This is very brave of you to post, Kert. Thank you for being willing to share your struggle as well as your learning. I think that's the way to people's hearts!
Last year I stared at a picture of Donald Trump for a long enough time that those visceral feelings of disgust abated and all I saw was an organic human animal. It was an interesting experiment. Last night I actually stared at another human being for ten minutes; a man I also have some trouble with—myself! I stared in the mirror for ten minutes, trying to release all projections and expectations, judgements and insecurities. As with the Trump experiment, I eventually began to see a stranger, an animal, a product of organic functions; breathing, standing, seeing, hearing. I saw that these functions are exactly the same as 8-billion other human animals, not even to mention trillions of other animals. I, for a brief moment, "became nobody," as you discuss.
I honestly can't say what the lesson is, I can't share any insights except that I think it's a good exercise, and I'll do it again. In fact, you've inspired me to stare at Donald Trump again (I'm saying his name on purpose haha 😁)
I should undergo the same practice—but with D.T., I’d have to get past a very real gag reflex. We’ll see. I do like your conclusion however—that he’s an organic animal (here I neatly pirouette away from that same realization for myself…LOL!). Of course I know this to be true, as I also know it is true that there are organic animals that are also destructive predators (the only difference between the predators found in nature, and this guy, is that this guy hunts and kills not to satiate biological hunger, but to simply cause pain. Period.). See? Still so far to go in my practice.
Jennifer and I were literally just talking about this. My take is this: the consequences of Donald Trump’s malfunctioning brain are very real and very dangerous. If a meteor was hurling toward our planet and destined to destroy it, I would not be opposed to whatever methods could divert or destroy that threat. Same goes for Donald Trump. He’s just a bag of blood and bones, but his narcissistic disorder combined with his money and influence, are a clear and present danger. We don’t have to take the man himself personally, we don’t have to hate him, but we do have to stop him somehow. I don’t feel that I personally have the power to stop him, but I hope those who do, enact it!
After today’s debacle in the Oval Office, we’ll get to take the temperature, by their words and actions, if members of the GOP have any moral capacity to consider impeachment. Yuck—i want to be so done with politics dominating our world. The sun is shining on our Western Cedar elders—time to go hug a tree.
When I see a sad and sick case of a full blown narcissistic personality disorder I can't help feeling concern for him and those within his perimeter who deal with this on a daily basis. What this behavior is doing to the rest of us and the country may continue for awhile and do some damage but it will not last. Sometimes I take the longer view.
People will die of sepsis, measles, exposure, poverty, and violence as a direct result of this administration’s careless and cruel bulldozing of social rights and programs. I can look at Trump as an animal with a disorder, and not feel hatred or vengeance, but I also don’t really feel empathy or concern. My concern is for people who don’t deserve to suffer under the weird combination of ingredients that put this guy in power.
At the same time, I do feel that it is important to do the inner work necessary to overcome the feelings of disempowerment that keep us in hatred and disgust.
MLK, Jr. would be traveling to the Ukraine even as we type to stand with them in their fight for freedom. Knowing full well how that response, following today’s debacle, would play in the White House. Time to get into some “good trouble.” (Love me some John Lewis in a time like this.)
Brilliant post! Ram Dass is definitely someone worth ‘hanging out with.’ Great call on sharing the podcast! For those interested, the same Be Here Now network also has an Alan Watts podcast that’s well worth a listen. And Dr. Maté - absolutely worth paying attention to as well!
Thanks for today’s thoughts. It’s such a hard place we’re in right now and I appreciate being challenged to do more than just be exceptionally angry. Love. Seriously? I guess times like these are ones that really force us to either practice what we preach, or shut up about it already. Along those lines I was just reading about bell hooks and something she’d written really struck me: “Only love could defeat the intersecting forms of oppression that targeted women, children, people of color, the poor, and the otherwise marginalized.” Love. Seriously? Love defeating oppression, but how? Many “typical” things come to mind, but I’ve never thought about it the way you discussed re- the Caspar Weinberger story. There is a power given to love that feels, well, kind of kick ass powerful. Like you, I’m not ready to put a picture of ——- on my altar yet, but maybe, just maybe some day soon I will. Cheers.
