“Deep doubts, big wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom.”

“Where there is great doubt, there will be great awakening; small doubt, small awakening; no doubt, no awakening.”

~ Chinese proverbs

 

One of the greatest puzzlements of my life came about with the election of Trump for President of the United States. I couldn’t understand why people would vote for such an evidently corrupt, immoral, and cruel human being like him. I kept asking myself, “Why do they follow and support him? Do they really believe in the flagrant lies he tells? Why do they give him their money? Don’t they see that they are being deceived? And what creates such a dreadful person like him?” I began to ponder if mindfulness would be able to awaken people like Trump and his followers and liberate them from the malignant spell they were in.

The practice of meditation—the diligent practice, not a shallow, cursory, non-committed practice—can lead to a series of openings and insights that move people from selfishness to selflessness, from a getting to a giving attitude, and to the understanding that not only are we all in this together, but that the well-being of others contributes to our own. Introspective practices, such as mindfulness meditation, or insight meditation as it is also called, can lead to broader perspectives that allow us to clearly see our interconnection, interrelation, and interdependence. This and other similar understandings that derive from such practices develop in us compassion, altruism, and the desire to serve selflessly. At least, this has been my personal experience, and that of many others.

I like to believe that all people are born with some capacity for self-reflection, inquiry, empathy, and altruism, but depending on the circumstances they are brought up these traits either grow or diminish.

If children experience secure attachments with their caregivers—if they have good enough parents who are non-neglectful and non-abusive; if they receive affection, words of affirmation, and appropriate loving touch; if they feel that they are seen, heard, loved, and praised—then they feel protected and safe in the world, and most likely they will become conscientious, virtuous, courageous, curious, independent, and open-minded adults. But if such elements and conditions of safety, love, and care are not in place, chances are that children will grow to be fearful, self-centered, dependent, susceptible, and close-minded individuals. The absence of love, affection, positive affirmations, and support during their formative years can bring about adults who have little self-worth and capacity for empathy, or are entirely incapable of showing it.

When parents are constantly criticizing their children—when they are relentlessly comparing them unfavorably to other children; when nothing their kids do is good enough for them; when they seldom praise them—then those children may develop severe personal feelings of inadequacy, and come to believe that they are flawed and inferior to others. Such feelings of inferiority may cause individuals to retreat or overcompensate for their either real or imagined deficiencies.

It is not uncommon for those children to, later in life, become obsessed with achieving success and power. They develop the need to show others how successful they became in order to prove their worth, especially to those who criticized, mistreated, and demeaned them when they were younger, even if those individuals are no longer alive to witness their successes. For such individuals, their personal sense of value comes from the outside, from the possessions they are able to amass and the power they may be able to command. Their lives become an endless pursuit of The Ten Perilous Ps: position, power, profit, popularity, prestige, privilege, preference, property, possessions, and pleasure.

In more extreme cases, they do whatever is necessary to satisfy their selfish desires without taking into account the consequences of their actions and the pain and suffering that they may bring to others. Sound ethical values, noble principles of right conduct, and the distinction between right and wrong, are powerless to stop their self-centered and self-serving actions. Transgressing laws and engaging in criminal behavior becomes acceptable in order to get what they want. They lie, cheat, and steal without giving it a second thought. Whenever competing—and, in their minds, they are competing all the time—they seek to win at all costs. Therefore, they find it extremely difficult to accept unfavorable results and concede when they are defeated.

Intrinsically insecure, they seek constant approval and praise. They demand adulation and blind loyalty from the people in their lives. They rarely recognize their errors, and utterly detest when someone disagrees with them, reacting with excessive aggressiveness when challenged. It is habitual for them to disavow responsibility for their words and actions, and to externalize blame onto others. They act like bullies, putting others down through the use of crass language and brazen behaviors, in order to feel superior. They threaten with violence those who do not give them what they want. It is not uncommon for them to develop psychological defense mechanisms through which they show off, brag, and sing their own praises in order to conceal their feelings of inferiority.

They see others as competitors, if not as enemies, that must be defeated. No matter how powerful or wealthy they may be, they are caught in a perennial fight for survival mode, with all the limited points of view, perceptions, and beliefs it brings about. So they live very self-centered lives with very little capacity for self-analysis, empathy, compassion, and altruism. As David Foster Wallace said in the commencement speech he gave, titled “This Is Water,”

“If you worship money and things, if they are where you tap real meaning in life, then you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship your body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. . . . Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear.”

