(UPDATE as of 11/9/16: This article used to be titled "How to Stop the Shootings and Regain Hope in Humanity" as it was in response to all the violence (in particular, school shootings and mass murders) that took place over the summer of 2016. Due to the current circumstance of Donald Trump winning the American Presidential Election, I have slightly shifted the focus of it and changed a few words around, but the message remains the same. Please share this article if it resonates with you. It's time for Americans to wake up.)

Sadly, on June 12th, 2016 we woke up to the horrific news of yet another shooting. 50 people murdered and 53 injured. They were calling it the worst shooting in U.S. history.

Then we were bombarded with news of police officers going around killing innocent people just because they didn't like the color of their skin and, in return, protestors were killing officers.

And now, after what seems like endless months of headaches, campaign adds, and reality tv stunts, the majority of American's chose Hitler- I mean, Donald Trump for President.

As much as my ego would love to indulge in this chance to ramble on about how tragic this may (or may not #fingercrossed) be and how disappointed and ashamed we all are, we cannot focus on the problem, it's time for some solutions. (It's actually been time, but not enough people were hearing this, so I'll try again.)

The insanity has to stop.

So I challenge you, as you read this article, to set your frustrations and anger aside and just be open to what I have to say. We must act from a place of peace and calm. 

As far as the next four years go, this our opportunity to show up, stand up, and progress as a nation. This is the ultimate call for growth. 

This is the ultimate call for growth. #notmypresident

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There are (and always will be) problems with our world, Trump and the things he and his supporters blindly stand for being many of them, but the true beauty of the problem is that it creates space for a solution.

Without violence, we would not know peace. Without sickness, we would not know health. And without hate, we would not know love.

(Do I like or encourage any of those awful things? Of course not! #notmypresident But do I accept them as the contrast that gives birth to beautiful solutions? Yes.)

How Donald Trump Was Able to Get Elected

The problem with all this recent chaos in our world is not gun control, terrorist groups, or, in this case, republicans. (Although these are all very valid side effects of the problem.)

The real problem is a lack of consciousness on an individual and collective level. 

Consciousness cannot be so easily defined in words because it is something that you have to experience to know what it is. It's more of a verb than a noun, but let me give you an idea of what unconsciousness vs. consciousness looks like.

Unconsciousness is when you are out of touch with true self. You are unaware of your feelings, thoughts, and emotions. They consume you and dictate all your decisions and actions. Your ego controls your life from a space of fear and lack. When you are unconscious you are in a constant state of wanting, needing and suffering.

Most notably, people in this state do not know love. They don't love themselves and therefore can't truly love anyone or anything else. This defines (most) Trump supporters.

When you are conscious, on the other hand, you are aware of your own power and presence. You are aware of your true self. You become tapped in to the place inside of you that is beyond thought.

You are knowing. You have this constant sense of underlying inner peace. You become the witness of your thoughts, feelings and emotions, and are free of being controlled by them.

A defining factor here is self-love. Which enables conscious people to extend that love onto others.

In fact, consciousness enhances all the great qualities that humans naturally poses, in addition to love, like kindness, patience, compassion, and inner peace.

Basically, consciousness is being in touch with your highest self, the real you.

There are two major ways that unconsciousness is causing today's world to be so insane: One is that (severely) unconscious people are the one's voting for Trump and/or committing heinous acts against humanity. And the second is that general unconsciousness (on a societal and global level) is perpetuating the continuation of these unfortunate events.

Individual Unconciousness

The people supporting Trump are clearly insane. They are not in their right mind. They are extremely sick and worst of all very unconscious. This is something they have in common with the murders mentioned in the intro.

Nobody in their right mind just wakes up one day and decides to shoot 50 people with a rifle. Similarly, nobody in their right mind would consciously support an ego driven presidential candidate who stands for separation, inequality, judgement, supremacy, hatred, selfishness... (the list goes on).  

People are naturally good.

But sick people, unconscious people, are ruled by their ego, which has them living from a place of fear and lack. They feel that they lack power, significance, fame, purpose, security, freedom... Whatever it is that is inspiring them to stand behind people like Trump is not their true self. It's their ego. It's fear. It's lack of awareness. All of which cannot exist in a state of consciousness.

(Let the record state that I am not making excuses for the majority of Americans, I'm offering an explanation as to why they act insane. They are sick and they need help. It's actually quite sad.)

Widescale unconsiousness

Pretty much everyone is unconscious to a certain level, but, as a whole, our nation is desperately in need of a wide-scale spread of consciousness.

