling happy and optimistic.

It’s true that there’s no escaping the fact that we’re living in challenging times.

With all the continued media talk of recession and financial crisis, you can’t help but feel a little despondent, concerned and even depressed. And yet, I often think that all this negative talk makes us spiral even further down into despair.

The fact is, negativity feeds on negativity.

Now, more than ever before, we need lots of positive vibes to lift our spirits so that we can see a way out of the darkness.

Yes, these challenges are real but each generation has faced challenges one way or another and one thing we should learn from that is that it doesn’t help matters to endlessly moan about them.

We need positive thoughts, positive intentions, and positive action.

If each of us becomes a ray of light - a bright beacon of positive energy - then we can move forward. We can make a difference.

So, today, turn off the negative news and tune into your positive mood.

Be a ray of light and radiate feel-good vibes.

It’s a much better outlook to choose!

I couldn’t have said it better myself!

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at Spiritual Solutions. Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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 (Here’s a thought-provoking post from Karl at www.karlblog.com) 

Have you ever hung on to a thought or a situation so tightly that it causes you stress or pain?

Perhaps - right now - you’re hanging on to an unhealthy relationship, habit or lifestyle? 

Maybe you convince yourself that you really need this relationship, habit or lifestyle?

The truth is that we often attach ourselves to situations that aren’t particularly good for us and we do so because we’re basically frightened of change.

Some people will suffer immensely, putting up with a bad situation because they are more frightened of the unknown alternatives.

There comes a point, however, where enough is enough.

If you have reached this point in your life, simply stop and let go!

Sounds too easy? Well, actually it is but when you have convinced yourself that the alternative is more frightening, stopping and letting go appears to be much more difficult than it is.

The point to remember is that YOU always have a CHOICE!

No matter what is happening in your life, you definitely have a choice!

You can choose how you react to every situation or event in your life. You can choose to see that the pain and stress of holding on to an unhealthy situation is actually creating a miserable life. Sometimes, you have to stop and let go no matter what you think may lie ahead.

What’s more, when you make a conscious decision to change a situation, you will feel your life lighten.

So, stop and let go.

Release your grip on an unhealthy situation. Focus on what will bring you happiness and healthy experiences. It will change your life … for the BETTER!

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!
Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions or go directly to the Spiritual Solutions Blog

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words

What do you most want?

You might say, “I want money, success, health, power, friends, and love, all of those things the average person wants. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I want. I want so many and such varied things.” Well, you are like most of us.

Deep down inside ourselves we all want to be useful, to contribute something to the general good, to be accepted, important. But our ideas of importance are so many-sided that they always seem to fail to materialize.

It’s not easy to stand at the beginning or at the middle of our careers and choose what is our calling, our special talent, our true vocation, the inner urge at which we can be great, and determine to follow that choice to its consummation. We feel suddenly helpless, confused, and uncertain; maybe fear a disastrous mistake. What we really want first, then, is some kind of guidance.

So what do we really want? Isn’t it the guidance of God, and how can we get it? Well, by realizing that it is a divine force within us, by accepting it, by tuning in on it. In the first chapter of James we read, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting .  .”

There is only one way to ask God for wisdom. It is the same way you ask electricity to give you light – by turning on the switch, by accepting it, by taking the time to be still and to listen, to let it happen, to surrender and trust.

Surely, if we know what we want and need, this is to have God’s guidance and the gifts of Himself as life, love, wisdom, and power, and nothing is too much for us to expect.

If you know what you want, you will be able to accomplish great things and you will have health of body, peace of mind, success, happiness and true fulfillment.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!
Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions or go directly to the Spiritual Solutions Blog

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words

Wake Up & Instantly Achieve Every Day!

By Paul Dickinson, author of SolopreneurProductivity.com.

Imagine this: you wake up and you instantly achieve something.

You complete a goal, you make progress, you build momentum and you build self-esteem. You make it part of your routine and achieve something everyday, instantly.

All you have to do is tackle a goal when you wake up.

Each morning when I wake up I get started on one of my goals before I do anything else. Before I’ve even had breakfast, had a shower or got changed, I’ve usually completed the most important task of my day.

When I started doing this it had massive effects on my productivity. I had done the most important thing, I’d made progress on the previous day, I’d achieved what I wanted to achieve and had the rest of the day to add to that.

