This review is about 4,300 words long, and takes about 28-32 minutes to read.
Some U.S. Presidents may not have been quite as cool as you thought they were…
As you may have noted of late, the world relies on the consciousness level and intellectual ability of the President of the United States. Decisions made in that position can effect people all over the world, as well as those of us that live in the US. So, it bears examining what energetic quality presidents have had so that we can learn from mistakes of the past, and make more beneficial decisions about who we might vote for in the future. Since January 20, of this year, it has become popular to bash the current president and claim that he is definitely the worst thing to have ever happened to the United States. Is that really true though?
I was curious about this, and so I decided to take a look at that issue through the lens of energetic research using Coherence Verification. Below is a condensed assessment of the current and some past presidents, and their average energetic quality level during their presidencies. This is essentially the mental, emotional, and spiritual qualities that guided their choices during their time in office. I hope you'll find it as enlightening as I did!
Note: If you missed January's Trump and Friends Coherence Verification Report, Part 1, or if you just need a refresher on the details of consciousness assessments, here's a link.
The Presidents, In Review
We are looking at the average energetic and consciousness qualities of 20 of the 44 United States presidents during the years of their presidencies. Like in past posts, I'll be using David R. Hawkins' Map of Consciousness (LOC), as well as my Energetic Quality Level scale (EQL) to gain both a detailed assessment of presidential consciousness, and the big picture of their developmental levels. For a thorough examination of Hawkins' map, please see his book Power vs. Force.
I would also like to note that these essential elements of the presidents' consciousness are what ultimately drove their decisions (or are currently driving decisions, in the case of Trump). Available facts are valuable in human decision making, but all facts are effectively "filtered" through the lens of one's consciousness state. This presents us with the value of looking at consciousness qualities. We can see how decisions were made, not by the available facts, but rather, how those facts were interpreted and perceived.
There is currently a common belief in the US and elsewhere, that presidents are making decisions based on their "judgment," and the facts. However, only a cursory examination of today's news will easily reveal that what one president perceives as valuable, can be considered by the next president to be an existential threat to the nation. Both perceptions cannot be true. Trump was elected by many citizens because they believed a business man would make better decisions than a politician. A business man, or a politician, is not a thing independent of the person's consciousness quality though.
A person will make decisions based on their predominant consciousness level. A business person can do business with integrity, or without. A politician can be honest and work for constituents, or be a deceiver and seek his or her own enrichment, to the detriment of others. In each case there is a human with either a consciousness level that is healthy and seeking what is mutually beneficial for us all, or else someone seeking relief from their imagined fears, and succumbing to his or her limited desires.
This distinction of the nature of motivation and intent is the essence of understanding what drives all decisions, and Coherence Verification is the tool for making the distinction with ease.
With that in mind, let's cue the presidential music!
George Washington = LOC 160; EQL 526.
Washington's time in office was dominated by anger, and a fear of the unknown, typified by an avoidance of facing his true nature and death. This combination converges in the perceived need to dominate others. He worked to dominate his opponents, the British, the US population (including Native Americans), and his household which included slaves. It was only his valuing of democracy that superseded his need for domination, and thus brought him to reasonable decisions like his leaving office after two terms. At this level, integrity would have not been much of a regular interest to Washington, regardless of his recorded words and reputation.
John Adams = LOC 167; EQL 551.
Also preoccupied with his own anger, Adams took a different route in his dealings with others. His preference was for being secretive, and surviving no matter what the odds or conditions. He also had significant fears of being forgotten or unrecognized for his contributions (a type of fear of death), and so he would likely tend to ridicule others for their ideas and beliefs if they did not comport with his own, or have factual justifications. In other words, he made decisions based primarily on the need for survival, and in reactive anger and ridicule. This was an edgy guy, no doubt. He did desire a thriving life for himself and the country, but really didn't have consistent hopes for that experience.
Thomas Jefferson = LOC 176; EQL 576.
