Some street thugs are practically clairvoyant: that is, they can read you like an open book. Their intrusion in your mind feels menacing.

On the other hand, you can treat what they're saying as a fantasy on their part, without acknowledging its menace.

The sequence, Pretty wicked. ... I'll bet. ... Not so! ... There's hope. ... allows you to respond to flights of fancy without becoming part of the fiction.

One day, for instance, I was leaving a movie theater after seeing the latest Star Wars movie, and still enamored by the film, almost ran into three thugs who were looking for a free pass in. There's more. Coming around the next corner were two police officers making sure everyone was behaving.

In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't resolve the tension by simply giving the thugs my ticket!

What you do, (and this is a little clever,) is pretend like the movie was a dud! Who would want, you imply, a free ticket to a movie that's worse than bad?

HINT

CUE

TOOL

CLINIC

TOPIC

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Pretty
wicked.

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I'll bet.

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Not so!

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There's
hope.

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5th Element

—There's more.