By making this part of my morning routine, I gave myself a huge boost every single morning, compounding on the last day. My achievement and progress rate went through the roof, my momentum grew, and the feeling that I’m achieving something is constantly with me.

It is simple to do, and could be the quickest, easiest lifehack you’ve ever used!

The first step is to plan what it is that you’ll be working on. This needs to be done the night before:

·        What is your major goal?

·        What is the most important task for you to do?

·        What would reap the most benefits?

·        What would progress you further and push you towards what it is that you want?

The important point here is to choose something that provides the most results, it has to be something that is meaningful to you and helps you to progress toward your goals. If you choose a major task that is congruent with your life goals, you’ll feel a stronger sense of achievement. If you’re faced with a decision of writing a book vs. ironing clothes, start writing the book!

Tackle the big things early in the day, and you’ll see that you still have time for the small things later. Put them at the bottom of your to-do list!

Once you know what you’re going to do and you have your plans set out for when you wake up, it is time to forget about it and get some sleep.

When you wake up, get started instantly.

Jump out of bed, skip your whole morning routine and just get started on the task.

Don’t get a shower, don’t get changed, don’t stretch, lie back and turn on the T.V. If you really have to eat something, grab something quick and wait until later for a larger breakfast (unless you plan on working for a long time)!

You don’t want any distractions, no TV, no radio, don’t check your e-mails, don’t check your RSS reader, don’t check your facebook, twitter, digg, stumble upon, any social network. If you don’t need it, don’t use it!

If possible, don’t have anyone interrupt you or disturb you. It helps a lot if you wake up before anyone else. You get an hour or two where you can just sit quietly and get on with your task, it’s this quiet isolation that is ideal for getting something done.

If you do this everyday, you’ll be making progress every single time you wake up, before you have even had a shower and got dressed, you’ve achieved what you wanted to. Before everyone else is awake, you’ve completed one of your big goals. It is a life changing habit that is easy to start.

Make it part of your morning routine and see how your progress snowballs, compounding each day on top of what you have previously achieved. Doing it every day helps you to stay motivated; it’s constant progress, it isn’t once a week, it’s every day, it’s part of your routine.

It’s the first thing you do, and everything else is second to it.

Those goals that are gathering dust can be done before anyone else is even awake. You’re starting the rest of the day with your main goal completed, you’ve built momentum for the rest of the day and you are going to be inspired and motivated by what you’ve already achieved.

This constant feeling of achievement every morning means that your self-esteem is building, which means that you are motivated to achieve more and more. It’s a cycle of motivation and achievement and once you get started it’s hard to stop it.

Try this, and instantly achieve something the next time you wake up.

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-six years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions or go directly to the Spiritual Solutions Blog

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words

There are many and various ways of reaching a goal, including the goal of life itself, but there is one way that is more direct than any other; and when we fail to take the direct route we often find ourselves experiencing delays, difficulties and obstacles.

First, we do at least need to have a general idea of the goal we want to reach. So, you might ask yourself, in life’s journey what is your goal? Whether we realize it or not, certainly the goal of each of us is to obtain and to express good.

The attainment and the expression of good is the goal of everyone. When we go to our prayer time, or to our breakfast table, or to our place of work or recreation, or to any other activity, we are journeying toward our goal of good. There are probably times when we get a false idea of what constitutes our good, and we might seek the appearance instead of the reality, but always greater good is the goal. It is not a selfish goal. The yearning for good is built into us, put there in the divine process of creation to draw us to the realization of good.

But what is good? Is it prosperity, or success, or health? Is it peace, or happiness, or some other desired objective? Is it freedom from illness or fear? Good includes all of these things. But the great goal of life, the desire built into us, is not for different attributes of good; it is for all good, for wholeness. As Jesus said, “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” (Matt. 6:33)

The great goal of all good is forever drawing you, forever lifting you, forever pulling you, forever drawing you on. And it is drawing you right now. For all good is God, the Creator and Father of all. God is the source, the pulling power, and the goal. You are continually being led to the unfoldment of your highest nature.

The goal of life is God. God is the source and the substance of all good. And there is a direct way to the realization of good. It’s the way of true prayer. It was pointed out by the ancient prophets, the Psalmist saw it, Jesus walked in it unswervingly so that he could truthfully say, “I am the way . . . Follow me.” True prayer establishes contact with the divine process we call God. It brings a realization of God’s abiding presence. Only through prayer do we reach the reality of good. Prayer inspires new ideas, brings about what we call miracles, and leads us directly to a new attitude of mind and a new richness of life. Jesus demonstrated this, as have countless others who have learned how to pray.