Pridefulness in his intellect was a key feature for Jefferson, and that was how he kept himself above his fears of death. He imagined a huge weight on his shoulders as one of the key architects of the developing nation, and this would have resulted in significant stress, while also juggling a self-generated, driving need to be perceived well by others he considered valuable humans. Consistent integrity would have been a challenge for Jefferson, and sex was his preferred form of escapism from stress.
James Madison = LOC 172; EQL 541.
Madison would have valued his own thoughts and opinions above all others at this level. Like Jefferson, Madison valued his own intellect and thought processes, but had little clarity about the nature of his thoughts, or from what biases they arose. This allowed him to avert an encounter with his fears of worthlessness and perceived lack of value. Stated differently, when presidents don't truly accept the value of all persons, including themselves, and this resistance becomes a predominant issue in their psyche, they will default to arrogant assumption of their own correctness in nearly all situations as a psychological defense mechanism.
Andrew Jackson = LOC 106; EQL 357.
There's so many issues going on here it's hard to list them all, so I'll try to summarize. Jackson's consciousness and decision making was dominated by a complete and total selfism. This form of extreme fear and separation leads to chronic sadness that then must be repressed in order to have any functionality in work or society. The repression is then released, in a way, by subjugating and diminishing others. Thus, Jackson decided to become one of the (if not the) most damaging presidents in relation to Native Americans. Essentially, the Native American near genocide begins under his influence, and was continued by his successor, Van Buren. This genocide wasn't just the insane choice by one race to dominate another. At this level of dysfunction, Jackson was exhibiting the same horrifying energy that we see in humans that desire to hunt and kill in order to have trophies of their conquests. This is the exact same consciousness quality seen in most serial killers.
Martin Van Buren = LOC 76; EQL 256. (That 76 was not a typo-it really was that low!)
Not to be outdone by his predecessor Andrew Jackson, Van Buren decides to descend to the level of complete dissociation from reality where he perceives himself to be absolutely indispensable to the nation, while also fearing everything that he is unaware of. This is similar to the consciousness quality seen today in apocalyptic death cults like ISIS, that promote terrorism as morally and religiously justified. This is the mindset of the rapist, whether that rape be physical, or conceptual and social. There was only destructiveness in this man, regardless of what he seemed to have "accomplished" in his four years in office. Martin Van Buren reached a level of self-righteous insanity that would have made him extremely scary to even be around, unless of course, you were of a similar consciousness quality. Van Buren holds the dubious distinction of being the president with the lowest consciousness quality of them all. However, Trump seems to be sprinting towards winning that dubious prize.
Abraham Lincoln = LOC 206; EQL 757.
Twenty years after the clinical psychological issues of Van Buren, there is a breath of fresh air, even if it's amidst the Civil War. Lincoln was at a moderately healthy level of being and function, and so he was able to rise well above the common problems of the time. He was humorous without demeaning anyone. He was competitive, and that drove him to heights beyond his fears. He was a little boastful about his accomplishments, but that was tempered by regular integrity and a keen sense of the value of a team. Submissiveness in his relationship with his wife made his life somewhat hellish (his wife was completely insane when they were in the White House, but doctors didn't have the clinical knowledge or technology to help her out). The death of many close to him led him to bouts of depression that was exacerbated by ambivalence about his own health and well being, but he rose above the fears with integrity and a drive to completions that were as beneficial as possible given the conflicts of the time.
Grover Cleveland = LOC 176; EQL 562.
Cleveland was a president many of us could relate to because he was preoccupied with reinventing capitalism out of a fear that the monetary health of the country could collapse, and he was sentimental. In other words, he was preoccupied with money and the "good old days," and I'm sure we've all known a few people like that. The problem here is that the old days he pined for were the ones when the country was wealthier due to slavery. The mid to late 1880s in the US was a significant rebuilding period post Civil War, but it was also a period of rapidly advancing technology. A prideful man with only moments of fleeting self-awareness and integrity, Cleveland likely found himself quietly torn between his fears and prejudices, and the desire to see the country move into a brave new world of automation and expansion. Cleveland can be summed up as, internally conflicted.
