Dear America,
I want to begin with this:
I love you.
I really, truly do.
I lived in your cities. I walked your campuses. I sat in your coffee shops, dreaming of building something that could change the world.
America was where I studied. Where I discovered my voice.
Where I fell in love with ideas that reshaped my life.
Where I started Mindvalley, with nothing but ambition and a belief that anything was possible.
For a full decade, you were my home.
And in many ways, you still are.
I may live elsewhere now, but I still identify as American more than anything else.
Because America—the idea of America—isn’t just geography.
It’s a frequency. A dream. A promise that inspired not just me, but billions of people around the world.
What we loved about you
We loved your optimism—the way you believed anything was possible.
We loved your rebels—the ones who spoke truth to power and rewrote the rules.
We loved your Martin Luther King Jr., whose voice still echoes across continents.
We loved your Silicon Valley, that dared to invent the future.
We loved your Apple, born in a garage, changing the way we connect.
We loved Burning Man, a wild celebration of freedom, creativity, and community in the desert.
We loved your poets, your scientists, your dreamers.
You were never perfect. But damn—you had soul.
You were the lighthouse.
The messy, brilliant, complicated beacon we looked toward for what was possible.
But lately… that light feels like it’s flickering.
What the world sees now
In just six months, this is what the world has seen:
– Threats to abandon NATO, the alliance that preserved peace for generations.
– Pointless trade wars where everyone loses.
– Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Treaty, while the Earth burns.
– And now—bombs falling on Iran.
Another unwinnable war in the Middle East.
A war your people swore they’d never allow again.
Not after Iraq.
Not after Afghanistan.
And it’s not just the outer world we see you destroy.
We see you tearing yourselves apart from within.
- Immigration raids that tear apart families and have caused LA to burn.
- Politicians who sound like children while openly taking bribes.
- Tax cuts for billionaires, while those struggling now actually have to pay more in taxes.
- A climate movement abandoned by the very country where it was born.
And yet—I’m writing this letter with an open heart.
Because I haven’t given up.
This week, I’m helping my son apply to U.S. universities. We’re preparing for a tour of East Coast campuses. Then, I’m driving from South Dakota to Yosemite, with stops at Mount Rushmore and the great open spaces I fell in love with.
I want to show my son America. Because I still believe in what America can be.
But I also cannot stay silent—not as a lover of your culture, not as a global citizen.
This spiral you’re in?
It must be named. And it must be stopped.
Because true friends don’t stay silent when they see you crashing.
The spiral was not a mystery. It was a choice.
Every war.
Every broken treaty.
Every erosion of trust.
It didn’t just happen. It was chosen through voting decisions.
By people who, often unknowingly, chose:
- Ego over empathy.
- Charisma over character.
- Soundbites over substance.
And I don’t blame you.
You were caught in a storm of propaganda. You were tired, misled, afraid.
But we need to be honest:
When you vote for leaders who enable war, destabilize peace, and govern through vengeance, you are not just voting for policy. You are voting for self-destruction.
What happened to service?
A great American president once said:
“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy
Another said:
“We must never remain silent in the face of injustice.” – Barack Obama
Even Ronald Reagan once called America a “shining city upon a hill.”
What happened to that America?
Now we see leaders who sow division instead of unity.
Who thrive on conflict rather than compassion.
Who look not to serve, but to rule.
And as Sun Tzu warned:
“Some men would set their own nation ablaze, just to be king over the ashes.”
Can you recognize them?
Because now more than ever, you must.
America, you’ve always known how to tell the story. Now it’s time to live it.
Think of your heroes.
The ones you’ve shown us on screen for decades.
Will Smith in Independence Day.
Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.
They save the world, not just themselves.
They protect their families, but they also rise to a higher mission.
That’s what made us fall in love with you.
Your heroes were never selfish.
They were flawed, yes. But they stood up for something bigger.
So why, in real life, do you so often vote for the opposite?
Your vote is not just yours
I say this with love—and urgency:
Your vote doesn’t just affect your neighborhood. It affects the entire planet.
- It affects the air we all breathe.
- The treaties we all depend on.