As they age, they rarely feel safe enough to leave aside their self-centeredness that, in many ways, is a protective shield against what they interpret as a dangerous and threatening world. Therefore, they are not in a safe enough place to reflect, and look at themselves, others, and Planet Earth as a whole. They are not equipped to see the bigger picture, or ponder more thoroughly on the impermanence of everything, the finitude of all lives, including their own, and the inter-beingness of all.

What makes it extremely difficult to reason with individuals with such egosyntonic personality disorders is that they don’t see the need to change anything because they don’t see anything wrong with them: they view their perceptions and behaviors as appropriate and reasonable. For example, people with narcissistic personality disorders think highly of themselves, have an excessively positive self-regard, and reject suggestions that challenge this viewpoint. For them, it’s the outer world that needs to change to fulfill their needs, not the other way around. They display poor insight, little capacity for self-reflection, and deny that they have a problem. The greatest impediment for their development is that they don’t perceive the need to change; they don’t feel the need to doubt their perceptions; they don’t see the need to challenge their understandings to check their veracity.

Given their drive to prove their worth, and their obsession to confront, fight, defeat, and conquer, it is not uncommon for such self-centered individuals to rise to positions of power, either as leaders of cults and criminal gangs, or as politicians with authoritarian inclination. And once they rise, they start to amass a mob of followers by influencing those who are easily influenced, such as those who are fearful, lonely, frustrated, and angry.

Reflecting on the reasons why we gather in groups and how these groups shape our behaviors, we have first to concur that we are social beings and we crave connections. We want to be surrounded by people who share our beliefs and validate our ways of thinking. We can't bear isolation for too long, and belonging to groups placates our loneliness: we feel protected, strong, and powerful when we are accepted and fit in. Also, we have to understand that we are deeply influenced by the behaviors of our tribe members, and we repeat the good and the bad things that they do. Expanding on that influence, Michael Oakeshott wrote,

“We acquire habits of conduct, not by constructing a way of living upon rules or precepts learned by heart and subsequently practiced, but by living with people who habitually behave in a certain manner: we acquire habits of conduct in the same way as we acquire our native language.”  

Outcasts—those who are the most vulnerable and insecure, those who were rejected and are hurting—are the most likely individuals to join gangs and cults because they seek the strength, the connection, and the protection that they provide. And once inside a gang, people are expected to always be loyal, accept the gang’s tenets without questioning, follow its leadership blindly, and do what is necessary to defend and expand the influence of the gang. They become the ones who see themselves as saviors, and who go out to convince others to join their gangs. They are the ones who display flags in their front yards, put stickers on the back of their cars, and carry the signs that identify the gangs that they belong to, be they political or religious. In a way, their behavior is similar to those who root for their sports teams with great loyalty and fanaticism. They are the ones who become very outspoken, belligerent, and confrontational with those who do not believe in what they do, and due to their frustration and rage, they love gang leaders who act as thugs, who are violent, who display uncivil manners toward their opponents, and who give them license and encouragement to do the same.

Unfortunately, they cannot see that they are being exploited, lied to, and robbed, and that the exploiters, liars, and thieves are precisely those they support: the leaders of their own gangs.

Those who are less educated are most likely to accept cursory explanations for complex problems, and reduce their mental activity to the repetition of superficial and, most of the time, untruthful slogans and catchphrases. They are influenced to see humanity divided in us and them, and are swayed to believe that “they are the cause of our problems, and if we get rid of them, then we will be okay.”

This reflection takes me again to the words of Socrates: “An unexamined life is not worth living,” which has led me to not only follow the example of Buddhist monks and Greek philosophers, and engage in a deeper examination of life, but also to encourage others to do the same. One of the most important goals in our lives, I strongly believe, should be that of consciously unlearning all the deceitfulness that we have unconsciously learned.

Naturally, many factors beyond one’s healthy emotional development—the one that blossoms when children are brought up in safe, loving, and supportive environments—need to be in place for this engagement with life’s investigation to happen. We need to keep in mind the great inequalities that exist and how they affect the development of critical thinking skills. Not everyone has the luck to be raised in households with relative financial security, or to live in intellectually stimulating environments. Many people lack a series of other elements that would equip them to be independent thinkers. In order for this autonomy to occur, people need to have their physiological and safety needs, as Maslow defined them, reasonably met; they have to have reached a certain level of intellectual development that comes from an education that empowers individuals with broad knowledge; they have to be initiated in introspective and philosophical practices that allow them to look at life more deeply and see it more clearly; they have to be trained in seeking reliable information that confirms (or disproves) the veracity of what they have been told.

