You have to admit, Donald Trump is probably THE most famous (or infamous) person on this little blue dot, but the spiritual part of me wonders what the greater purpose in this is. What does he trigger in us? What does he trigger in you? And how does he help us to reflect on the way we run governments and societies?

Whether we like him or not, Donald Trump is an interesting case study into the collective consciousness – that is how he represents us. In many ways he is the personification of our collective Western human ego. I’m sure everyone knows someone in their lives who has such a dysfunctional ego, when over time turns them into a narcissist – an uncle, brother, crazy auntie – but when left unchecked, that arrogance can wreak havoc on all of us and is really difficult to dismantle in the individual. I’m not talking about his politics or his policies – I’m talking about how we speak about this man, when underneath it all is probably a very sad little boy who wants to be loved. He is probably trying to prove how very worthy he is to his parents and himself as a response of his childhood emotional neglect. The human ego is a fragile thing which which is common in all of us, but we do need to keep a handle on things. We all carry childhood wounds that we hide through putting on ego masks. If we can allow the unfolding of these childhood wounds, we can begin to see the reflection of our own egos, and the collective ego that functions in our society.

In no way do I condone his comments about women, race, migrants or indeed his stance on the environment – all of those things are horrific – but when we get caught up in the sad, little boy’s story we are not helping him to heal his wounds, we are boosting his ego. But even worse, we are buying into our own collective ego story. So how do we break through? We self-reflect. One of the biggest barriers people have to breakthroughs in their own self-healing is the ego. That is, a defensiveness or fear that prevents them from unpacking their “stuff” and looking at it from an adult perspective, then going through some healing as a result of self-reflection. When we look at today’s global leaders (with the exception of the wonderful Jacinda Ardern from New Zealand), we see so much ego. We do not see humility, compassion, care or genuine empathy – of course they try to fake it – but many of us can see right through. We are seeking authenticity in our leaders, because ultimately, we are seeking that same authenticity within ourselves.

Donald Trump triggers our own egos and reflects how far we have gone from our roots as nomadic, family or tribal groups who work for the benefit of the whole group, rather than the individual. The “I” has become all important for the race to the top of popularity, wealth and success at the expense of the “us”, of our planet, of our communities, of us as individuals. We have forgotten who we are and we are wearing this mask of the ego – in the way we speak to each other, in how we discuss events of the world as if it is a personal attack on our own mythology, when in-fact, it’s about how DISCONNECTED we have become from ourselves and each other and the planet we inhabit.

What we need now is some re-connection with self. We need to see how we are triggered by Trump’s behaviour and how we may behave in the ways that he does. This is not to say he shouldn’t be called to account for his recent race-baiting, but rather than throwing ourselves into the argument, we maintain an objective distance to monitor our own reactions. After all, he is an extension of our consciousness as a society and what we value, so we begin not by lashing out in anger at the cries of a child who needs nurturing, but instead by seeing how we can learn from him the ways we have become disconnected and return to self and therefore return home.