- The peace we all hope for.
- The future our children will inherit.
This is no longer about party loyalty or economic policy.
This is about consciousness.
This is about whether the most powerful country on Earth will continue to operate from fear and ego —
Or rise into wisdom and service.
What the world needs from you now
We don’t need another American empire.
We need an American elder.
Not one who dominates. One who guides.
Not one who fears. One who serves.
Because you were never meant to be a fortress.
You were meant to be a lighthouse.
But a lighthouse cannot fulfill its purpose if it forgets to shine inward first.
You taught us to dream. Now we’re asking you to dream again.
The world doesn’t hate you.
We’re not laughing at you.
We’re just watching… and hoping.
Hoping that the America we believed in is still in there.
The next time you march in the streets,
March for all of us.
Not just for the poor or hungry in your zip code.
But for the citizens of our shared planet who need you to shine again.
And when the time comes…
Vote with your heart. And with your higher self.
The choice is yours
Not every election is a turning point.
But some are.
And the one you’re facing now?
This is that moment.
You can vote for leaders who turn the world into a battlefield.
Or vote for those who understand that true power is service.
You can choose:
- Ego or evolution
- Division or destiny
- Fear or future
The world is not asking you to be perfect.
We are simply asking you to remember who you are, at your best.
The America that marched with MLK.
That wrote the Moonshot speech.
That created iPhones, NASA, jazz, and the dream that all humans are created equal.
That’s the America we still believe in.
That’s the America the world needs.
Let that be the America you choose.
— Vishen
Founder, Mindvalley
Citizen of Earth.
Forever shaped by the promise of America.
PS: This letter isn’t just mine—it’s a conversation we all need to have. I’d love to hear how this landed for you. What do you believe America still stands for? What does it need to stand for?
Share your comments below.
Let’s make this a space for reflection, dialogue, and hope.
960 Responses
Thank you for joining the conversation, for speaking up. Something we all need to do! Silence is complicity. Within the US I’ve really noticed differences in perspective largely based on news and information sources. Unfortunately, depending on the information “bubble” that individuals occupy, their perceived narratives on what is occurring both in the United States, and around the world, can vary greatly. Though this can be a result of educational deficiencies, many don’t want the truth, only that which confirms previous biases and conditioning. People think they can say anything, even outright lie, and believe that’s “free speech”. The racial, religious, gender, wealth, etc. discrimination that has been rampant in our country since its founding are being laid bare for all to see. The current ugliness in our country will force a reckoning, a change – if we don’t turn a blind eye to our many weaknesses and faults – and speak up against what’s not working for all!
Thank you for saying what I would have said but I am unable to comment for some reason.
We need everyone, especially those with privlege to speak out.
Thank You Donita, Thank You Vishen!
Not what I expected from Mindvalley. I partially agree … I am Italian, I always thought of the US as a stronger younger brother ready to protect when need be. But alas I was young and naive.. there was help for sure in the past, but the plan was always for dominance. Not invading but through political and mostly economical pressure. Sadly most of my country citizens do not feel as allies , we feel enslaved. You are not the loving brother but the shop/firm owner squeezing everything he can from workers. It’s my way or I’ll destroy you. Not bombs but economy. The Us should stay there in the US, they can not rule the world. Let us be, we’ll sink down? We will deal with it. Nation should come together only where a global menace menaces life on earth. It should be a council, where everyone has an equal voice, not kingdom council where us sits on the throne. We should find solutions together not being colonized one way or the other.
Reading your letter stirred something deep within me, Vishen. Like you, I believed in the promise of America—not just as a nation, but as a sacred idea. I chose law school over social work because I believed that working within the system could bring about lasting change. I dreamed of joining the legislature, of being a voice for the vulnerable.
But instead, I found myself in the executive branch of New York State government—where power often eclipses purpose. There, under the weight of institutional ego and narcissistic leadership, I was silenced and bullied for speaking truth. My First Amendment rights were threatened by a man who saw dissent as danger rather than dialogue. And yes, he was a Democrat—proof that corruption and control know no party lines. That experience triggered a profound unraveling—one that became the catalyst for my spiritual awakening.