Anytime I read or hear of Love being used in this context, it humbles me. Makes me feel small in comparison to those who led with Love and live(d) this ethic. But it also forces me to go deeper into the truer definition of Love—which can be exceedingly tough and uncompromising when it comes to confronting its polar opposites: evil and hatred. I’m learning Love demands this of us—to stand in direct opposition, sometimes with incredible strength, always with endurance and persistence, to evil deeds but to do so benevolently. We have to believe, because we’ve seen it proven, that even in these times, Love and truth will prevail…again. I just wish we didn’t have to go through this with this particular “he who shall not be named.”
No auditing because that is not how you signed up for this course that you refer to as Humanity 101. That was the prerequisite course for where you are now, deeply immersed in Spirituality 2025, where you are learning how to embrace ALL of humanity, even the most disagreeable and disgusting among us. I love Ram Dass and his teachings and when I was a graduate student second time around, I used some of Timothy Leary's work in my research. in the spring of 1963 Harvard was forced to dismiss Alpert after he administered psilocybin to an undergraduate student off-campus. Leary was also fired from the university, and the Harvard Psilocybin Project came to an abrupt end. Leary never regained the stature that he had enjoyed during the 1960s. He also designed computer software and was an early advocate of the potential of new technologies such as virtual reality and the Internet. His Web site later chronicled his death from prostate cancer on 1996. Every choice we make bring us to where we find ourselves now.
So so true. “Every choice we make brings us to where we find ourselves now.” Absolutely—because we are right here.
Those two were decades ahead of the rest of the world (not the only ones, I know, and they had much to owe Native Indigenous cultures) especially now with psilocybin, ayahuasca, and other plant-based psychedelics having a bit of an appropriate renaissance.
Funny how some things once considered too far out, "revolutionary" and even "illegal" come back around again in another form to be accepted. Here is a "note" I am sending to my inner circle/tribe here like you. Long way to go to be fully recovered but we do see some progress after a month, slow but welcome. I'll spare you and others the details, some of which were included in several past posts. Suffice to say that at this stage the best we can expect is to have a quality of life worth continuing and until it isn't we will do the best we can. That is the reality and with some serious physical limitations in mobility and breathing, I am glad my mind is still working most of the time and in the other areas, I am taking one step at a time and getting treatment as needed. I've had a great life, a full life and have enormous gratitude for all I have done. Now, as I am dependent on others, it's a tough transition for one who has been so independent. I appreciate your presence here and poking me to think out loud with you this Saturday morning. My daughter and son-law are here for a few days from Boston/Cambridge and helping us get resettled into new digs. Our extended family has been and continues to be a big support network so we're fortunate on that front too. Gratitude abides!
Gratitude abides and rest in my own heart for you my friend. I’m thankful for this update—and thankful to see you “thinking out loud” again in some of your Notes and Posts. You’ve helped me just now to not take them for granted knowing more from the space inside you from where they come. I’m making a promise to you that I will be purchasing at least two of the recent books we’ve talked about—your latest will be an awesome addition to the little library we are building here for my soon-to-be-here first grandchild. You are a true Elder in a time in which we no longer have Elders, instead, we have old people. You’ve never stopped teaching—I said throughout my career that teachers stay forever young because we interact with youth every single day. Not all teachers “get it.” And I know you know what I mean by that. But you “GET IT!”
At this stage now in your life, a life period we all will arrive at, (and I hope I retain the level of wisdom, articulation, and cognition that you have kept), may you look back upon all the lives you’ve impacted (thousands? Tens of thousands? More???) and know with certainty your life not only had an impact, but continues to have an impact in the world. The wake you are still leaving behind you is deep and expansive Gary—teachers also have the potential for this to happen for them too. But they have to live in a manner that creates the kind of wakes that truly changes the courses of so many of the lives we are privileged to touch.
