At a recent non-duality meeting with Jim Newman, I was chatting with a friend at the break who I hadn't seen in a while. He asked a good question that I had recently been reflecting on regarding my political posts on social media. As I told him, I was quite apolitical while on a spiritual path, but in my youth was quite politically active. Much to my surprise, after seeing through the illusion of separation, it appeared to free up the character to be more politically out-spoken again. Anyway, it was a good conversation that I felt compelled to expand upon in writing.
Just for context, about 20 years ago this Trey character was becoming deeply immersed in the world of politics. I was in my late 20s and George W. Bush had lost the popular vote to Al Gore but was then appointed president by the supreme court. This was the first time in my life that had happened and I found it a bit disturbing. That combined with all the voter irregularities made it seem quite obvious that Bush had cheated. That was also the first time in my adult life where the sanctity of our vote was brought into question, which I also found quite disturbing.
Not long thereafter, 9/11 happened and a war in Iraq was declared based on some phony evidence. I started following the news much more closely and I started writing frequent letters to the editor of the local newspaper. They would only publish one per person monthly, so I came up with an alias to circumvent the system. That's not something I'm proud of but I apparently had a lot to say during that time. I still have all the old newspaper clippings from that era as souvenirs.
As I recall, it was a very stressful existence. I was livid about what was going on, which may be why I developed epilepsy out of the blue. My first grand mal seizure occurred the day that John Kerry conceded the election to George Bush. I was not a fan of Kerry but at that time I hated Bush and certainly did not want him to get a second term. I was livid and went to the kitchen to tell my wife the bad news. At that point, I fell on the floor and had a seizure. She called 911 and I was rushed to the ER.
That was the wake up call I needed to break me out of a hypervigilant focus on politics. It was at that point that I went through what some might call a dark night of the soul that awakened a desire for truth. For the first time in my life I was compelled to start reading books and the first book I picked up looking for answers was a comparative religion textbook. I thought maybe the answer to life's most pressing questions might be found there. I started devouring books on all subjects including neuroscience, philosophy, biology, physics. Then I was directed to a book by David Hawkins, which was the first book I had read talking about enlightenment. At that point I became enchanted with the idea of becoming enlightened and started devouring all the books I could by all the famous spiritual teachers in the world.
So I went from a political activist to a spiritual seeker and for about 15 years was apolitical, with no interest in those types of worldly goings on. Instead I was just focused on waking up, thinking that's what the world really needed and not another political mouthpiece. I wrote two books about that journey toward spiritual awakening, but after the second book was published, what's often referred to as radical non-duality entered the picture and eradicated everything. My last few blog posts have explored what one might consider the death of the ego or liberation, which sounds a bit too fancy for my liking, but what do you call ordinary life without the sense of time and space being fundamental realities?
Anyway, there have been some unexpected changes in the character's behavior since that shift (if you can call it that). In a way, it freed up the character to be more itself, whether that be exploring new hobbies, watching more TV, studying new subjects, scrolling through social media and even getting into politics again. Politics seems to have a different flavor now. In my youth, there was an urgency about it all and a compulsion to tell the world about it in an attempt to save it. Now, it's obvious that it's all just a play of light and sounds and sensations, none of which are separate. In a sense, it's all play now, even participating in protests and writing letters to congressmen. It's all just happening without the sense of someone orchestrating it. The body mind character, whatever you want to call it, is just free to do what it does regardless. There is no sense of trying to change minds or save the world. In fact, it's quite clear that no one ever had a choice in what they believe, say or do. It's just conditioning playing itself out, which too is just a story.
It's rather fascinating actually to see the thoughts appearing about the "problems" with our current government system and ways it could be improved. I never thought I would be interested in that stuff again, especially knowing that it's all just an undivided appearance. That said, when confronted by someone inflicting suffering on another, this character apparently is conditioned to speak out about it rather than just dismiss it as just an empty appearance. These days the impulse is to speak out about perceived injustices, without really knowing why. It's like an engaging Netflix series that just begs for audience participation.
If I had to offer up an explanation as to why I appear to be drawn into politics again, as was the case in my recent conversation, I might say that Trump's behavior crossed a line (or numerous lines) hardwired into this character that prompted an action. It's like an organic stimulus-response activity that living organisms seem to exhibit. In my particular case, I saw injustices being committed and speaking out just happened. In looking at my history it would appear I was conditioned to oppose perceived injustices and was drawn to the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., so it kinda makes sense.
I certainly do not hate Trump, I just think he's the worst president I've ever seen. I do vaguely remember what hate feels like as an emotion from my youth. There seemed to be a lot of it back then, but now I see the innocence of everything, including hate. No one had a choice in the way they were raised or what beliefs to adopt. So, I don't expect my words to change the minds of those people who still support Trump. They have just organically and choicelessly bought into a completely different narrative than the one that rings true here.
In the end, it's all an undivided appearance of an unknowable mystery, with an infinite array of stories being told about it. If anything, the appearance of Donald Trump as a fascist dictator might end up being exactly what this country needs to realize governments need to be overhauled and the deep-seated corruption weeded out before the human species wipes itself out. Or maybe he'll start World War III and there will be a planetary reboot. No one knows, but it is a compelling show nonetheless.