For a time, I was lost at sea.
But in that darkness, something sacred found me. I surrendered to the wisdom within and around me. I began asking my higher power each day to flow through me, to use me—not as a vessel of resistance, but as a vessel of light.
Now, I strive to be the lighthouse I once needed. Not to direct others’ paths, but to shine steadily, so those adrift might find their way home to themselves.
Thank you for reminding us what America can be when we remember who we are—not as rulers, but as stewards; not as consumers of power, but as vessels of love.
May we all rise—not to dominate, but to illuminate.
Vishen, I like Mindvalley and its self-help programming you’ve incorporated but it is a service I pay for. By using your network to voice your opinion, it essentially picks a side and alienates a large portion of your customers, which I’m one of. When corporations or celebrities stray from their swim lane and start to believe people want to hear their opinion, half love it and many of the other half leave them. Just look at Bud Lite, Target, and Disney for example. Most of the people in America are hardworking, pay their taxes, and just want to be left alone, but at some point, you have to stop and speak up. The US is $37 trillion in debt and over spending $4 trillion a year. When you realize the US government is wasting trillions of dollars of our tax money while politicians and elites enrich themselves in the process, you have to make a change. If America continues on its short term gratification spending spree, it will implode and world will be worse off thatn it is now. The majority of Americans backed a leader that was strong enough to try something different so we can right the American ship, even if it has short term negative effects on the US or the world. In 2023 the US provided 68% of the NATO’s budget. NATO needs the US more than the US needs NATO. The strong action in Iran finally brought a cease fire between Iran and Israel. Who knows if it will hold but that hasn’t happened since 1979. Regarding immigration, the US has a legal way for people to apply for visas, green cards, and eventually citizenship. Legal immigrants learn English and try to assimilate to the US culture. Everyone supports legal immigration, but we currently have about 20 million illegal immigrants in the US. That’s about the same population of Taiwan or Syria. ICE raids are not the cause of the riots in LA, its groups of illegal immigrants that didn’t follow the immigration process and don’t want to assimilate to US culture. So Vishen please focus on Mindvalley and let the US citizens worry about the US.
Vishen,
Your words stirred something deep within me; something sacred.
Thank you for loving boldly and speaking with the grace of a soul that sees beyond borders. I felt every line of your letter as a prayer; for healing, for remembering, for rising.
Like you, I believe the spirit of America; her higher self, is not lost. Just weary. And like you, I still see the light within her, waiting to be reignited by truth, compassion, and collective awakening.
You reminded us not just of what we’ve lost, but of what we can still choose to become. And that is holy work.
I stand with you; in love, in faith, and in the sacred hope that we will return to who we truly are.
Thank you, Vishen.
Vishen – I salute and honor you for the courage to speak up regarding what is on your heart and mind on these topics. For those Mindvalley members who criticize you for raising politics on this platform, isn’t the ultimate culmination of “personal development” Soul Visibility? If we, as enlightened individuals, can’t have a mature discussion about politics (how we choose to govern ourselves), then who can?? And if no one is able or willing to talk about these topics in a mature way, then what hope do we have? For those who disagree with Vishen and his views, feel free to say so! But say it from an open heart without taking things personally and descending into insults and conspiracy theories. I am sure Vishen would be the first to admit he doesn’t have all the answers but I have no doubt that his questions are very worthy of discussion.
I too had considered this a safe space to gain understanding of self improvement and new philosophy of enlightenment.
Now we have come to understand we must justify our worldly political views as well.
America is a dream of the pursuit of Happiness. This pursuit is bounded by laws that allow us that persist without invading the pursuit of others.
It is revealed in recent events that these laws only apply to those who are not currently in power or those who don’t agree with the ones who wield it.
Our country is great because of immigrants who came seeking the dream but who followed the law.
Not the unlimited flow of all who came to suck on the teat of our country by ignoring the law and facilitated by the greatest criminal administration the world has ever seen.
They sold us to china, ignored the villains who seek to destroy us as the great Satan or pandered to keep it all status quo.
We must stand up and protect America by voting for those who won’t ignore reality.