But equally important is for people to look attentively and realize when they are being duped by those who lie and manipulate them to reach and keep themselves in positions of power. They must develop the intention to set themselves free from deception, put aside indolence, and do the investigative work that can liberate them from the wrong perceptions, prejudices, and limiting beliefs. They must amass the strength and courage to leave their gangs. Surely, it is easier to say these things than to do them, but do them, we must. And it is up to us to do it. David Berreby, concluded his book Us and Them: Understanding Your Tribal Mind with these words:

“Your human-kind code makes nothing happen, for good or ill, unless you choose to act. Ethnic tensions, religious strife, political conflict, clan rivalries, and the like have never harmed anyone and never will. People do the harm. In other words, the Us-Them code does not own you; you own it. This power to believe in human kinds, or to love or hate them, is part of your human nature. You could think of it as a set of buttons and levers, built in to your mind. You didn’t choose to control the panel, but you can decide how to live with it. Push your own buttons and pull your own levers, for instance. Or look away, and let someone else—the politician, the propagandist, the ethnic chief, the family patriarch, the radio loudmouth, the priest, the hack writer—do it for you. Human kinds exist because of human minds. They’re in your head, bound to your fears and hopes, your sweat glands and your gut. But how you choose to live with them is up to you.”

Nelson Mandela said, “I left prison more informed than when I went in. And the more informed you are, the less arrogant and aggressive you are.” As I further educate myself, I realize the extent of my own ignorance. It’s clear to me that the more we know, the more we realize that there’s much more to be known. In other words, the more we know, the more we see how little we know. On our search for knowledge, we become aware of our own ignorance, and this awareness makes us humbler. On the other hand, the less we know, the more we believe we know. In such cases, since we have little knowledge of a subject, we have no idea of how much we don’t know, and because we don’t know what there is to be known, we believe that we know it all.

In the field of psychology, the Dunning–Kruger Effect is known as the cognitive bias of people with low ability at a task who end up overestimating themselves because they are unable to recognize their lack of ability. When we are incompetent, we have no idea of how incompetent we are because we lack the skills necessary to recognize our incompetence. Being less skilled and knowledgeable makes us overestimate ourselves, and we end up believing that we are much better and knowledgeable than we really are. The psychological phenomenon of illusory superiority was identified as a form of cognitive bias in Kruger and Dunning's 1999 study, Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments.

It is said that you can fool all the people some of the time and that you can fool some people all the time, but that you cannot fool all people all the time. Well, those dishonest, power-seeking individuals keep their focus on those they can fool. They say, “There are people out there who can be fooled, and those are the ones who interest me.” Unfortunately, this seems not only to be true, but also to pay huge dividends to the corrupt power-grabbers who practice it. They lie continuously to those who, sadly, lack the knowledge and skills to realize that they are being lied to. They invent their own false narratives and keep repeating them ad infinitum, convincing those who can be lied to.

Everything about it is shameful. The dishonesty of those who lie and of those who spread their lies is disgraceful, but the laziness of those who believe what they have been told without checking its veracity is also reprehensible.

Someone said, “It’s not that they are lazy: they are incapable!” And although this is true, based on the evidence previously presented, it is also true that people can make the necessary effort to liberate themselves and reach their own conclusions independently.

And while some are incapable of seeing that they are amiss, there are others who know they are in the wrong, but still refuse to admit it. They lack the strength of character to stand up, speak truth to power, challenge the tribe leaders, and declare, “We have been deceived. We have been duped. We are wrong,” and face the consequences of being accused of disloyalty and betrayal. Their stubbornness and intractability are the greatest impediments for their development.

Paul Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, and one of Adolf Hitler's closest and most devoted associates, allegedly said that “A lie told once remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.” Well, after a lot of repetition, a lie may come to be accepted as the truth by some, but it will always be a lie, no matter how many times it is repeated.

