I have a need to speak with you and this is the only way available; to send the message out to the universe of the world-wide-web and hope that if enough energy gathers around it the message will get to you. In any case, it is directed to your deeper nature, your Soul, and I am certain it will find its way there.
Greetings, blessings be upon you. I come to you as one who prays for your protection and honors the deep wisdom you bring to this nation and world. May you continue to be a vehicle for the healing forces that the world so desperately needs and may you be strong in resisting the temptations to listen to bad advice. That is, advice counseled from cynicism and a lack of respect for the deep values about which you have written, spoken, and I sincerely believe, seek to live out in your term as President of the most powerful human-created entity this world has ever known, the United States of America.
In writing this letter I am offering up a prayer that the forces of goodness and caring, of loving kindness at all levels of existence, those who help us move towards a more peaceful and just world; that all of us who see a vision of the possibility of the human family as a caring community, hold you in the light of your intention to be a true teacher and healer of this world. Not the teacher and healer, but one among the many increasing in number during this time of great transition. We hold you in the light of your own Soul’s calling; the calling you so brilliantly embody and articulate in the shining moments when you speak to us and help reveal what is in our hearts.
While by age you could be my son, I see you as a brother. As your brother, I share in the pride so many of us feel when you address the people of this nation and the world. It's also as your brother that I fear for you. Your physical safety, yes, of course. But not just that. At that level, I fear not just because of my love for you, but in imagining the hell we would plunge into if anything happened to you. I and many others continue to envision and pray in a variety of ways to create a shield of radiant protection against such harm.
Yet, what I’m speaking of is the fear that with the nearly impossible tasks you face, you will lose yourself, that you will lose your way. I find it hard to imagine what it must be like walking through the halls of the Pentagon and Wall Street, command and control of an empire the likes of which the world has never seen. What it must be like to make choices within the tiny range of possibilities that one is capable of seeing in those dark halls; places where fear-based perspectives and intentions guided by lust for power and wealth preside and are then intellectually rationalized and “reasonably” presented as the only practical path forward.
My fear is that these influences as well as the armor you must wear in order to face your own decisions, often calculating the death of innocents, will take hold of you. Being in command of the armies of war must have its own inner torment. How must you shield your heart from the tragedies and suffering the appendages of our government bring about under your leadership, ?
To be sure, this letter is not only about fear, of which there is too much in the world already. I share the feeling of fear as a way of sharing my concern and support in the challenges you face. Likewise supportively, I want to offer a suggestion submitted with humility and with respect:
My suggestion is to open yourself to the counsel of elders, true elders on the path of life; ones who have learned to protect their psyches from the cacophony of useless and destructive noise that surrounds our planet. Open to the ones who themselves are attuned to deep counsel from within. They will recognize the mythic nature of your task and also the preciousness of your learning from failure. They see the beauty and goodness of what you bring.
While you have surrounded yourself with experts and players in the various problem areas with which you must deal, their very focused intellect may prevent them from holding the wisdom necessary to sustain your larger vision and purpose. Call upon the ones who will mirror back to you your basic sanity and also share with you their care-full counsel. Find the time and place to have regular encounters with them
It will take courage to form such a circle. You have already faced enough of your share of the mocking voices of cynical media punditry. Yet, your life and ours are in the balance and you can’t let your “handlers”, however clever they are in the political machinations of their game, keep you from your allies in Spirit.
I write this while many are losing their hope that you will really make a difference. In part, this was inevitable regardless of what you did. You warned us about making you an object of idealization. Yet, I would imagine that it hurts to see some of those who were your strongest allies claim that you have betrayed them. I hope that in shielding yourself from this hurt, you don’t swing over into not caring what they think or feel.
I share with them the following concerns. Escalating troop levels in Afghanistan.
Bankers making off with all that money while homeowners suffer. How do we understand this? Retreating in the face of the Israeli government’s intransigence on settlements. What must Israeli and Palestinian peace activists who are counting on you believe? Letting go of core elements of universal healthcare. Can you really hope to be the last President to reform the system if it is done in this way? These are the concerns echoing around progressive circles, among those who cried tears of joy at your inauguration.
As I see it, you have been placed in an ethical and spiritual bind that ordinary human intelligence cannot possibly resolve. The forces that oppose you are determined, focused and very dangerous. The problems you face are inter-related into an almost infinite complexity and only alignment with deepest wisdom will guide you and us through. Those of us still listening, hear you continue to articulate a vision of what is possible and I continue to feel that anyone really looking, will see the great things you are doing and setting in motion.
I respectfully suggest that you can do this; develop a Wisdom Council of individuals chosen for holding the consciousness of your deepest intentions, your core values. You know that there is access to understanding and guidance on a higher level than the human mind. Among those who hold this are grandmothers and grandfathers of indigenous peoples, women and men who work as teachers and healers, ministers of different faiths and spiritual paths, community organizers and non-violent activists, artists and others.
I hope someday you get to read this letter. I believe you will understand it and get what I’m saying. There are many like myself who experience tears when we contemplate this fact; that we have a President of the United States whose heart and mind are open to such a prayer as this.
May you be protected by your ancestors, guided by your deepest connection to wisdom, strengthened by your indwelling Soul and sustained by the heart-love of your family in which all humanity shares.
With deepest respect and blessing,
Alan Levin