You’ve touched mine. I only wish I had the funds to buy that place in Mexico from ya!!! NOW would be a pretty good time to exchange presidents.
Heartfelt thanks, Kert. You get it and you get me better than many, maybe because of some similar background and philosophy, maybe because we ae brothers in Spirit, maybe because we communicate thoughts and feelings freely and authentically. Whatever the reasons, I appreciate you your affirming good thoughts and wishes, and always happy to share with you. You can write in the cover of my new book, “From my friend, Gary, who loves children as much as I do.” In some ways it has been our life work to help kids, and adults, of all ages, to learn and grow, never stop learning and growing a good maxim.
Yes, we’ll give you a special discount on our Mexico villa. And how about a Jewish woman president who is not afraid of this yam north of the border? That goes along with residence in Mexico where you can live as an ex-pat an keep your U.S. passport if so inclined. All it takes is a legal U.S. address. Of course you still have to pay taxes in the U.S. and you can still vote.
I’m just going to make a hard copy of this thread and use it as a bookmark inside the book. Thus creating a memory I’ll always have—and when my grandson grows older with the book, and he wonders about this bookmark, I get to share you with him. Pretty cool that!
Aw shucks, Kert. I have a great grandson who lives too far away to enjoy in person, but I get pics and videos as he grows from a baby to a boy who seems curious to learn. He is a happy, busy guy for his age, and has a great Mom and Dad whose love for him and vice-versa are evident in their shared mutual joys every day. Such the life, yes/
Hi Kert, thank you so much for the shout out, I'm happy to hear the Native American Indian wisdom resonates with you too.
I also feel called to share that this post I've provided the link for below, also gave me solace as the Australian author makes the point that the world is changing fast, and she investigates and explores, "The real question isn’t what will happen? but how will we live through it?"
I look forward to reading this! Thank you. I have a feeling we are kindred spirits. We have no choice but to live through it—-even as things get even more crazy by the minute. Native cultures also knew that Nature will always have the final say which is why they treated the natural environment as the sacred Being it is. Nature always bats last. Why do I have this sinking feeling we are in the top of the ninth with two outs facing the last strike and out left to us silly humans? And we are such silly humans thinking that all this noise is important.
Hi Kert, I hope you enjoy it and yes, most definitely kindred spirits in how the Native American wisdom resonates in our hearts.
One thing that the author of that post, Australian research psychologist, Gabrielle Feather, wrote in a different post too:
"When I was at university, studying politics and international relations alongside law, my love for the natural world turned into something sharper. I learned about the environmental crisis in a way that wasn’t just about melting ice caps and endangered species. It was about systems, power, and the ways we had been sold the idea that globalisation and economic growth would somehow save us. Even then, in 2010, it was obvious to some that this wasn’t the answer. The cracks were already there. The real answer was going to be in localisation and radical economic shifts, but very few were acknowledging that at the time."
She also wrote this that resonates with me too: "I also hold another belief, one that might seem too idealistic or new agey to some. I believe that the souls coming into the world right now want to be here. These are the ones who have chosen this moment in history because they are here to be part of the change. They want to witness this transformation, to play a role in shaping what comes next."
Thank you, Kert, for connecting Ram Dass's teachings to our current crisis. It's a powerful demonstration of bringing the teachings back home to each of us and understanding where we're at in our spiritual practice. With all that's coming up for me with this current administration, I feel like I'm in a Ph.D program.
This is very brave of you to post, Kert. Thank you for being willing to share your struggle as well as your learning. I think that's the way to people's hearts!