Perhaps the most disconcerting aspect of it all, besides the fact that so many people waste their lives creating and spreading lies, is the unwillingness of so many to do the work necessary to sort out what is true from what is false. This work demands checking the facts, thinking critically and logically, and refusing to accept over-simplifications of complex issues. If people looked at different facets of the issues from various angles, they would develop a more nuanced, complete, and clearer view of reality, and would be able to recognize if they are being lied to or not. But this demands some work, and unfortunately not all people have the opportunity to receive the training necessary, to put it plainly, to think critically. Not many people have the attention span necessary to stay with one subject long enough to analyze it thoroughly, methodically, and exhaustively. It is much easier to simply repeat the catchphrases that are disseminated by the propaganda machines of those who benefit from the lies.

It would be encouraging if we saw more people accepting the call to wake up from their sleepwalking state, seek the facts for themselves, and come to conclusions that are fruits of meticulous and intelligent investigation. And that’s perhaps the main reason to make some years of liberal education, which exposes individuals to important issues, and empowers them with critical thinking skills and a stronger sense of values, ethics, and civic engagement, a requirement for all.

Unfortunately, we are living in times of dumbing down important issues, making them less intellectually challenging or sophisticated so as to make it easier for unscrupulous individuals to control the masses. We are living in times of short sentences and fast exchanges; mindless reactions, not thoughtful responses; constant distractions and interruptions; lack of focused attention and detailed investigation; superficiality and intellectual laziness. People, in great numbers, are not applying themselves to look deeply and see clearly in order to dismiss wrong perceptions and beliefs.

We are all at risk of believing unsupported lies because believing is easier: it demands less mental effort than doubting. But some individuals are more susceptible to believing unproven statements than others because of how they’ve been taught to think. They have not been raised to be critical thinkers and consider nuances, but to think in simplistic, binary, dualistic ways: for them, things are good or evil, right or wrong, black or white. They have been conditioned to believe what authorities say without questioning them, even when what they say are blatant lies. And they also have been trained to be loyal to their groups, and adopt their dogmas and party lines without ever daring to cast doubt on them.

According to The Washington Post Fact Checker, Donald J. Trump uttered 30,573 false or misleading claims during the four years of his presidency, averaging about 21 deceitful claims a day. On November 2 alone, the day before the 2022 presidential vote, Trump made 503 untruthful or deceptive claims.

Peter Gray, PhD, in an article titled “Childrearing Beliefs Were Best Predictor of Trump Support: A poll with four weird questions helps explain Trump’s surprising 2016 victory” elaborated on how schools, in general, do not encourage questioning:

“. . . schools, by design, enforce an authoritarian mode of teaching. The primary requirement for students in our conventional schools is obedience. It’s almost impossible to fail in school if you do what you are told to do; it’s almost impossible to pass if you consistently choose not to do what you are told to do. And for the most part, you must obey unquestioningly. Children who continuously question the assignments, or the teachers’ judgments, or the textbooks, or teachers’ answers to questions, are in trouble. The great majority of children learn not to question.”

In that same article, Professor Gray wrote,

“People with an authoritarian mindset believe, first and foremost, in obedience to authority. So, of course, obedience is high on their list of ideal traits for a child; but obedience is also high on their list of ideal traits for people in general. Leaders, especially strong, confident leaders, are to be followed. Authoritarians also tend toward simplistic ways of thinking; things are black or white, right or wrong. . . . They don’t tolerate ambiguity and have little taste for subtlety or dissenting opinions. To an authoritarian, the way to solve problems is to find a powerful, confident leader—a sort of superhero who claims in unambiguous language that he can solve your problems—and then follow that person.”

In his article “Why Evangelicals May Be Hardwired to Believe Trump's Falsehoods: This brain quirk makes gaslighting particularly easy,” Bobby Azarian, PhD, wrote the following:

“One reason Trump supporters believe him comes from a basic fact about the brain: it takes more mental effort to reject an idea as false, than to accept it as true. In other words, it’s easier to believe than to not. . . . The default state of the human brain is to accept what we are told, because doubt takes effort. Belief, on the other hand, comes easily. . . .

For Christian fundamentalists, being taught to suppress critical thinking begins at a very early age. It is the combination of the brain’s vulnerability to believing unsupported facts and aggressive indoctrination that create the perfect storm for gullibility. Due to the brain’s neuroplasticity, or ability to be sculpted by lived experiences, evangelicals literally become hardwired to believe far-fetched statements.

