by Jonathan Robinson: I’ve only met Trump once, but it made a lasting impression. After I uttered a mere eight words to him, he told me to “F*ck Off!” Here’s what happened:
about twenty years ago, I was going to be on the TV showGeraldofor a book I had written. He was on the show too, and he was having his makeup done as I waited nearby. With everything the makeup artist did, Trump had a complaint. He was relentless in his criticism. Finally, when he was finished, he saw I was waiting next to get my makeup done and said to me, “Don’t even bother with her. She’s terrible.” Taken aback by his harshness, I reacted by saying eight words to our future president: “You didn’t give her much to work with.”
That’s when Mr. Trump told me, “F*ck off,” and briskly walked away. I got all self righteous, but I figured at least I would never have to see this jerk again. Things didn’t quite work out that way. Now that he’s President, I realize he’s going to be in my life for at least the next several years. Therefore, I’ve had to create a plan for dealing with his lunacy without succumbing to constant upset. After some reflection, I got to thinking about the usefulness of having agitators in my life. Normally, I hide my shadow side from myself and others. Yet someone like Trump, who displays his dark side for all to see, has helped me see my own shadow side. I have worked to use this fact to my spiritual advantage.
Normally my shadow side is invisible to me in my daily life. Yet, having Trump become President brought up so much “stuff” in me that I found I couldn’t push away my shadow side so easily. Most of my friends are going through this “Trump trauma” as well. For some of my friends, Trump brings up a lot of fear in them—even paranoia. For others, it makes them sad, overwhelmed, or angry. For me, he mostly brings up feelings of self-righteousness. All those feelings were always lurking beneath the surface in our lives, but they’re now made more visible and obvious. Thanks to our agitator-in-chief, my friends and I are increasingly growing our awareness of our shadow side.
I’ll illustrate exactly how this is useful with a personal example. As I’ve mentioned, I have a long history of being self-righteous. In daily life, I don’t usually see this as a problem, although my wife certainly doesn’t enjoy it. Yet, Trump’s every utterance is like rocket fuel for my self-righteous tendencies. Therefore, I can now see that I am a self-righteous addict. Admittedly, I “enjoy” feeling self-righteous. It leads me to feeling that I’m right and others are wrong; it leads me to feeling dominant and that I’m better than others. Of course, it also keeps me from feeling peaceful—or loving towards others. Thanks to our screwball President, I am now confronted with my shadow side a dozen times per day.
Over the years, I’ve learned that the first step to overcoming a problem is admitting you have one. Thanks to Mr. Trump, I now know my self righteousness is clearly in the way of being a more peaceful and loving person. In fact, Trump is also helping me learn humility. Every time he “triggers” me with his latest lunacy, I think to myself, “That’s just like me.” When he’s self righteous, I think, “That just like me.” When he exaggerates or lies to look good, I reflect, “That’s just like me. I exaggerate all the time to look good!” Thanks to our President, I feel humble a lot nowadays—which is a good thing if you’re trying to grow spiritually. Our President is not only our leader, he is our collective shadow side made visible in Imax Technicolor. We are very fortunate that way!
So that’s how I’ve turned my Trump trauma into my daily dharma or spiritual path. Of course, I still rise up in resistance and call my congressman to protest what’s happening. It enlivens my soul to honor my truth and connect with like-minded people. At the same time, I do my daily practice of noticing what Trump triggers in me. I take this info as a telltale sign of my greatest obstacles to inner peace. In a way, our President is like my personal therapist. His words and actions help reveal my shadow side with exquisite accuracy. And like a good therapist, as Trump helps reveal my inner obstacles, they gradually dissolve as I become more aware of them. Best of all, Trump provides this service consistently–and for free!
It has been said, “The Lord works in mysterious ways.” I never thought the man that told me to “F*ck off” many years ago would become my personal therapist and spiritual motivator. Yet, anything can happen in this world. If Trump can become president, then perhaps with his “help” I can finally become free of what has kept me from lasting inner peace.
Jonathan Robinson, M.A., M.F.T. is a psychotherapist, best-selling author of 12 books, and a professional speaker from Northern California. Mr. Robinson has made numerous appearances on the Oprah show, as well as many other national TV talk shows, and articles about him have appeared in USA Today, Newsweek and The Los Angeles Times. For the past 30 years he has spoken to dozens of Fortune 500 companies including Google, Microsoft, Dell Computer, Coca-Cola, and Fed-Ex.
Jonathan has written several bestseller books including, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Awakening Your Spirituality;” “The Experience of God,” “The Little Book of Big Questions;” and “Communication Miracles for Couples.” His latest book is called, “More Love, Less Conflict.” Jonathan also co-hosts the podcast “Awareness Explorers” with author Brian Tom O’Connor. This podcast focuses on revealing the easiest and most powerful practices for directly awakening to one’s true nature.
Through TV, live lectures and radio, Mr. Robinson has reached over 100 million people around the world. He is known for providing his audiences with immediately useful information presented in a fun and entertaining manner.