Last year I stared at a picture of Donald Trump for a long enough time that those visceral feelings of disgust abated and all I saw was an organic human animal. It was an interesting experiment. Last night I actually stared at another human being for ten minutes; a man I also have some trouble with—myself! I stared in the mirror for ten minutes, trying to release all projections and expectations, judgements and insecurities. As with the Trump experiment, I eventually began to see a stranger, an animal, a product of organic functions; breathing, standing, seeing, hearing. I saw that these functions are exactly the same as 8-billion other human animals, not even to mention trillions of other animals. I, for a brief moment, "became nobody," as you discuss.
I honestly can't say what the lesson is, I can't share any insights except that I think it's a good exercise, and I'll do it again. In fact, you've inspired me to stare at Donald Trump again (I'm saying his name on purpose haha 😁)
Thanks, Kert!!
I should undergo the same practice—but with D.T., I’d have to get past a very real gag reflex. We’ll see. I do like your conclusion however—that he’s an organic animal (here I neatly pirouette away from that same realization for myself…LOL!). Of course I know this to be true, as I also know it is true that there are organic animals that are also destructive predators (the only difference between the predators found in nature, and this guy, is that this guy hunts and kills not to satiate biological hunger, but to simply cause pain. Period.). See? Still so far to go in my practice.
Jennifer and I were literally just talking about this. My take is this: the consequences of Donald Trump’s malfunctioning brain are very real and very dangerous. If a meteor was hurling toward our planet and destined to destroy it, I would not be opposed to whatever methods could divert or destroy that threat. Same goes for Donald Trump. He’s just a bag of blood and bones, but his narcissistic disorder combined with his money and influence, are a clear and present danger. We don’t have to take the man himself personally, we don’t have to hate him, but we do have to stop him somehow. I don’t feel that I personally have the power to stop him, but I hope those who do, enact it!
After today’s debacle in the Oval Office, we’ll get to take the temperature, by their words and actions, if members of the GOP have any moral capacity to consider impeachment. Yuck—i want to be so done with politics dominating our world. The sun is shining on our Western Cedar elders—time to go hug a tree.
That’s a wonderful idea, Kert! I sat under a tree in the sunshine for a little while today. 💚
When I see a sad and sick case of a full blown narcissistic personality disorder I can't help feeling concern for him and those within his perimeter who deal with this on a daily basis. What this behavior is doing to the rest of us and the country may continue for awhile and do some damage but it will not last. Sometimes I take the longer view.
People will die of sepsis, measles, exposure, poverty, and violence as a direct result of this administration’s careless and cruel bulldozing of social rights and programs. I can look at Trump as an animal with a disorder, and not feel hatred or vengeance, but I also don’t really feel empathy or concern. My concern is for people who don’t deserve to suffer under the weird combination of ingredients that put this guy in power.
Spot on.
At the same time, I do feel that it is important to do the inner work necessary to overcome the feelings of disempowerment that keep us in hatred and disgust.
“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear”. MLKJr
MLK, Jr. would be traveling to the Ukraine even as we type to stand with them in their fight for freedom. Knowing full well how that response, following today’s debacle, would play in the White House. Time to get into some “good trouble.” (Love me some John Lewis in a time like this.)
Brilliant post! Ram Dass is definitely someone worth ‘hanging out with.’ Great call on sharing the podcast! For those interested, the same Be Here Now network also has an Alan Watts podcast that’s well worth a listen. And Dr. Maté - absolutely worth paying attention to as well!
I love Alan Watts as well!
Hey Kert,
Thanks for today’s thoughts. It’s such a hard place we’re in right now and I appreciate being challenged to do more than just be exceptionally angry. Love. Seriously? I guess times like these are ones that really force us to either practice what we preach, or shut up about it already. Along those lines I was just reading about bell hooks and something she’d written really struck me: “Only love could defeat the intersecting forms of oppression that targeted women, children, people of color, the poor, and the otherwise marginalized.” Love. Seriously? Love defeating oppression, but how? Many “typical” things come to mind, but I’ve never thought about it the way you discussed re- the Caspar Weinberger story. There is a power given to love that feels, well, kind of kick ass powerful. Like you, I’m not ready to put a picture of ——- on my altar yet, but maybe, just maybe some day soon I will. Cheers.
