Jann, David et al,

When I went to bed some time before midnight, yet knowing that Trump had won, I was in shock, unable to sleep and experiencing great bodily stress. Might I have a heart attack? (I have never had any heart problems.) Part of this was a deep sense of helplessness, being infinitely puny in the face of this new reality of America and the world. To self-soothe, I moved into my current meditative/contemplative practice of, on the one hand listening to whatever words my ego was muttering to get a sense of where I was at in this world; and on the other hand, attentively breathing – ‘we’ on the in-breath and ‘us’ on the out breath evoking the eternality of the other world.

Soon I moved into sleep.

Upon waking, I was aware of being in a cool, vibrantly alive state of being aware that I had been delivered into a completely new self-awareness of my world.

Well I know that my ego and one’s collective ego can produce wonderful illusions!

Calmly, I embrace this new reality symbolized by the Trump presidency.  I am committed to finding whole new ways of engaging with this disenfranchised cohort, as I am committed to engaging with the marginalized anywhere.

Here’s a version of the Lord’s Prayer written by Joyce Marshall that I try to read daily.