Love Trumps Hate - Even For Donald Trump

I said I would send out my thoughts about Donald Trump and, in doing so, I hope it brings some ease and clarity to everyone's beautiful minds. I don't often comment on political or social issues. I like to remain unbiased for my clients and I don't like to get wrapped up in the media-induced hypes. However, I find this current shift in our political system an amazing healing opportunity, perhaps even a healing crisis, and I feel, both, compelled and enthusiastic to speak out about it.

Trump's election has triggered people in a way I've never seen before. He has created intellectual and emotional conflict in our country and he hasn't even taken office yet. This is powerful stuff. But why? 
The work I do everyday is about going into the shadows, the unknown. That's where vulnerability lies and that's where we find the parts of ourselves that we do not like. The crisis is when we discover that what we thought is true about ourselves is simply a story we tell, our egos are shattered, and we lose control. The healing is when we welcome that loss of control and integrate our old, familiar selves with the new story.

This is what is happening in America right now. We are being confronted with a story that we thought was dead. We thought we were beyond this and that it couldn't possibly happen again. We feel like we're going backwards. I don't really believe we are or we will go backwards, but I believe these ideas that are being provoked by Donald Trump are necessary to create a healing crisis to heal our country, communities, and our selves. 

The under belly, the shadow, the darkness - whatever you wish to call it is coming out through a man who is so easy to project hate onto. It's arguable that his supporters are even more controversial and corrosive than the man himself and are just as easy to project hate onto and fear. If this corrosive truth in our country does not rise to the surface it simply cannot be healed. 

I have always believed that what angers us is us. For example, I felt like someone had died when I awoke to the news that Trump was elected. I was not a fan of Hillary Clinton at all either, but I believed (as so many of us did) that if our country was able to elect a woman then we could take another step forward toward equality and acceptance. I was stewing in anger for a few days at Donald Trump, his supporters, the midwest - and slowly getting caught in the media's intent to feed on and arouse that sad, hopeless, hatred. Something they're quite successful at doing.

I took a breath and went into myself and thought: "Where is the misogynist, racist in me?". And you know what? I found him. I found the little boy who was raised in the suburbs of central Pennsylvania where anything feminine was a disgrace and, at one point, grew to despise women for letting abusive men take over their lives. I found the young boy who watched the news every night over dinner with my family and became entranced by the rhythmic, flickering electric light as it projected one black man's mugshot after another onto my tender head and heart with the words "dangerous", "thug" & "murder". I found the young man once seduced by marketing who wore cheap polyester clothing, drank out of plastic bottles, ate fast food, and didn't think twice about whether or not my goods came from an Indonesian sweatshop or a local artisan because I wanted to save a few bucks.
If found that man in me, took a deep breath, gave him a hug, and I chose to love him. This was my moment of breakthrough, my healing crisis had come to a halt. I felt completely transformed by compassion and love in that moment and I realized "Love trumps hate - even for Trump". 

Donald Trump is a flawed person who's appearance has been wildly ridiculed and, at the same time, who's television series was watched by over 30 million Americans. I am in no way standing by him or agreeing in his personal opinions or views. I am, however, saying that I will choose to use this opportunity to challenge my own capacity for love and compassion for him and his supporters. Activism is important. So is action. Every day action. Every day dollar. Buy American-made, buy organic, stay away from plastic packaging that destroys our environment, don't watch television or listen to the local news station that speaks over every woman DJ in the room and comments about her lipstick color vs. the color of the landscape of her mind.

I am using Donald Trump to challenge myself to be more of a feminist, more of an environmentalist, & more of the change I want to see in my government. I am using this moment to remember that I am the government. No one governs me, but myself and my connection to Spirit. We can change the world if we can change ourselves. If we get distracted from ourselves (and Trump is a great distraction) we may lose everything we have worked for.

I write this with love to you all and hope that, by sharing my experience, you're left with some hope and inspiration. 

In response to this, I am putting together a monthly group that meets for healing. It will be held near Woodstock. We will express our vulnerabilities, fears, and struggles as well as our joys, hopes, and achievements. My dear friend Lynida will lead us in a group meditation and then we will close with some chanting, crystal healing, and other energetic modalities to move the energy that we dislodged. It will be like group ritual to build strong sense of self and community. It will begin in January. If you wish to be part of this, please reply and let me know of anything you'd like to contribute. Those interested will be added to a list and I'll send dates and location as we approach January.

Thank you all for reading and please share your comments, truths, experiences, and wisdoms as well.
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So, so, so much love,

Luis