Next President of the United States
(excerpted and adapted from our blog post of March 3, 2014)
Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution states: Before he enters on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:–“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Despite the fact that the writers of the constitution used the default ‘he’ in their construction of the document, women can fulfill the requirements of being elected and serving as chief executive officer of the nation as much as men can. But any man or woman who has the qualities of leadership, the focus and ambition, the good will, the qualifying background, and the support of a sufficient number of voters and members of the electorate, still needs one thing more to do the job.
The key to success is in all the qualities listed above, but the phrase from the presidential oath that underlies success in the most comprehensive fundamental way is: to the best of my Ability.
Ability is the power or skill to do something based on both natural and acquired proficiency. Many people have advantage over others in acquiring proficiency—usually through education but also through connections and effective previous career choices. But natural proficiency is available to everyone.
It is the moral and practical responsibility of any person seeking office to develop and unfold their natural capacity for proficiency fully.
Where do energy, creativity, intelligence, and power come from? The science of physics, going beyond the boundaries of the study of the physical, states that the foundation of the material world is an infinite field of energy, intelligence, and creativity. All matter and all laws of nature are manifestations of this underlying field of potentiality. Just as each sequentially subtler field of existence, from molecules to atoms to sub-atomic particles, exhibits more energy and intelligence, the ultimate state and source of the infinite ever-expanding universe must be the most powerful level of life. Its profundity and breadth must be cosmic.
Subjective experience and scientific research both show that the unbounded field of infinite creative intelligence that underlies matter also underlies thought at the mind’s fundamental level of consciousness. This is the field of transcendental consciousness—within each of us at the least excited, most settled state of our mind’s functioning—the source of thought. It is accessible through the process of transcending from our common excited state of mental activity to more settled states and then to the most settled state of mental activity—and this is precisely the mechanics of the Transcendental Meditation technique.
How could anyone put herself or himself forth as a leader without first accessing this field of infinite organizing power within? It is the most powerful preparation for broad thinking and effective action. TM practice anchors us to an unshakeable, transcendental inner spiritual core that leads to enhanced intuition and to broad awareness that embraces the wider interests of the community and environment.
Aside from the obvious benefit of a leader’s mind being able to function from a level of life so efficient that it runs the universe, the side effects of the TM process on the brain and body are irrefutably essential to leadership.
Among other journals, Psychology Today reported research showing that the TM technique produces a state of “restful alertness,” and creates greater coherence between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Brain researcher Fred Travis, PhD, found that TM increases blood flow to the brain’s prefrontal cortex (the CEO of the Brain), strengthening communication between the prefrontal cortex and other areas of the brain, and developing total brain functioning. As a result, the TM practitioner displays stronger executive functions, with more purposeful thinking and farsighted decision-making. When the brain’s CEO is fully “online,” moral reasoning and emotional responses to the world are more balanced and appropriate.
According to hundreds of peer-reviewed published studies, qualities necessary to governorship such as moral reasoning, intelligence, focus, memory, creativity, flexibility, and mobilization of the brain are increased while stress, anxiety, disease, insomnia, heart disease, and recovery time needed from stress are all decreased.
Scientific validation of the benefits of TM practice is also in the area of job performance—perhaps what we look for most in our elected leaders. TM significantly affects efficiency, productivity, problem-solving ability, tolerance, self-confidence, and employee development (think of the presidential appointees!).
Before taking the oath of office, the first presidential-quality decision that an elected President should make is to unfold her or his full potential by learning the Transcendental Meditation technique—to be able to state with confidence, “to the best of my ability.”
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About the Author
Janet Hoffman is the executive director of TM for Women Professionals, a division of TM for Women in the USA
