Because Celebration Circle is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, it is illegal for me to use my position as Spiritual Director to advocate for a particular political cause or politician. I can have my personal opinions, but under IRS regulations, I'm not allowed to speak politically on behalf of the Circle community, nor can I try to influence how others in the Circle vote.
But...because this is such a historic opportunity to bear witness to the healing power of love in the face of the extraordinary degree of divisiveness and vitriol being generated in the presidential election campaign, I feel I have no choice to but to step up to the microphone and send some love to... Donald Trump. And I invite you to consider doing the same. Why?
Because, in my humble opinion, it is so easy to hate him, to judge him and to dismiss his candidacy as a brazen attempt to create an even larger market for the Trump brand. BUT...then I recently got an e-mail from Alan Cohen, that helped my change my perspective. Alan is a respected New Thought author and spiritual teacher that I've met and studied with over the years, and his thoughts about Trump's candidacy touched me so much that I'm going to share some of them here:
"If you have done some self-exploration, you understand that everything we see represents something that lives in our mind, and we tend to project our perceived shortcomings onto the outer world. We behold and fight evil outside us to avoid the evil we believe is inside us. We judge, attack, and fabricate separations to defend our shaky self-image. Everyone we hate is a scapegoat of the sins we seek to disown. Could the Donald be serving us as a massive projection screen we can use to heal ourselves?
Now here's the gold available to each of us, if we have the courage to dig for it: Ask yourself, "Do I exhibit any of the behaviors for which I judge and criticize Donald Trump?" I asked myself this question, and found some startling answers, as you might if you consider: Do you build physical, emotional, or psychological walls against people you fear will infiltrate and undermine your world? Do you harbor judgments and prejudices, spoken or unspoken, against people of a different religion or culture than your own? Do you negatively label members of the opposite sex, and/or judge people who are overweight, including your own body? ... Do you make up stories to support the case you favor? Do you ever interrupt people while they are speaking? Do you avoid paying taxes or effort to pay as little as possible? Do you blame people, events, and things for your shortcomings?
If you answer these questions honestly, you may see, as I did, that Donald Trump is not just a big blowhard; he is a big blow-up doll who embodies pieces of all of us. He is the archetypical bad guy who demonstrates and even exaggerates the "sins" we all own but wish to purge from ourselves. As much as we hate to admit it, Trump is the us that we wish we weren't. What we hate in him we hate in ourselves. In that sense, he serves us well as a mirror to face our own limiting beliefs, prejudices, and shadows, and grow beyond them..."
In short, The Donald is giving me an opportunity to vote for love, not just on Election Day, but every day. Reminding me to embrace, not just him, but all the disturbing people and situations I encounter, with a consciousness of Oneness and acceptance. Because, in doing so I am embracing the parts of myself that are asking for healing, while also helping wage peace on the planet.
Thank you, Alan, and Donald, for helping me see a little more clearly. And thank you, dear reader, for your willingness to become more conscious of your thoughts, feelings and the co-creative power of making conscious choices, whatever they may be.
With love,
Rudi
PS: Zet and I also strongly urge you to get out and vote for having more FUN in your life by attending TONIGHT'S CONCERT with Hambone Hendley at our house! He always makes me laugh (we can all use that!) and I'm really looking forward to making music with him... and you. See ticket info below.
THANK YOU for holding the Circle in your heart by visualizing a generous flow of financial abundance. Thank you for supporting us as we continue our work of fostering a creative, inclusive approach to spirituality. We are deeply grateful.
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