Why is Donald Trump so popular?

Love him or hate him, there is no doubting Trump is extremely popular with many. Speaking personally, this is something I have struggled to understand. Trump is subject to 91 criminal charges, has consistently displayed erratic behaviour (is that a polite way of putting it?) and most recently has advocated for the Russians to attack more European countries.

Finally, an insight that makes sense, courtesy of Guardian columnist George Monbiot. It has to do with extrinsics and intrinsics. Never before have I posted a blog featuring just one quoted article, however, I found this one so insightful, not just in explaining Trump but many other seemingly weird relationships, that here it is, plus details of the coming meditation retreat and meditation teacher trainings, but first

 

   Thought for the day

        There is someone smarter than any of us 

        And that is all of us.  

            Michael Nolan

Guardian columnist George Monbiot has explored the psychology of Trump’s seeming unbendable appeal to a large section of the American electorate. Below is an edited extract. 

The Guardian depends on the generosity of readers like you to fund their fearless, independent journalism. If you can, please do support them : The Guardian 

Many explanations are proposed for the continued rise of Donald Trump, and the steadfastness of his support, even as the outrages and criminal charges pile up. 

Some of these explanations are powerful. 

But there is one I have seen mentioned nowhere, which could, I believe, be the most important: Trump is king of the extrinsics. 


Some psychologists believe our values tend to cluster around certain poles, described as “intrinsic” and “extrinsic”. 

People with a strong set of intrinsic values are inclined towards empathy, intimacy and self-acceptance. 

They tend to be open to challenge and change, interested in universal rights and equality, and protective of other people and the living world. 


People at the extrinsic end of the spectrum are more attracted to prestige, status, image, fame, power and wealth. 

They are strongly motivated by the prospect of individual reward and praise. 

They are more likely to objectify and exploit other people, to behave rudely and aggressively and to dismiss social and environmental impacts. 

They have little interest in co-operation or community. 

People with a strong set of extrinsic values are more likely to suffer from frustration, dissatisfaction, stress, anxiety, anger and compulsive behaviour. 
Trump exemplifies extrinsic values. From the tower bearing his name in gold letters to his gross overstatements of his wealth; from his endless ranting about “winners” and “losers” to his reported habit of cheating at golf. Trump, perhaps more than any other public figure in recent history, is a walking, talking monument to extrinsic values. 


We are not born with our values. They are shaped by the cues and responses we receive from other people and the prevailing mores of our society. They are also moulded by the political environment we inhabit. If people live under a cruel and grasping political system, they tend to normalise and internalise it. This, in turn, permits an even crueller and more grasping political system to develop. 


If, by contrast, people live in a country in which no one becomes destitute, in which social norms are characterised by kindness, empathy, community and freedom from want and fear, their values are likely to shift towards the intrinsic end. 

This process is known as policy feedback, or the “values ratchet”. 

The values ratchet operates at the societal and the individual level: a strong set of extrinsic values often develops as a result of insecurity and unfulfilled needs. 

These extrinsic values then generate further insecurity and unfulfilled needs.

This goes deeper than politics. 

For well over a century, the US, more than most nations, has worshipped extrinsic values: the American dream is a dream of acquiring wealth, spending it conspicuously and escaping the constraints of other people’s needs and demands. It is accompanied, in politics and in popular culture, by toxic myths about failure and success: wealth is the goal, regardless of how it is acquired. The ubiquity of advertising, the commercialisation of society and the rise of consumerism, alongside the media’s obsession with fame and fashion, reinforce this story. 


We talk about society’s rightward journey. 

We talk about polarisation and division. 

We talk about isolation and the mental health crisis. 

But what underlies these trends is a shift in values. 

This is the cause of many of our dysfunctions; the rest are symptoms. 


When a society valorises status, money, power and dominance, it is bound to generate frustration. It is mathematically impossible for everyone to be number one. The more the economic elites grab, the more everyone else must lose. Someone must be blamed for the ensuing disappointment. 

In a culture that worships winners, it can’t be them. 

It must be those evil people pursuing a kinder world, in which wealth is distributed, no one is forgotten and communities and the living planet are protected. 