Love this Robin! Thank you!!!
Anytime I read or hear of Love being used in this context, it humbles me. Makes me feel small in comparison to those who led with Love and live(d) this ethic. But it also forces me to go deeper into the truer definition of Love—which can be exceedingly tough and uncompromising when it comes to confronting its polar opposites: evil and hatred. I’m learning Love demands this of us—to stand in direct opposition, sometimes with incredible strength, always with endurance and persistence, to evil deeds but to do so benevolently. We have to believe, because we’ve seen it proven, that even in these times, Love and truth will prevail…again. I just wish we didn’t have to go through this with this particular “he who shall not be named.”
No auditing because that is not how you signed up for this course that you refer to as Humanity 101. That was the prerequisite course for where you are now, deeply immersed in Spirituality 2025, where you are learning how to embrace ALL of humanity, even the most disagreeable and disgusting among us. I love Ram Dass and his teachings and when I was a graduate student second time around, I used some of Timothy Leary's work in my research. in the spring of 1963 Harvard was forced to dismiss Alpert after he administered psilocybin to an undergraduate student off-campus. Leary was also fired from the university, and the Harvard Psilocybin Project came to an abrupt end. Leary never regained the stature that he had enjoyed during the 1960s. He also designed computer software and was an early advocate of the potential of new technologies such as virtual reality and the Internet. His Web site later chronicled his death from prostate cancer on 1996. Every choice we make bring us to where we find ourselves now.
So so true. “Every choice we make brings us to where we find ourselves now.” Absolutely—because we are right here.
Those two were decades ahead of the rest of the world (not the only ones, I know, and they had much to owe Native Indigenous cultures) especially now with psilocybin, ayahuasca, and other plant-based psychedelics having a bit of an appropriate renaissance.
Funny how some things once considered too far out, "revolutionary" and even "illegal" come back around again in another form to be accepted. Here is a "note" I am sending to my inner circle/tribe here like you. Long way to go to be fully recovered but we do see some progress after a month, slow but welcome. I'll spare you and others the details, some of which were included in several past posts. Suffice to say that at this stage the best we can expect is to have a quality of life worth continuing and until it isn't we will do the best we can. That is the reality and with some serious physical limitations in mobility and breathing, I am glad my mind is still working most of the time and in the other areas, I am taking one step at a time and getting treatment as needed. I've had a great life, a full life and have enormous gratitude for all I have done. Now, as I am dependent on others, it's a tough transition for one who has been so independent. I appreciate your presence here and poking me to think out loud with you this Saturday morning. My daughter and son-law are here for a few days from Boston/Cambridge and helping us get resettled into new digs. Our extended family has been and continues to be a big support network so we're fortunate on that front too. Gratitude abides!
Gratitude abides and rest in my own heart for you my friend. I’m thankful for this update—and thankful to see you “thinking out loud” again in some of your Notes and Posts. You’ve helped me just now to not take them for granted knowing more from the space inside you from where they come. I’m making a promise to you that I will be purchasing at least two of the recent books we’ve talked about—your latest will be an awesome addition to the little library we are building here for my soon-to-be-here first grandchild. You are a true Elder in a time in which we no longer have Elders, instead, we have old people. You’ve never stopped teaching—I said throughout my career that teachers stay forever young because we interact with youth every single day. Not all teachers “get it.” And I know you know what I mean by that. But you “GET IT!”
At this stage now in your life, a life period we all will arrive at, (and I hope I retain the level of wisdom, articulation, and cognition that you have kept), may you look back upon all the lives you’ve impacted (thousands? Tens of thousands? More???) and know with certainty your life not only had an impact, but continues to have an impact in the world. The wake you are still leaving behind you is deep and expansive Gary—teachers also have the potential for this to happen for them too. But they have to live in a manner that creates the kind of wakes that truly changes the courses of so many of the lives we are privileged to touch.
