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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Print the texts you study from the websites of the Independent Lodge. Reading on paper helps us attain a deeper view of philosophical texts. When studying a printed text, the reader can underline sentences and make handwritten comments in the margins that link the ideas to his personal reality.
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Helena Blavatsky (photo) wrote these words: “Deserve, then desire”.
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