Time spent in quiet prayer, self-realization, or meditation each day is time spent on the direct route to your good. It makes no difference what your heart’s desire may be. Prayer will lead you to it or to something better. Whatever specific need you feel is greatest in your life, you can obtain satisfaction for it through prayer. The unrest and dissatisfaction in the world today is present because we are seeking something less than the highest and the best, and because we are following a way that is not the direct way.

Begin right now to desire all good with all your heart (“Love the Lord your god with all your heart . . .”). Don’t just desire portions of it. As author Arnold Patent has said, “You can have it all.” All that you can have is yours. Begin to believe that the activity of God in you desires you to have all good; a force within you is seeking to unfold good in your life. Meditate on the realization that all good is in God, and God is the source. See your goal as a realization of the Presence of God within you. This is true prayer. All the good that God is is being offered to you and is yours for the taking.

Keep working, keep studying, and keep using your power. But first and foremost, humbly and trustingly, seek contact with the supreme infinite flow from which all else comes. The way of union with your good, and of realization that good is yours, is the way of believing prayer; it is a quiet resting in the activity of the Presence of God, in which you live and move and have your being. It’s the most direct route to whatever good you may desire in your life.

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at Spiritual Solutions. Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5) At first glance, this would appear to be a mistake, for it seems to us that it is the strong that inherit the earth and possess all the blessings of it.

In fact, I was reading an article recently by a motivational author and speaker who claimed that we should throw out the idea of the meek inheriting the earth, totally belittling its validity. The author said that what we need to do was the opposite of being meek, which was to stand tall and possess the earth.

Well, like many of us, the author had a misunderstanding of the meaning of the word “meek.” The Greek word “praeis” which we translate as “meek” really means tame, in the sense of being opposite of wild or unrestrained; it refers to a harnessing and mobilizing of one’s powers. It is not a weakness but rather a strength, because all the inner powers are harnessed, not dissipated in bluster and aggression and show.

The French translation of this beatitude is “Blessed are the debonair,” meaning of “good manner,” or in other words, pleasant, courteous, and gracious, or charming and carefree. Today we might say, “Blessed are the cool,” implying one who is flexible, adaptive, big enough that he or she does not need to belittle.

Man is always at his best when he expresses love, meekness, humiity, and gentleness. The gentle person knows when to step back, when to yield, when to give way; when to go on might simply indicate willfulness. The meek inherit the earth because the consciousness of meekness and gentleness leads to a free experience in the world while the aggressor is chained by his own aggressive thoughts.

We tend to think of the dynamic person as the one who is aggressive, domineering, flamboyant, thundering through life. The really dynamic person is not noisy; he or she is meek in the sense of being tame. His powers are in control. He can speak with authority, take decisive action, act with power and conviction, without beating the drum. Instead of thundering, he employs the lightning of ideas. Instead of thrashing about in the darkness, he switches on a light.

I think it would behoove us all to give more thought to becoming gentle creatures, gentle persons, and gentle at heart; becoming “debonair,” becoming “cool.” Yes, “Blessed are the cool”

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at Spiritual Solutions. Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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Hello Friends,

Here’s a provocative blog post from Karl Moore, www.karlblog.com:

Are you a survivor - or an adventurer?

It’s an interesting question and your answer can prove to be quite revealing.

You see, if you consider yourself to be a survivor then it appears that you see life as being a struggle, one that you’ve had to toil over or made sacrifices for.

Survivors tend to believe that life is one obstacle after another that they have to overcome.

If you consider yourself to be an adventurer, then life has a completely different outlook … life is full of excitement, abundance and wonderful places to explore.

Adventurers believe that life is full of amazing experiences that they can enthusiastically embrace.

What you choose can make a difference to your outlook on life.

Adventurers tend to have a much more positive experience – even if some of their escapades appear to have been a lesson in survival!

Survivors, on the other hand, tend to have more negative experiences. They think life is going to be tough and, inevitably, it is.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said:

‘We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities’.

We create our journey … we decide whether it will be an exercise in survival or a wonderful adventure.

I know which one I’d choose.

Do you?

Enjoy an adventurous day!

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-seven years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, “Spiritual Solutions,” at Spiritual Solutions. Feel free to share this article in its entirety with a friend.

If you’d like to receive “Rich Words,” featuring weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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