Theodore Roosevelt = LOC 177; EQL 522.
Theodore Roosevelt was a driven man, famous for his stamina, but that drive was primarily rooted in a deep fear of loss, failure, and loneliness. He was forever compensating for physical limitations he had as a child (fear of loss of health). He was often irritated by the criticisms of others (fear of failure), and he often reverted to a near pack mentality seen in his wilderness forays and war adventures with the manly men of the day. Because these overt displays of fear compensation were valued at the time, he was successful in many ways. However valued his apparent exploits may have been, the internal drives were still quite fear motivated. Fortunately for the country, he was more likely than not to choose semi-sane policies, and opt for integrity part of his time in office.
Franklin D. Roosevelt = LOC 202; EQL 611.
The other Roosevelt cousin also had a fear of loneliness that drove him, but he chose to allay his fears in codependent relationships with a few women that weren't his wife. This was unfortunate because Eleanor Roosevelt had a considerably higher level of consciousness than her husband Franklin. She would have made an excellent intellectual and emotional partner had he relied on her more often. Franklin did manage to lead the US through a very difficult period, and this was accomplished through considerable integrity in dealings of state (obviously not with his wife), a preoccupation with building lasting structures (physical, conceptual, and political), empathy with the less fortunate (partly due to his challenge with polio), and a focus on courage.
John F. Kennedy = LOC 202; EQL 610.
Kennedy's consciousness level was virtually identical to FDR's. Same fears, same desires, same hang-ups, and also a troublesome physical condition (Addison's disease). I would also like to point out that, at this level, a person can feel fairly capable and decisive, while also ignorantly accepting that fears are normal, and so it makes sense that one could feel "presidential" despite the predominance of fears. Also, at this level, facts can be dealt with moderately well, and semi-reasonable (albeit not very enlightened) decisions can become the norm. Although, in Kennedy's case, he didn't have sufficient time in office for much of anything to become a norm, besides heavy drug usage.
Lyndon B. Johnson = LOC 171; EQL 412.
Johnson was a swindler. Every political move he made was an attempt to take what he wanted to the detriment of someone else, or some group. Dishonesty was his default because he was always fearing loss. He believed he had to be underhanded in order to get what he wanted, but he did not generally feel poorly about his dishonest methods because he often convinced himself that it was for the greater good, or else because he knew better than others. He was prone to frustration when his plans did not work out or when others discovered his dishonest dealings. I know he was intimately involved in passing significant civil rights legislation, but the path he took to get there was about as underhanded as you could get. Even when it was passed he still never truly stood for equal rights as he perceived those rights as a threat to the ruling white male status quo he preferred.
Richard Nixon = LOC 116; EQL 257.
While Johnson may have been fairly underhanded, at least he wasn't a complete nut, which was the case with Nixon. If you glance up at Martin Van Buren's consciousness levels, you'll essentially be seeing Nixon's too. No amount of real integrity was possible because Nixon was completely consumed by fear, hatred, and undue self-importance. Even his backing of environmental protections were motivated by a desire to be perceived well by others, and they were sullied by his participation in the creation of a party-wide sense of entitlement and neurosis that continues to this day in Republican politics. The fact that it made sense to him to condone breaking into Democratic offices in the Watergate building is an example of his personal fears (didn't believe he could win a fair fight), and his complete belief that exercising violence based power over others was justified.
Jimmy Carter = LOC 206; EQL 466.
Jimmy Carter's presidency was an exercise in internal conflict. When we look back at that four year period we see some significant accomplishments mixed with considerable flops. This is also the case in his consciousness level during that time. Carter had a massive, semiconscious preoccupation with being right, and was potentially hostile to others when they disagreed. This is contrasted with an orientation to pacifism. Carter was often perceived as weak because of this mix of intense advocacy and moral correctness that essentially had no backbone to it. Threats and claims without assertive action will nearly always be perceived by others as weakness. Most Americans fear weakness in their president, and so when a big, tough movie star showed up to run against Carter, there was really no contest.