Those who have developed a strong set of extrinsic values will vote for the person who represents them, the person who has what they want. Trump. 

And where the US goes, the rest of us follow. 


Trump might well win again – God help us if he does. 

If so, his victory will be due not only to the racial resentment of ageing white men, or to his weaponisation of culture wars or to algorithms and echo chambers, important as these factors are. It will also be the result of values embedded so deeply that we forget they are there. 

COMING EVENTS

Meditation Teacher Training

Module 1: Mindfulness-based Stillness Meditation

11am Monday 6th to 3.30pm Friday 10th May, 2024

Module 2: Contemplation

11am Saturday 2nd to 3.30pm Wednesday 6th November, 2024 (inc Melbourne Cup holiday on the 5th for Victorians)

Full details: Iangawler.com or Sandy@insighthealth.com.au

Meditation Retreat – Meditation in the Forest

Relaxation, mindfulness, stillness and awareness. 

Relax. Immerse yourself in the natural beauty of the Yarra Valley with its big trees, fresh air, beautiful grounds, the Little Yarra River, and sublime meditation sanctuary.

You can simply let go, and let be…

TIMES: Saturday 22nd June starting at 11am to 2pm Friday 28th June (after lunch) 2024

VENUE: The Yarra Valley Living Centre, 55 Rayner Crt, Yarra Junction, Victoria, Australia

DETAILS and BOOKINGS: Iangawler.com or Sandy@insighthealth.com.au

 

 

The most important thing to understand about our own mind

When it comes to our own mind, what is the most important thing to learn? As a meditation teacher, what is the most important thing to teach?

Important questions given in 2020 Ruth and I will lead a 7 day meditation retreat and two 5 day meditation teacher training programs in the Yarra Valley. Also in 2020 I will turn 70 and it will be my 40th year of teaching.

So after all those years of personal practice and teaching, quite simply the most important thing is this. The mind has 2 aspects. Get that, understand that, live in the light of that knowing, and all else will fall into place. So this week, a short piece on the 2 aspects, then details of the 2020 program of retreats and meditation teacher training for Ruth and myself, but first


        Thought for the day

      I think 99 times and find nothing.

      I stop thinking,
      Swim in silence, 
      And the truth comes to me.

                           Albert Einstein









Our mind has two aspects. How do we know that? What is the big deal?

Well first, these 2 aspects are the Active Mind and the Still Mind.

These 2 aspects can be compared to the blue sky and the clouds.

The clouds act as a metaphor for our active thoughts and emotions that come and go and change all the time.

They can range from beautiful and serene to wild and turbulent.

The blue sky is a metaphor for that aspect of mind beyond all the activity of thoughts and emotions wherein dwells a stillness.



This still aspect of the mind is the natural home of profound peace, clarity, wisdom and compassion.

The key point is that under normal circumstances, most of us function with a life view based upon identifying with the Active Mind. As such, we mistakenly approach life as if we and things around us exist independently of each other, are permanent and are singular.

In reality, in truth, however, if we analyze life we find it to be highly inter-dependent, changing all the time, and multiple in its character.

Now it can take a while to make this analysis – even in theory, It can take longer to really “get it” and to do something radical yet freeing; something that actually ensures long-term happiness. And that is to shift our life view from the Active Mind to that of the Still Mind.

The reason this is so important is that when we function from the perspective of the Still Mind, we natural see how we are all inter-connected and we naturally become very caring for those around us and for our environment. We are all in this together. This perspective quite naturally brings out our good heart. Almost effortlessly we become more loving. Unconditionally loving.

Hence the need for retreats.

Take time away from the business and full on engagement with the Active Mind and all that goes with it, and spend time re-connecting with the Still Mind.

To do this we need the theory and the practice.

We need time to build our understanding.



We need time to establish our practice and our direct experience of the truth of what we are learning.

Now of course, the reality is that with meditation we have the opportunity to get to know both aspects of our mind better. As well as reconnecting with the Still Mind, we can observe what our Active Mind is up to, take more control of it, use it more effectively for good and lighten up on the problems it so often leads us into.

