This is an unfair comparison, but what do Donald Trump, Pattabhi Jois and John of God have in common?
If you are not familiar with some of these seemingly unrelated men, let me give an overview. Most of you know our US President Donald Trump, so no need to identify him. John of God as he is called, is from Brazil, and is perhaps the most famous healer on the planet. He was highlighted by Oprah Winfrey some years ago when she visited him in Brazil to do a special about him, and I have personally gone to see him in Brazil and here in the US, and had profound healings, as have thousands of others around the world. And Pattabhi Jois—who passed away a couple years ago, was a renowned yoga teacher and guru, loved by many.
So in a way, there is not much these three men have in common, but in perhaps other ways they are very much alike.
First, like all of us, these are all people, with some traits we would call positive, even gifts or talents, as well as some challenging aspects, what we might call shadows or dark sides or just simply challenges they came here on Earth to learn or master.
And remember what I have said over and over in these commentaries, nothing can be hidden for long in this new energy. There is so much light, so to speak, that it is shining into every shadow. Specifically, the MeToo movement has put a highlight around each of these men. John of God is under fire (and arrest) from hundreds of women accusing him of sexually abusing them, and recently turned himself in under arrest. Pattabhi Jois had accusations of sexual inappropriateness and groping coming in for years before he passed on, and is still being debated as to whether he was a great sage or a sinner. And of course, Donald Trump has been seen by many as inappropriate with women and making pay offs to cover it up.
Now, first, let me say, that it is possible that none or most of the accusations are true for any of these men. I am not here to announce them all as guilty or innocent. I am here to say that all of us, without exception, has some traits we are happy about or even proud of, and all of us has a bit of dark side. We are all products of our world, a quite wounded world, and we seem to pass those wounds and traumas down from one generation to the next. And in these cases, the patriarchy seems to have created an insidious situation where countless wounded men all over the world pass those wounds on to women.
So there are specific woundings to each gender, are there not? And these woundings wind together into the mess we have today, where millions of men, who were often themselves shamed, disempowered, unloved and perhaps sexually wounded, are acting out this confusion and rage, and unconsciously seeking some sort of power, control or healing by abusing women, and even girls and boys. Women’s own woundings of disempowerment, shame, and fear have them vulnerable to these actions. All this needs to be explored more deeply, brought into the light and healed.
And somehow, even as we seek justice and hold people responsible and seek amends, is it not important to breathe deeply, feel fully, and seek to understand, attempt a bird’s eye or spirit’s view to see the essential goodness, the essential innocence in each soul? There is so much suffering. It might also be wise to see ourselves in each of these people’s shoes, in this case these three men, again, all who have what we might call positive and negative traits. As we demand justice and responsibility, know that in this new energy nothing can hide anyway and all is coming to light. Can we still keep the heart of compassion open? Can we seek to understand the epidemic and conditions which causes turning sweet little boys into abusers?
And of course, each of us can courageously look in the mirror, see what shadows lurk within, and again, bravely clear all blame and victim tendencies, face any unhealed areas and never forget how beautiful we and everyone is. Some of us hide our brightness very deep, but if we dig deep enough, we find the beautiful essential nature.
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