Ronald Reagan = LOC 126; EQL 356.
The energies of greed, and of resistance to relinquishing total preoccupation with self are the norm at this level. Reagan excelled in attacking others (especially Carter and other Democrats) for their beliefs and ideals, and perceived this to be a valuable trait. So aggressively self-involved was Reagan, that he was willing to effectively commit international suicide in nuclear conflict if his ideas of rightness were not followed. He truly believed that the world was in a desperate struggle for survival, but that only his positions and ideas were the ones that should survive. The predominant human emotion experienced by Reagan was sadness and low grade depression (suppressed) due to total self-defeat. However, this sadness primarily comes from a form of severe selfism. As an interesting side note, people in this energetic state also believe that the future can be foretold or known, and this tends to add to an artificial sense of confidence.
George H. W. Bush = LOC 166; EQL 458.
This is the state that develops into anti-social disorders and clinical narcissism. Victimhood, or the belief that one is a victim, is ubiquitous at this level, and drives retaliation tendencies. Ruthlessness was common for the senior Bush. In addition to these charming qualities, Bush was regularly motivated by hatred, especially the hatred of those that were not wealthy, or were Democrats. Many now consider George H. W. Bush to have been fairly congenial, and he is often honored. That honoring simply represents the ignorance that people have in truly understanding how the hatred based decisions of a nearly clinical narcissist can be craftily covered up with a smile, a promise to lower taxes, and consistently deceptive language. This Bush was incapable of functioning with, and choosing from integrity.
Bill Clinton = LOC 156; EQL 568.
The belief that any love or positive regard given will cost, require sacrifice, or be painful in some way was a problem for Clinton during this time period, and so his relationships were often transactional. A general sense of dissatisfaction with his life developed as well, and this is part of what distorted his decision making so much, that it seemed like a good idea to have a dalliance with an intern. Existentialism as a general world view and philosophy (albeit an unrecognized form of this belief system) overtook much of his decision making in office. This unconscious influence was heavily accented with anger and frustration at political rivals. Hypocritical behavior and perfectionism are common personal traits at this level. Also, a general tendency to overcompensate in his promises and efforts resulted in even more perception of dishonesty than was really merited.
George W. Bush = LOC 156; EQL 417.
The need to be “right,” and a general sense of foreboding that is driven by fear of loss and scarcity were the primary traits of the latter Bush presidency. His time in office was a struggle because of barely meeting the minimum energy level for the drive to be even the least bit factual. Bush began to develop an expectation of, and a belief that the country would be in pain forever because of the 2001 terrorist attacks. This drastically colored his decision making by turning grief and loss into a form of motivation. That motivation then morphed into anger and hatred over time, and ultimately became the primary decision making tool. It should also be noted that Bush was significantly influenced by Dick Cheney. During their tenure in office, Cheney's LOC was 80, and his EQL was 266. This is the energetic range of the justification for, and energy of war, torture, despise, sadism, and chronic spying. That sounds just like a few of the problems that arose during that time period to me.
Barack Obama = LOC 206; EQL 777.
Dependability in his responsibilities to the United States, and towards others, was the hallmark of Obama's time in office. Consistency in keeping promises and thorough integrity were effectively required by him. Some fatalism regarding the state of the rest of the world certainly crept in over the years, and this made it difficult to stay positive, and avoid gray hair. However, he was consistently confident and courageous throughout his time in office, regardless of the spin that has been done about him of late, as someone who thought himself to always be the smartest person in the room. When lower consciousness folks encounter confidence and real courage, they will nearly always projectively interpret that as arrogance. It is valuable to note that Obama had the highest level of consciousness of any U.S. president, ever.
Donald J. Trump (Jan. 20 - May 5, 2017) = LOC 97; EQL 226.