In meditation we get to connect more deeply with our own innate stillness, and in doing so, we connect with what we are actually capable of, our greatest potential, and our inner wisdom.

So for Ruth and myself, this is at the heart of what we teach.

No wonder it is our passion.

Ruth has asked me to help lead her Pre-Easter meditation retreat so I have agreed.

And we have been asked to present the Meditation Teacher Training program at the Foundation for 2020.


This too is a passion, especially as in 2020 as well as providing a pure meditation teacher’s training, we will also present a training around teaching contemplation – another area of great interest and joy for me.

So here are the details…


RECLAIMING JOY    

7 day Residential Meditation Retreat with Ruth and Ian Gawler and Melissa Borich 

Modern culture has taught us to look externally for solutions to feeling better… substances we can take, new and exciting experiences, the acquiring of new ‘things.

However, to regain balance and cultivate reliable, sustainable joy, we learn to go within.

Meditation provides real answers.

And all of this amidst the nurture and beauty of the Yarra Valley Living Centre…



Dates     Friday 3rd to Thursday 9th April (pre-Easter)

Venue   The Yarra Valley Living Centre, 55 Rayner Crt, Yarra Junction, Victoria

More details   CLICK HERE

Inquiries and Bookings    Call 1300 651 211   or  www.gawler.org


MEDITATION TEACHER TRAINING   with Drs Ruth and Ian Gawler

Ian and Ruth have been teaching teachers of meditation for decades. This is a unique opportunity to learn from them directly in two 5 day residential trainings – Module 1 on meditation, Module 2 – contemplation. Attending both modules will meet the requirements for provisional membership of the Meditation Association of Australia. Both trainings will be highly experiential and be based upon comprehensive manuals.

Venue     The Yarra Valley Living Centre,  55 Rayner Crt, Yarra Junction, Victoria

Dates     Meditation Teacher Training 27 April – 1 May, 2020 ; Full details  : Click here

          Contemplation 7-11 September, 2020  ;  Full details :  Click here

Inquiries  and Bookings   Call 1300 651 211 or www.gawler.org

Why is it so hard to do what is good for us? And 3 top tips to change that…

These days, most of us know what is good for our health and our wellbeing.
Yet why does it often seem easier to do things that are bad for us compared to those that do us good?

This week a guest blog from Ruth with 3 ways to rectify all this, plus a dose of inspiration - all as we embark on leading another meditation retreat together in the Yarra Valley at the start of December, but first

              Thought for the day

         Hope is the thing with feathers
         That perches in the soul,
         And sings the tune without the words,
         And never stops at all.  
           
                          Emily Dickinson




We are the most highly-educated population that has ever walked the planet.
And courtesy of the net we can look up anything and everything in a few moments. Of course there are different opinions that have different levels of authority and conviction but we all know what we eat, how we exercise, and our state of mind all have a considerable impact on our health and wellbeing. Yet often enough we seem to have trouble sticking to doing it!

So what is missing? I believe that rather more than information, what we need is help with implementation. Doctors call it compliance. I call it “Making a Plan” and finding a way to get supported in that plan.

Ask yourself the following questions…

• Do I lack clarity and uncertainty about what really works?
• Am I unsure about who to trust?
• Do I lack confidence?
• Do I have a fear of failure?
• Am I habitually destructive with my thinking?
• Am I unable to let go of old habits or preferences?
• Do I find it difficult to open my mind to embrace new ideas?
• Am I lazy or forgetful?
• Am I in denial? Do I know what being in denial is?
• Do I lack willpower?
• Do I feel under pressure to conform from family, friends
or professionals to maintain a status quo, to keep up an image?
• Do I ever succumb to some deeper, darker self-sabotage?
• Am I frightened about old age?                

Most of us will answer yes to several if not many of the above.

So what to do?
How to cut through all this? Why does it often seem so difficult to do what is in our own best health and wellbeing interests? Why is it so many of us get complacent and lazy and have habits we find difficult to change?

