Trump Presidency, Act II
By Theresa Shay
Sunday, five days after Election Day 2024, we are here. For one, I know that many of you who connect with TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania wanted to see Kamala Harris win the presidency. For two, I know that some of you who connect with TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania wanted to see Donald Trump win the presidency. For three, I am surprised by my still, quiet steadiness as our country moves through this week of integration on the political front.
This steadiness is unfamiliar based on where I stood eight years ago. I cared deeply then, and I care deeply now. But my orientation has shifted. My priority is knowing and embracing the Divine essence of being that guides life, a presence far more powerful than any side can claim. I love this life, I love you in this life, and most of all, I love God in this life, especially when vibrations of disagreement tug and pull us apart.
Let me put it to you this way. Your life is a precious one. That has not changed. You have responsibilities to tend, children to raise. That has not changed. The planet continues to rotate and journey around the sun. That has not changed. Your values remain intact, the Divine is ready to manifest through you, and in your heart is beauty to express, art to create, songs to sing, dancing to do, love to share. Can you feel that?
The shift you may have experienced on Wednesday occurred first in the mind. Many of you – I know because I have heard from you – were upset. Whatever you have experienced post election is worth examining, including the satisfaction you felt if your candidate won.
How steady has your breath been, the gift of your smile, the willingness to embrace Other, the respect for what exists beyond the limitations of this planetary life? How close have you remained to your embodied, focused, and effulgent self, your claim on inner sovereignty? How well have you slept? How consciously have you fed yourself? How much have you moved, and how energized do you feel? Your personal realm requires attention. Start there in your inquiry of what happens next.
At the end of a string of political yard signs near my house stands a handwritten one: Put a woman in charge. As I drive past the message on Lower George’s Valley Road I shift it slightly: “Put the energy in charge.” In this way we come out aligned.
Universal Energy is the feminine aspect of the Divine, encompassed by the vibration of Om. She is the energy that keeps the systems of your body flowing, your mental pathways clear, your actions aligned. Without this energy you would not exist, not here, not anywhere. In the words of the trinity mantra, “I am That, That I am, Om.” As sure as water flows downhill, increasing energy expands consciousness.
Every Now, you choose which energy to embrace, and with it, what experience you will have. Know your freedom. Watch your reactions, your resistance, your relief. Clamping down on feelings does not make them go away. They just slip underground and come out sideways later. Be honest.
Know your power. You may be called to act, to lay low, to build a bridge, to burn a bridge, to learn something new, to change your mind. Be curious. Move, but don’t move the way fear makes you move, as Rumi says.
Reality has no plan to change. You may not understand it. You may not like it. You cannot argue against it without depleting yourself. Your strength and power lie in being able to meet what is from the solid foundation that cannot be upset by any circumstance. This is what yoga means about developing the Witness state. The Witness is not complacent. She is not weak. She is not the victim. She is fully capable of engaging the world, this world, this day, this reality as an expression of inner integrity.
Do not let anyone or anything rob you of your capacity to embrace life. Such presence is your sovereignty. With this, you have elected yourself President of Your United State of Being. And now, Madam/Mister President, it is time to take office.
Theresa Shay is the founding director of TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania, where she teaches weekly yoga and meditation online and trains others to teach TriYoga®. Each week, she shares wisdom cultivated from decades of TriYoga study and practice.
Learn more about her here. Theresa can be reached at Theresa@PennsylvaniaYoga.com. Find her on Instagram @theresa_of_triyoga for more inspiration and light.