In early January of this year I evaluated Trump's LOC at 116, and his EQL at 322. Since he took office his consciousness levels have dropped precipitously. Well, that statement isn't entirely correct. The full truth is that Trump has chosen to become completely consumed by his fears of failure and worthlessness, and the reaction to those fears has been an emergence of a belief that all persons are worthless when they are without political or monetary power and influence. In other words, he has more fully entrenched in his already chosen fears, and is now ready to take full advantage of US citizens, if not the citizens of the rest of the world, that do not have the influence that he does at the moment.
What is even more concerning is the fact that Trump no longer has any more consistent access to higher, executive brain function at this consciousness level. I have evaluated small children over the years that have had significantly more ability to make effective, non-emotional decisions than Trump is able to make at the moment. Please be clear, this is a statement of fact, not hyperbole. Trump's entire consciousness is dominated by fear now, and the perceived need to take advantage of all others. The cliché, "Absolute power, corrupts absolutely," comes to mind.
The Highs and Lows
Because we all like to know the peaks and valleys of a journey, I thought I'd also point out the top four and bottom four presidents by consciousness quality.
The bottom four are Martin Van Buren, Andrew Jackson, Richard Nixon, and to date, Donald Trump.
What these four hyper-fearful men have in common, is a perceived need to destroy. When a human being is dominated by fearful thoughts, they perceive the entire world as terrible, and all other people to be fearful and hateful just as they are. The reaction to this perception is to always seek to win by destroying others, and gathering power in any way they can. Tragically, they also will do so with whatever justifications they can dream up at the time. Jackson and Van Buren had the Native Americans to demonize. Nixon had the Soviets and the hippies to demonize. Trump has the terrorists to demonize, and subtle hints to the remaining racists in the world that he knows the non-white people are a big problem too. These past men, and the current president, have no real clarified agenda for the betterment of others, only the impulsive need to destroy and take. This is the energetic level they have chosen to be in, and all other discussions about what these presidents have said or done is really a laborious attempt to understand what we can clarify with ease in consciousness level assessments.
The top four presidents have been Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Lincoln is exceptionally distinctive as he rose to a healthy consciousness level at a very unhealthy period in history. He also rose above personal tragedy and challenge, and a host of forces working against him. His courageousness is worthy of learning from, and I have to point out that Obama has looked to Lincoln as a great example of presidential quality, while Trump supposedly venerates Andrew Jackson.
Interestingly, Obama and Lincoln are the same personality type, but that's probably a discussion for another blog post.
Kennedy and Roosevelt shared many qualities, including fears of loneliness, that resulted in relationships with women outside of their marriages. Fears of failure also left them with a grating feeling of wanting to escape the responsibilities they had taken on, while simultaneously driving them to more accomplishments during their lives.
I'd also like to point out that President Obama is distinctive as a president in that he maintained the highest level of consciousness throughout his presidency of any of the presidents, and his focus on consistency and dependability allowed him to rise above the limitations of his own fears in most cases. This is a set of traits that we can all learn from.
Concluding Thoughts
In this short review of past presidents, I have given you a view into the use of Coherence Verification as a distinctive resource for thorough learning. I hope it has been useful to you, or at least some fodder for interesting discussions. We've discovered that indeed Trump is one of the most challenged humans to have ever had the job of president of the US. We've discovered that even some of the most cherished presidents have had serious challenges with fears and personal strife. We've discovered the issues behind the faces on US currency, that many of us look at every day. And, we've discovered the hidden motivations that reveal probably the most important piece of information: the answer to the age old question, "What the heck was the President thinking when he did that?"
The utilization of Coherence Verification (CV), along with reasonable assessments of historical data, is the new and highly effective way we can learn from the past because this combination allows us to see the motivations and intentions behind the successes and mistakes. CV cannot replace the valuable roles of the historian, the sociologist, the economist, or the behavioral specialist. It is a complementary tool that all professionals and non-professionals alike can use to have a considerably greater understanding of ourselves, and those we elect to guide our countries.
