Jan 19, 2017

Donald Trump as a Mirror

That Which Is True in One Realm of
Life Tends to Be True in the Other Ones

Carlos Cardoso Aveline

Donald Trump (photo) reflects uneasy things of collective karma and
also shows back to citizens positive potentialities present in their souls.



North American businessman Donald Trump attracted worldwide attention in 2015 and 2016 by reflecting back to the “conscious” level of the citizens’ minds some of their own “subconscious” thoughts and emotions.   

The psychological projection was healthy. 

Working for free as a psychoanalytical mirror to many individuals, Donald Trump became the object of vivid criticism and scorn from left and right, and was impulsively attacked by religious leaders of different traditions.

His critics considered themselves reasonable and rational, and believed they had common sense. It was a clever thing to do, to reject Trump. There was a firm consensus about that, among the experts.

While teaching the nations that Trump should be automatically despised and rejected, the “owners” of public opinion were resorting to name-calling. They had previously decided that it was necessary to deny the deeper aspects of Trump’s view of life.

They projected their own subconscious fears and ambitions over the mirror. They hated a reflection, and thought everyone should do the same. A projection offers people an opportunity to intensively worship or hate another being, instead of coming to know themselves. Blind projection causes a deceiving short term relief. It actually leads one to defeat by undermining his common sense and clarity of vision. 

When in November 2016 Trump was elected the president of the United States, it became painfully clear to some that slogans cannot replace facts; propaganda does not cancel reality; name-calling cannot define an individual, and political consensus is often a failed attempt to tame and distort the dynamics of History.

However, a psychological mirror operates at several levels of reality and can be read from diverse points of view. As a mirror, Trump reflects uneasy things of collective karma and also shows back to citizens positive potentialities present in their souls. He does that by not being a slave of short term public opinion. The fact that Trump feels comfortable under criticism gives him a higher degree of independence regarding established forms of mental and emotional manipulation. He uses obstacles to build momentum.

Trump’s style is transparent, and it is much more complex than the image fabricated by his enemies.

Over the years he published various books about the way he acts and moves. His view of life has significant points in common with well-known New Age thinkers. [1]

As to the karmic rhythm of life, Trump says:

“One way to keep your momentum going is to keep giving yourself greater and greater challenges. Once you have reached the top, what do you do?  Once you have reached the top, it is time to give back. Give to charity, give to your children, give your knowledge to others, and give to your culture. I made a lot of money, and I give a lot of money away to charity.” [2]

Momentum is a wave of events. It is a growing cloud of possibilities in movement; it is a karmic trend created by one’s efforts and actions as they interact with life.

Trump describes his approach to the art of building such creative force:

“Momentum is all about energy and timing. When you start anything new, you have no momentum.  That is when things are hard. People are not calling you. You do not seem to be getting anywhere, but if you keep at it and keep working toward your goals one day at a time, pretty soon you get into the flow of people and events. (…) Why? Because you have momentum, but do not take momentum for granted. If you lose your momentum, all your success ends, and things get much more difficult. It is dangerous to do anything when you have lost your momentum. Your timing is off, and people and events are no longer in your favor. So watch out to never lose your momentum.” [3]

By having an elevated goal, an individual challenges routine, or “tamas” in Sanskrit, and disrupts established illusions.

As one builds momentum, it becomes easier to defeat the artificial consensus according to which everyone must obey to appearances, and piously ignore any deeper layers of reality.  Then one realizes that being too quick in calling nations or individuals “enemies” is an unintelligent superficiality of mind. Present society ought to learn an ancient axiom of esoteric philosophy:

“Intelligence is impartial: no man is your enemy: no man is your friend. All alike are your teachers. Your enemy becomes a mystery that must be solved, even though it take ages: for man must be understood. Your friend becomes a part of yourself, an extension of yourself, a riddle hard to read. Only one thing is more difficult to know - your own heart.” [4]

Conflicts exist, and they should be few; they should be passing phenomena; and at all times one must keep a sense of justice regarding one’s adversaries. Equilibrium, reciprocity and ethics are three of the necessary elements for peace to occur.

Our View of Truth is Constantly Unfolding

Both political and religious ideologies use to pretend they have the “final truth” regarding the aspects of life they talk about.

They induce people into thinking that the best way to know truth is to believe all things said by them.

Churches, sects and political factions use to punish self-reliant truth-seekers with isolation. “There is no need”, they guarantee you, “to study and research in independent ways. It is a loss of time.”

In fact, their false consensus is an emotional mechanism of defense against the precariousness of human knowledge. Instead of humbly facing the depth of Life and the frequent surprises it provokes, they deny the complexity of the world. They don’t want to see the need to learn from mistakes, and adopt a frozen view of life. 