This wiring begins when they are first taught to accept Biblical stories not as metaphors for living life practically and purposefully, but as objective truth. Mystical explanations for natural events train young minds to not demand evidence for beliefs. As a result, the neural pathways that promote healthy skepticism and rational thought are not properly developed. This inevitably leads to a greater susceptibility to lying and gaslighting by manipulative politicians, and greater suggestibility in general.

If we want to combat the brain’s habit of taking the path of least resistance, which has destructive downstream consequences for critical thinking, as a society we must place more value on empirical evidence, and this must be reflected in how we educate our youth. Additionally, we must create an awareness of the fact that for the human mind, believing is more of a reflex than a careful and methodical action.”

We are all different. We were raised by different parents and had different teachers. Some of us, more than others, were encouraged to be defiant and ask questions. But no matter what kind of upbringing we had, we all have the responsibility to do the effort necessary to consciously unlearn the falsehoods we have unconsciously learned. We all have the responsibility to apply ourselves and develop the ability to think critically, healthily doubting what we are told and demanding verifiable evidence. And we have to design, implement, and support an education that equips the younger generations with critical thinking skills.

Socrates said,

“Whereas most men believe they know many things, I know that I know almost nothing. Therefore, compared to the great mass of men, I am wiser, but solely because I know how ignorant I am. . . . I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, I do not fancy I do. In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know.”

The truth, for all of us, is that if we think we already know what there is to be known, and if we have already made up our minds, if we refuse to listen and consider other points of view, and if we do not question our own, then we can’t learn anything new. As the saying goes, “It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.”

There’s a Chinese proverb that states, “The wise listen to their minds; the foolish, to the mob.” If we feel that we have to defend the dogmas of our tribes, be they religious or political, no matter how absurd and preposterous they may be; if we feel that investigating other points of view outside the accepted doctrine of our posses is a transgression that warrants a punishment; if we feel that it would be unforgivable to change our beliefs, then we will never question them. The truth is that the less verifiable the dogmas are, the more passionately we defend them. As Bertrand Russell wrote: “The opinions that are held with passion are always those for which no good ground exists; indeed the passion is the measure of the holders lack of rational conviction. Opinions in politics and religion are almost always held passionately.”

It’s exasperating to see the low success rate of those who try to reason with the fanatics, and with the poorly educated and misinformed: most of the time their attempts fall on deaf ears. Unfortunately, with time, what comes about from those unsuccessful attempts is mockery and contempt, such as expressed in the following words: “Don't worry about death. When you are dead, you don't know that you are dead. It is only difficult for others. The same is true if you are stupid.” Robert Heinlein once said, “Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.” Trying to reason with unreasonable individuals produces despairing outcomes: first, we will be unsuccessful; second, we are going to waste our time; and third, we’re going to irritate them. So, consider that since reasoning will not go far, the best you can do is to try to understand.

Referring to those stubborn individuals, the comedian John Cleese said,

“I think the problem with people like these is that they are so stupid that they have no idea how stupid they are. If you’re very, very stupid, how can you possibly realize that you’re very, very stupid? You’d have to be relatively intelligent to realize how stupid you are.”

It is a harsh and condescending comment, but unfortunately oftentimes it’s also true, because stupidity is ignorance coupled with arrogance.

Yuval Noah Harari wrote,

“Providing people with more and better information is unlikely to improve matters. Scientists hope to dispel wrong views by better science education, and pundits hope to sway public opinion on issues such as Obamacare or global warming by presenting the public with accurate facts and expert reports. Such hopes are grounded in a misunderstanding of how humans actually think. Most of our views are shaped by communal groupthink rather than individual rationality, and we hold on to these views due to group loyalty. Bombarding people with facts and exposing their individual ignorance is likely to backfire. Most people don't like too many facts, and they certainly don't like to feel stupid.”

The unwillingness of some to accept the truth, and the facts that corroborate it, may give rise to puzzlement, despair, and distress in us, but we must remember that we are the ones responsible for how we feel, or better, we are response-able: we are able to choose our responses. We should remind ourselves that “I can hold you responsible for your actions, but I cannot hold you responsible for my reactions.” This quote should remind us that the problem is not necessarily what other people think, say, and do; the problem resides in the unskilled ways we respond to what others think, say, and do. Looking from this angle we can conclude that we are as much a part of the problem as they are.

Enter mindfulness!

Our diligent mindfulness practice develops in us a greater reserve of inner peace, compassion, and equanimity that allows us to handle in healthier ways the despair and exasperation caused by other people's dishonesty, laziness, and ignorance. 

