The election is seven dark days away. What we know of the psychopathology of Mr. Trump is that he a conduit for continued and deepened insanity, the persecution of those who are suffering, weak or hurting, and gleeful denial that any of it is happening. As dear psychiatrists and clinical psychologists around me say, “He is a Sociopathic Narcissist.” No conscience. No feeling. Fed on the suffering of others. Enjoys inflicting it. And as Mary Trump, kin with the Donald has said in her book, he will get worse and worse. There is no bottom. So, one is challenged with this: What will you do as you are mired in this toxic and real atmosphere? It is precisely what the Dali Lama was confronted with when beloved Tibet was invaded by Chinese murderers, killing thousands of his friends. The same thing confronted Gurdjieff and his followers in the midst of the Nazi’s terrorizing the world. They used the situation to deepen their work, to deepen their compassion, to deepen their wish to heal humanity. We too are challenged in this. Not to deny in any way the true terror of this situation, while staying present and conscious enough to use the predicament to heal ourselves and others, and to cultivate unusual joy. There is something to the quirky joy of this song by beautiful, Type Four, Paul Simon, that I find uplifting, humoring, dancing in the fire untouched by the poison. That is the task that Gurdjieff put before us. Enjoy this celebratory prayer and possibility.
