I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my preferences and how to continue feeling peaceful in today's political climate. I'm doing my best to be more aware of my words and actions.
I have a definite preference and I have come to realize that preferences are OK, I learn from them. It’s the attachments I have to them that make it sticky. And smooth or sticky, it’s all part of my spiritual journey.
Our preferences—whether for certain people, experiences, or outcomes—often stem from our ego and can be a source of conflict and separation. Personal preferences influence our experience of reality. And I'm interested in moving beyond my preferences to achieve a state of peace and unity.
Preferences left to the ego, preferences that I’m attached to, preferences that I convince myself are the END ALL/BE ALL, preferences that I have that others don't agree with, result in angry disputes and unfriending them on Facebook, ALL separate me from feeling peaceful.
And believe me, sometimes it’s not easy! There is a part of me that revels in the “proof” being presented that shows that my candidate is better. And chuckles at the jokes made at the expense of the candidate that I don’t like. And I am tempted, sooooo tempted to post them on my wall. And truth be told, sometimes I do.
It has helped to have good friends that support the other candidate. I have learned a lot about the other side and what is important to my friends. Do we agree? No. Do I wish they would take my side? Yes. But that’s as silly as expecting to go out for ice cream with others and getting upset because they don’t all get chocolate peanut butter ice cream like me.
And guess what? through our discussions about our beliefs, I’ve heard both of us utter the same words in defense of them: “I do not feel safe if your candidate wins!” Ding! Ding! Ding! At that point fear is running the discussion. And fear is the ego’s mechanism to create more separation. Especially when we stand on opposite sides of the issue and both of us want to win to feel safe.
But, where does our true safety lie? If it’s rooted in our belief in God or Unconditional Love, we're safe. In that moment however, both of us are placing our trust in something outside of us, a presidential candidate, to keep us safe. WHENEVER we place our trust in something outside of us to feel safe...WE.WILL. NOT.
It would be a totally different ballgame if one person could say, “I prefer his approach to the economy.” and the other person could nod and say, “I understand and I prefer her stance on a woman’s right to choose.” And we could both nod and go about our day. But do we? Not always.
And why is that?
The election is a bit different. Because in the end, we will vote, and there will be a winner and a loser. And our egos LOVE that game! And you know what feeds it? Defending our point of view and attacking the other candidate. And we are getting to see A LOT of that.
Whenever we see something as better than something else, that is a manifestation of the ego’s desire to assert control and maintain separation. The ego uses preferences to create divisions between what we perceive as desirable or undesirable, reinforcing our sense of individuality and separation from others.
They prefer this candidate and I prefer this one. That candidate is saying it’s ok for us to have open borders and abortions. I don’t feel safe. That candidate was judged to be a felon and is taking away or freedom of choice. I don’t feel safe.
And viola! we get sucked up in the drama. On Facebook people are unfriending friends and family for their political choices. I’ve found myself “snoozing someone” for 30 days because I judge their posts to be repulsive and mean. Lately, I’ve been noticing when that vitriol is activated in me. I'm also noticing when the snark is aimed at the candidate I don’t like and I laugh and justify it.
In that moment PEACE has left the building.
Luckily at some point, I remember to move beyond my personal preferences. And then I feel peaceful again. It's not wrong for me to have a preference, I just get to recognize when I'm attached to my preference winning and move beyond that and trust that God's got this.
When we have preferences, we are essentially making judgments about what is preferable or valuable based on our perception. This judgment process reinforces the illusion of duality and conflict.
In those moments PEACE has left the building.
With this upcoming election I'm getting to feel firsthand, how attached I am to my values being the values that are most important. I'm having one opportunity after another either make my ego gleeful because I participate in attacking and defending my position or release my need to do that and find peace,
My need to attack and defend is rooted in the ego’s need to maintain a sense of control and separation from unconditional love and from others. By embracing a state of unconditional love and acceptance, by letting go of my preference and trust, I can align more closely with Spirit’s guidance. And that's where I find PEACE.
I don’t always feel loving about the candidate I don’t prefer. And I’m willing to release the amount of suffering I’m allowing myself to have around this election.
The good news is, we can use preferences for our spiritual growth by transforming how we relate to them.
We can begin by becoming aware of our preferences and how they influence our decisions and interactions. This self-awareness is the first step in recognizing whether our preferences are driven by the ego/fear or Spirit/love.
When we notice strong preferences, we can use them as an opportunity for self-inquiry. We can ask ourselves why we hold these preferences and how they affect our perception of others and yourself. Doing this can reveal underlying beliefs and attachments that may be limiting our spiritual progress.
Our Spiritual journey is about shifting our focus from preferences driven by the ego to those guided by the Spirit. Spirit represents a perspective of unconditional love and unity, so preferences aligned with this guidance will promote peace and connection rather than conflict.
Our preferences are the basis for practicing forgiveness. If you find yourself holding preferences that lead to judgment or conflict, apply forgiveness to release any attachments and grievances. Forgiveness will help us move beyond the ego’s limitations and aligns us more closely with love and understanding.
As we work on cultivating a sense of non-attachment to specific outcomes or desires. We’ll recognize that true fulfillment comes from a state of inner peace and alignment with divine love, rather than from satisfying personal preferences.
So how can we find peace in the current political climate?
We begin by becoming aware of our preference and how it influences our interactions.
We reflect on whether expressing our preference aligns with a higher, loving perspective.
When we notice a strong attachment to being right, we can use it as an opportunity for self-inquiry.
We can practice forgiveness by releasing any attachments to being right and shift into being curious.
It starts with us uniting in PEACE by uniting our preferences with Spirit and uniting in LOVE.
If you would like some support finding peace within yourself, book a session with me. I’ll hold a safe space so that you can gain clarity on how to find peace again. I promise you, if you work with me, you can do it! Click here to book a session today: https://www.readingswithlorri.com/sessions
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Feel free to comment below with your thoughts on finding peace in today's political climate or share what has worked for you!
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