Self-cultivation practices, such as meditation, bring about some sort of immunity that shields us, so those who lie and those who believe in their lies don’t unsettle us as much. Not only we become better able to ignore their attacks and pestering, but also to respond to them, when it is wise to do so, with greater humor, grace, and generosity.

It’s evident that conversations are essential to educate ourselves, and that the exchange of ideas can lead to either changing the ways we usually interpret what we see, or to reinforcing our views. Yet, it’s critical to observe how we behave during conversations about delicate subjects that activate our emotions, such as politics and religion. If someone has a different point of view, how do we react? Do we feel irritated? Do we feel attacked? Do we become defensive? Although defending our views and explaining our positions is what’s called for, since it can enhance someone else’s views and clarify our own, it has to be done mindfully and wisely. We have to remove the feeling that we are being attacked, and the urge to strike back that may arise. What we should do instead is listen at length, without reacting, encouraging the speaker to say more while remaining sincerely curious.

Asking questions such as, “Could you, please, say more about that? I would like to understand,” or even asking questions that aim to get to know the other person, such as “Can you tell me something about yourself?” opens opportunities for us to connect with the person we are talking to at a deeper, more personal level, where instances of kindness, generosity, and humanity may begin to show up more easily.

We should bring to mind that views, understandings, and interpretations of reality are different due to the multiple ways people of diverse backgrounds acquire and process information. Therefore, many times, the best course of action is to recognize the futility of confronting others.

But if we can, we should try to separate those who are intentionally dishonest from those who actually see and believe differently than we do through no fault of their own, and with great forgiveness and compassion in our hearts, gently try to wake up both emitters and receivers of lies from the spell they are in, so they can open their eyes and see not only how limiting and damaging their ideas are, but also the infinite possibilities for bringing about a much better world for all, themselves included.

Jo Ann Jenkins wrote,

“Restoring civility to public discourse begins with each one of us individually: how we talk to and relate to one another, taking the extra step to understand why a person believes differently than we do, and being able to disagree with one another while still respecting the other person. It begins with each one of us setting a good example by practicing civility in our personal lives.”

So, as much as possible, let us remove our egos from the picture, and seek first to understand, then to be understood, aware that this is the best strategy to find common ground. Let us listen and learn. And let us also remember that winning arguments is not that important, and that if we can’t agree, we can, at least, disagree amicably.

As I come to the conclusion of the lengthiest essay in this book, what comes to my mind is the vague memory of a business meeting that took place several decades ago. I don’t remember what I said then, but I remember the lady who was moderating that meeting saying, “Yes, Piero, we all need therapy, but it is unrealistic to believe that everyone can get it.” Well, I agree, but I sense that we are making progress on that front given the growing popularity of introspective practices such as meditation. I equate mindfulness meditation to self-psychotherapy, and I know that the developed capacity that mindfulness brings about to observe, analyze, and correct one’s own beliefs and behaviors, has tremendous transformative and healing power.

Given all that, I realize, again, that the right thing to do is to be compassionate. Regardless of the pain and suffering those self-centered individuals have brought and continue to bring to the world, we need to keep in mind that they are ill, that they are not free, that they need help, and that the wisest thing we can do is to have compassion and help them. So, let us work for our independence. Let us harness the courage and strength to free ourselves from all tribes, clans, teams, and gangs that bring about pain and suffering. Let us be able to transcend the Us-Them mentality and help others do the same, for their own well-being and for the well-being of everyone on this planet of ours.

Piero Falci teaches Mindfulness Meditation and Mindful Living, leads Insight Meditation Silent Retreats, and organizes Silent Peace Walks. Piero is an educator who believes that the inner work that leads to personal awakening and transformation is indispensable to create a better world. He aspires to live a life that matters and hopes to inspire others to do the same. He is devoted to helping individuals have insights that may expand selflessness and compassion and lead to the growth of kindness and care for all sentient beings and the natural environment. He is a promoter of peace who believes in advancing the idea that Heaven is here if we want it to be. This essay is from his latest book A Better Life in a Better World: Can Mindfulness Save Us from Ourselves? For more information, visit www.PieroFalci.com

Sign up for Pace e Bene's online workshop Mindfulness Meditation and Mindful Living: An Introduction with Piero Falci that will begin on August 23.