We have forgotten our true nature of peace because we have been practicing and participating in violence for so long.

We watch violent movies and TV shows for entertainment for crying out loud! If that doesn't demonstrate just how out of touch we are, I don't know what will...

We are unconscious of the power of our own thoughts, words and actions. We are unconscious of the abundance of the universe and wholeness that we naturally are. We are unconscious of how we treat the planet and other species. It's endless!

The solution

So how do we change all this? The solution is actually a lot more simple than you might think.

If unconsciousness is the problem, then the only logical solution is consciousness and self awareness.

How do we create more consciousness you ask? We cultivate it through individual practice. One person at a time, until the majority becomes awakened.

We must practice peace. Peace is our inner most being. There is no way to find it. Peace is the way.

So ask yourself this simple question every morning before you begin your day:

How can I personally be an instrument of peace?

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How can we speak peaceful words and think peaceful thoughts? How can we act peacefully towards ourselves and others? How can we focus more on peace than violence to tip the scale? 

This is not a problem that can be solved with more violence. Violence only breeds violence and that violence breeds more violence. Only peace can stop the insanity.

With that being said, Meditation is one of the fastest and most effective way to cultivate more consciousness and peacefulness. Meditation is not just some new age trend that you can do to be cool. Mediation is where you find stillness and cultivate awareness. Meditation plays a huge role in contributing to inner peace and inner peace is the key to world peace.

When you meditate you become calm, loving, kind... all traits that seem to be going extinct nowadays. You release thought and bask in your own inner peace. You become the witness of you thoughts, feelings and emotions.

(I could go on for days about the benefits of meditation, but there are already plenty of articles out there about the physical, spiritual, and mental benefits of meditation.)

If we all turn our focus inward and start caring for ourselves by cultivating awareness and self-love (side effects of meditation) we can really create change and replace the madness with peace.

Mediation can seem intimidating, difficult, or just plain "woo-woo", but trust me when I say that it will change your life and everyone's around you. Besides, it's never been easier to start meditating, there's literally apps you can use to get started. (If you want to learn how to start meditating and what apps are helpful read How to Meditate the Easy Way.)

Another daily practice that would really help us become more conscious as a whole is to stop watching the news. Especially now that Trump is President. (Even just the taste of those words coming out of my fingertips nauseates me.)This may sound strange and slightly extremist, but watching the news and participating in the drama of it all is only creating more of it.

I know you're probably thinking, "How does me not watching the news help anybody?"

Well, you focusing your attention on the problem is actually giving the problem more momentum and power. 

You focusing on the solution on the other hand, is how you can help (and the solution is not in the past and it sure isn't on the news). The solution is in yourself. Your own happiness and your own inner peace are the solution. If everyone would just do that for themselves, all crime would be eliminated, everyone would get along and people would come back to their true selves.

I mean think about it. How do you feel when you watch the news? Sad, angry, afraid? Just the fact that it feels horrible to watch is your emotions trying to tell you to stop! But most people are simply too unconscious (the common theme of the day) to even realize. (If you like the idea of avoiding the news altogether in this crazy time you'll love How Being Realistic is Ruining Your Life.)

Another problem with watching the news is this: Whatever we focus on expands. When everybody in society is focused on crime and terrorism we actually create more of it! In this instance, we all manifested Donald Trump's victory by focusing so much attention on him whether it be in favor for or against him!

We are literally manifesting more and more bad things by giving our attention to them. Especially with so many of us, there is great power here that is being misplaced. 

This is an inclusion based universe. Which means you cannot exclude things that you focus on from your life experience. Every time you give attention to something you are making it real and feeding it's momentum. 

You cannot fix war by being anti-war. You have to be pro-peace. You cannot cure illness by being anti-illness. You have to be pro-health. You cannot fix hatred by being anti-hatred. You have to be pro-love. What I'm trying to say is you can only create change by focusing on the solution, not the problem.

I truly encourage everyone to go without the news for at least a few weeks. It will dramatically improve your daily life and outlook of the world. Not to mention you will no longer be a part of the ongoing chaos, but rather someone practicing their own inner piece. A part of the solution.

In a perfect world, we would live in a blissful place of peace and harmony where everyone would love each other and all would be well. Obviously, this is not the present circumstance, but I have hope that we can all do our part to work towards more love, more peace, and more consciousness. Try to meditate every day for a few minutes, send love and prayers to everyone who's suffering, stop watching the madness on tv, and join the awakening. #innerpeaceisworldpeace

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