Donald Trump is among those who do not care too much about organized consensus. His actions can be dangerous to leftist and rightist ideologies alike, for he thinks by himself. According to Trump, knowledge is constantly unfolding since we were born, and he asks:

“Remember how exciting it was to learn to ride a bike?  Ever watched a child taking their first steps? It’s a momentous occasion. If we can capture that kind of excitement every day, I think we are on our way to wisdom. Albert Einstein said: ‘The mind that opens to a new idea never comes back to its original size.’ I agree. Once you’ve learned to walk, why would you want to go back to crawling around? It wouldn’t make sense. We all have a purpose in life, and that’s to do our best to live up to our potential.” [5]

These ideas exalt the creative aspects of everyone’s love for life. They are nonviolent; they stimulate the power of every individual to open his own way to bliss and prosperity. They are naturally dangerous to structures of political or religious power based on mind manipulation, on blind obedience and induced passivity.  Creative individuals are the citizens of the future.  They may mean panic, to those who identify themselves with organized ignorance. Trump’s approach to life seems to invite people to embrace and develop their own highest potentialities. That means leaving aside intellectual laziness.  

Overcoming the Fear of Failure

Personal comfort is considered a value of supreme importance in a consumer society.  Citizens are given numerous choices to make on what they buy or who are their favourite artists, and kept apart from fundamental decisions.

Risks are avoided, and life is not seen as an adventure.  Such asphyxiating experience has no future. Human need for transcendence is irrepressible. If creative forms of living transcendence are stolen from people, other and uncreative forms of transcending limits will emerge.

Thus a large portion of population is led to resort to drugs, alcohol, crime, the practice of violence and the exaggeration of sex. These are some of the main alternatives through which ill-informed people - often young - try to get rid of tedium, and to leave aside organized hypocrisy.

Among those who accept a passive view of life, many suffer from depression, or irritation. Psychological depression is now a problem of millions in every continent.

On a less dramatic note, the phenomenon of blind passivity and the inability to see life as a “journey of the hero” is present in the esoteric movement. Many a theosophical organization denies the risky, uncertain and probationary character of an authentically philosophical life.  

In the Mahatma Letters, a unique book on the Pedagogy of Eastern esoteric philosophy, one finds a frequent invitation to “TRY” and to make an effort every day along the spiritual journey. [6]

Donald Trump doesn’t seem to be a theosophist.  More than one “expert” considers him “a superficial mind”. In fact, he wrote down ideas that make sense both in the material and spiritual realms of life.

“Many people are afraid to fail”, Trump says, “so they don’t try. They may dream, talk, and even plan, but they don’t take that critical step of putting their money and their effort on the line. To succeed in business, you must take risks. Even if you fail, that’s how you learn. There has never been, and will never be, an Olympic ice skater who didn’t fall on the ice. Skaters acquire their skill and master their moves by doing and falling, not just by watching or talking.” [7]

That which is true in one realm of life tends to be true in the other ones. The inner world and the outer world are mirrors to each other. Nominal theosophists abound, while those who live esoteric philosophy are less numerous. Trump writes:  

“Knowledge requires patience; action requires courage. Put patience and courage together and you’ll be a winner.”

He adds:

“Find challenges for yourself. Go beyond the ordinary.”

His words invite people into a difficult path. The easy road of short term convenience is passive, and by its own nature leads people to boredom, to frustration, and finally to the dynamics of hatred and fear.  

Creativity, on the other hand, renews life at every moment. It teaches solidarity, confidence, courage, and stimulates one’s ability to learn from circumstances pleasant and difficult alike.  

NOTES:

[1] See for instance the book “Think Big”, by Donald J. Trump and Bill Zanker, Harper Collins Publishers, 2007, 368 pp., especially pp. 219-221.

[2] “Think Big”, by Donald J. Trump and Bill Zanker, Harper Collins Publishers, 2007, p. 218.

[3] “Think Big”, by Donald J. Trump and Bill Zanker, Harper Collins Publishers, 2007, p. 222.

[4] “Light on the Path - a treatise”, M. C., first edition, London, UK, 1885, Fifth Indian Reprint, 1991, The Theosophy Co., Bombay-Mumbai, 90 pp., see page 24.

[5] “Think Like a Champion”, Donald J. Trump with Meredith McIver, Da Capo Press, 204 pp., see p. 147.

[6] “The Mahatma Letters to A. P. Sinnett”, TUP edition, Pasadena, CA, USA, 1992, 494 pp.

[7] “Trump 101”, Donald J. Trump with Meredith McIver, published by John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2007, 188 pages,  see p. 39. The next two quotations are from the same page.

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The above article was first published on 15 December 2016 in our blog at “The Times of Israel”.

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