It’s Inauguration Day in the USA.
Donald “The Trickster” Trump, is about to ascend the throne of the USA, and many people are afraid.
I was experiencing a lot of stress around this possibility at the beginning of 2016. Several nights, I didn’t find sleep because of my worry. But then the worry vanished.
At first I took its disappearance as trust that Trump wouldn’t be president.
But as time went by, I started suspecting that my initial hunch was wrong. And when the DNC swindled and manipulated the presidential candidacy out of the deserving hands of Bernie Sanders (who is the legitimate president of the USA as far as I’m concerned), that hunch strengthened.
I still wasn’t prepared for my gut response to the election of Trump as president, however.
Trump as President (and the era of empowerment)
I was having lunch with my friend Sarah in a cafe in Ubud, Bali, when I received the message that Trump had won.
In a flash, my body filled with an intense feeling of power and permission, and in a scene reminiscent of Braveheart, my inner world showed me a man on horseback in front of a fierce band of Warriors.
“This is the moment we’ve been waiting for,” he exclaimed. “The fight we have been preparing for is finally upon us.” And the warriors beat their shields with their sword arms and the sounds of “HO! HO! HO!” thundered across the moors.
The nature of my somatic response and the profound and vivid quality of the images of these Earth Warriors quickly moved me into a place of trust. And I came to believe in that moment that Trump was the right choice.
Not because he’ll be a great president. On the contrary.
Trump is like the trickster figure in the fairy tales, or Lucifer in the Christian myths, who has been sent to expose the hypocrisy of the prevailing worldview, be it that of man or of God.
I predict that his very presence will be so disruptive that the already shaky structures of our old world will start collapsing.
We’re likely entering a period where our shadows, both individually and collectively, will be exposed, and where more and more Americans will realize that their country has become a dark and oppressive force in the world.
We may start to realize that democracy has devolved into a total farce, in which many of us are actively passing on the mantle of responsibility to “mommy” or “daddy”, praying that they will fix the problems of the world, while we keep our hands clean.
We may realize how polarizing we have become, and that the radical left and the conservative right are entangled in a deeply twisted and abusive love affair.
And if all goes well, as I believe it will, from the smoldering embers of our incinerated pride and arrogance, we’re likely to see a wave of grassroots activity emerge, as the people wake up to their power, and start reclaiming – and evolving – the democratic legacy, as true citizens of humanity.
I believe we will see all of this and more.
Reclaiming the Soul of Humanity
I’m not entirely free of worry. There’s going to be a lot of suffering in the coming years. But I believe with a great deal of conviction that the suffering will be in service of something new.
I pray that this will not be the time for you to collapse, to point fingers, and become twisted up by fear.
I pray to my liberal friends especially, as this is on your hands as much as the hands of conservatives, and I so want you to own what is yours to own.
Jonathan Pie’s rant may help you out:
To the best of our ability, let us make the next four years a time to face our shadows, to come together in friendship across political and geographical borders, to heal our wounds, and to live out our gifts in this world.
This is the time we have been waiting for, my friends.
This is “the battle we have been preparing for”.
It’s a battle for the soul of humanity, and if you and I take it on, then the Great War that is looming need not happen.
So happy Inauguration Day. Instead of being the start of a dark age for humanity, may we ensure that this day heralds the coming reclamation of our power from systems of governance which have failed us.
In service of that, it’s time to reveal the Reclaim your Inner Throne vision statement:
“Empowering as many people as possible to sustainably and joyfully give their gifts to the world, in a way which aligns with a more beautiful future, for Nature and Humanity.”
I hope you will join us in working towards that vision (much more information will follow).
And if you’re a man, the next round of the initiation starts March 27. Book a free enrollment call.
Heyya Eivind … resonating with your words here in practice I have been reconnecting with my community since being home … sinking deeply into several affinity groups organising in the first instance around a conservative government that is in bed with a corporate driven toll road project that is going through our local wetland, which has rallied hundreds into Non-violent Direct Action training in my home town to the point of arrest … our NDPL … a soul enriching experience that has brought my entire community alive again. I have been learning the ropes of the legal system (having been arrested as part of a peaceful demonstration a couple of weeks ago) seeing this as a vital step in the response to the broader issues you speak to so well here … that the wetland-toll road fight is training … and my leadership and capacity is growing through this experience in preparation for these times ahead. We have a state election around the corner … and a rising nationalist movement here too. So the stopper is out of the genie bottle even here in the antipodes and it is time for me to step up more and more … tweaking the book on Ecological Masculinities accordingly … as it goes to printin the coming months, and putting the lessons learned along the way into writing and practice – both. A powerful time to be alive … vital. Glad to be shoulder to shoulder with ya.
Absolutely …. one of the most empowering things I have ever done to stand with my community to defend our local wetland. Superb training for these times we have entered too. My leadership has taken several leaps up and up.