You’ve touched mine. I only wish I had the funds to buy that place in Mexico from ya!!! NOW would be a pretty good time to exchange presidents.
Heartfelt thanks, Kert. You get it and you get me better than many, maybe because of some similar background and philosophy, maybe because we ae brothers in Spirit, maybe because we communicate thoughts and feelings freely and authentically. Whatever the reasons, I appreciate you your affirming good thoughts and wishes, and always happy to share with you. You can write in the cover of my new book, “From my friend, Gary, who loves children as much as I do.” In some ways it has been our life work to help kids, and adults, of all ages, to learn and grow, never stop learning and growing a good maxim.
Yes, we’ll give you a special discount on our Mexico villa. And how about a Jewish woman president who is not afraid of this yam north of the border? That goes along with residence in Mexico where you can live as an ex-pat an keep your U.S. passport if so inclined. All it takes is a legal U.S. address. Of course you still have to pay taxes in the U.S. and you can still vote.
I’m just going to make a hard copy of this thread and use it as a bookmark inside the book. Thus creating a memory I’ll always have—and when my grandson grows older with the book, and he wonders about this bookmark, I get to share you with him. Pretty cool that!
Aw shucks, Kert. I have a great grandson who lives too far away to enjoy in person, but I get pics and videos as he grows from a baby to a boy who seems curious to learn. He is a happy, busy guy for his age, and has a great Mom and Dad whose love for him and vice-versa are evident in their shared mutual joys every day. Such the life, yes/
Hi Kert, thank you so much for the shout out, I'm happy to hear the Native American Indian wisdom resonates with you too.
I also feel called to share that this post I've provided the link for below, also gave me solace as the Australian author makes the point that the world is changing fast, and she investigates and explores, "The real question isn’t what will happen? but how will we live through it?"
https://holdingboth.substack.com/p/collapse-awareness-is-just-the-beginning
I look forward to reading this! Thank you. I have a feeling we are kindred spirits. We have no choice but to live through it—-even as things get even more crazy by the minute. Native cultures also knew that Nature will always have the final say which is why they treated the natural environment as the sacred Being it is. Nature always bats last. Why do I have this sinking feeling we are in the top of the ninth with two outs facing the last strike and out left to us silly humans? And we are such silly humans thinking that all this noise is important.
Hi Kert, I hope you enjoy it and yes, most definitely kindred spirits in how the Native American wisdom resonates in our hearts.
One thing that the author of that post, Australian research psychologist, Gabrielle Feather, wrote in a different post too:
"When I was at university, studying politics and international relations alongside law, my love for the natural world turned into something sharper. I learned about the environmental crisis in a way that wasn’t just about melting ice caps and endangered species. It was about systems, power, and the ways we had been sold the idea that globalisation and economic growth would somehow save us. Even then, in 2010, it was obvious to some that this wasn’t the answer. The cracks were already there. The real answer was going to be in localisation and radical economic shifts, but very few were acknowledging that at the time."
She also wrote this that resonates with me too: "I also hold another belief, one that might seem too idealistic or new agey to some. I believe that the souls coming into the world right now want to be here. These are the ones who have chosen this moment in history because they are here to be part of the change. They want to witness this transformation, to play a role in shaping what comes next."
Yes, we’re getting hurt.
Yet, may we not be pushed to
hurt them, or to hate.
...
Yes, they’re causing harm.
Yet, may we learn to teach them,
even to love them?
my teacher once taught:
to hate my captor hurts me.
in prison I’d stay.
we’re led by bullies
little boys who think they’re tough.
Zelensky is tough.
Thank you, Kert, for connecting Ram Dass's teachings to our current crisis. It's a powerful demonstration of bringing the teachings back home to each of us and understanding where we're at in our spiritual practice. With all that's coming up for me with this current administration, I feel like I'm in a Ph.D program.
Much to my chagrin, I have never heard of Ram Dass. Going to need to learn a bit more. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Kert.