Maybe part of the problem is the modern version of laziness. This current Western Civilisation version of laziness is actually about being endlessly busy. Working, family, shopping, socializing, housekeeping… the days are one long run around! No time for attention to self. No time to attend to what is really good for us.

1. Fear
In my experience, what often breaks through all this first and foremost is a good dose of fear!
Maybe this is not the answer you had hoped to hear, but what I observe is the people who generally do “Make a Plan” for their health and carry it through are those who start when facing extreme difficulties and are afraid of dying or of becoming disabled - like many of those who come to our cancer programs and multiple sclerosis programs.

Fact is we can benefit from being afraid of not recovering, of being afraid of an unhealthy old age, of being a burden on our families or communities, of being in pain and of suffering physical disability. Fear can be a great initial motivator. It can be very helpful to observe what is happening to so many older people we know and to fear for our own future. Of course, overwhelming fear is stifling, even paralyzing; so that level of fear needs to be balanced with hope - the hope of being able to doing something about it.

2.Inspiration
And for hope we need to be inspired - by people, magazines, books, podcasts, programs and films. Our present culture is too tough to just expect we will automatically become inspired. We need to be prepared to be different and change the culture of our family.

3. Making a plan for our health 
This is the third essential. There are so many choices, so many options these days, we need to make time to consult, to read, to ask questions and contemplate. A good plan does not occur by accident; it can take time and focus, but then it establishes our direction. And then, informed by a good plan, we need to choose like-minded friends - people who also want to have a go at being healthy - to support us in our lifestyle.


And how is this for inspiration?


Some years back now, Ian and I attended the marriage of our dear friends and colleagues, George Jelinek and Sandy Neate, both Emergency Medicine Physicians.

George is well known now for his invaluable contribution to Multiple Sclerosis.

George, being a rigorous academic and Professor of Emergency Medicine, was diagnosed with MS in 1999.

This led him to undertake extensive research related to the illness and enabled him to arrive at his own conclusions.

He changed his diet, exercise routine, Vitamin D levels and way of life.

Overcoming MS is a great book.

As for George - many years on he remains diligent with his lifestyle and he remains very well!

But back in 1999, speaking at the reception, Sandy recollected first meeting George. Sandy become aware of what she thought in those days was his rather restrictive diet.

So, she asked “Do you ever cheat on the diet George?”

Sandy said he responded with a somewhat puzzled look, as if not to understand the question, so she repeated “Do you ever cheat?”

This time George did reply. “Why would I cheat on the diet when there is so much at stake?”

Simple really.

Men like George are an inspiration. His clarity made it easy. George is fully aware that when it comes to the chronic, degenerative, medical conditions - cancer, depression, anxiety, heart disease, autoimmune diseases (including MS), Alzheimer’s, arthritis - what you eat, how you exercise, what your state of mind is  - all have a major impact on the course of these illnesses. And if you have not got an illness, these factors play a major role in whether or not you develop them.


So why wait? 

Medical evidence is now very clear - an unhealthy lifestyle is linked to just about every health issue you would rather avoid.

Also, a healthy lifestyle is linked to more than "just" prevention, it is linked to recovery from just about every health issue you would rather not experience.

So why wait? 

Draw on any fear you can muster.

Draw on inspiration wherever you can.

Make a plan and expect to experience the side effects of a healthy lifestyle - chronic good health and an active, engaging old age.


RUTH'S NEXT MEDITATION RETREAT

RECLAIMING JOY - April 12 - 18 2019, Yarra Valley Living Centre.

Details - call the Foundation - 03 5967 1730 or www.gawler.org

The legend of Meditation in the Forest lives on!

This classic 7 day meditation retreat is on again for yet another pre-Easter.

In 2019 it will be lead by Ruth Gawler and Melissa Borich.

Some will have had the good fortune to have shared time with Melissa in some of our previous retreats. Melissa is a highly accomplished yoga teacher with a wonderful capacity to tailor yoga for beginners or the advanced. Melissa has also trained with me as a meditation teacher and is one of the people I highly value and recommend.


Together with Ruth, these two women will present a wonderful retreat
- lucky you if you get to be there :)