I believe we must discuss our differences.
I believe we must change the narrative from hate to one of understanding the truth and consensus.
Leave the politics of America to Americans.
Vishen,
This is really touching, I actually had a tear roll down my cheek! I feel exactly the same way. I live in Canada and for the longest time the U.S. were our allies, friends, neighbours. Now it feels like all of that is suffering corrosive energy and rules, eroded down to almost nothing. It’s such a sad time for us Canadians to lose that bond we had.
I believe it will be rebuilt… slowly over time. By people voting for new leaders and like you say leaders who guide and serve their country and people and even neighbours.
I believe in that and will focus on that positive image in my mind while the chaos unrolls. Because it saddens me too much to see the status quo. I have to be like an ostrich and not focus on the negativity too much (it affects and gnaws away at my joy). So I try to not focus on it… for now. Just hoping and believing a better more positive future is just around the bend.
Thank you so much for sharing this. It feels good to see I’m not the only one saddened by the erosion of what once was. It can be rebuilt again. Let’s hang onto that vision.
Take care,
Anita
Ottawa (Canada)
I am going to assume that it is a loving letter and expresses true feelings of loss and of despair and I feel compassion for that, for this is not a perfect world and so much in it is wrong indeed. We need more love, we need more generosity, we need more kindness and compassion. But we also need more honesty and discernment, we need unity and we need openness to diverse thought. What I read is thinking that there is one type of good humans and one type of lower thinking, less evolved, less elevated people. And that all those who voted for Trump have lost their morals and are the deplorables. What I read is that Obama and JFK were the good human beings (you quote them) and that now we have chosen to be led by an evil human, that we have lost our minds. What I read is that now we are bombing Iran and that is evil, while we don’t even mention that Iran’s raison d’etre without shame or reservation is the eradication of Israel and all the Jews and after that America and that they are building a bomb that can destroy the planet… more than the environment. I am not making that up. They are open about it. Yet you never mention that.
What I read is that when Obama deported 3 million people that was ok. What I hear is that when JFK had mistresses or when MLK did, it was just a part of being human but when Trump does it shows his lack of character needed to be a good leader. I don’t love all that Trump does, I don’t want to make everything political but you are and with it you judge and you do so unfairly.
I feel you either lack a lot of information or you just have a biased paradigm of what makes a human good and what makes America free.
If anything, it pushes me more and more away of the ” like yous” even though I aspire to be a good and compassionate human being, I too pray for a good and prosperous world and for an end to suffering. I too try every day to be a better human being than I was yesterday. But I don’t feel I belong in your world any longer. I feel you judge me because I have different opinions. I feel you take away the space for honesty, for tolerance, for openness. I feel alone and sad and yes I feel angry.
I feel misrepresented for what you say a good and fair world should look like. I too want peace and love but I have learned more about facts which I knew very little of when I lived in your world and I have learned that the easy way is to say we all want peace, we don’t want bombs… so shall we then let Russia and Iran take over the planet? Cause they don’t listen to what you ask for… I do think peace through strength is the one and only way…
It is easy to say you want peace in Gaza if you don’t look at how Gaza’s children are educated to want to kill the Jews before they think of a future.
Giving up on NATO? You are mis informed. I am European and I think it is high time that EUROPE pays for its own defense system, even as the US stays in…
The point is that all is so much more nuanced and gray instead of black and white. One needs to take the time to be educated on facts not on propaganda and ideology.
It upsets me and makes me sad that it seems that if you want to work on personal development and make the world a better place it is assumed you live in one and only paradigm… the one you propagate.
I am a life and leadership coach who thinks differently than you. And I am not not deplorable.
Thank you for having hope and not giving up. We need that.
I thought Mindvalley was a safe place to to learn away from politics. I guess I was wrong. I am very disappointed that you use your platform for political discussions. I guess I will not be renewing my subscription. 😢
Thanks a lot Vishen to share your vision. The World needs this deep reflexion.
This is exactly what I hope for from a leader like you leading and guiding fellow leaders in your audience.
Agree 1,000%
Thanks for speaking up Vishen
I was very surprised to read such dualistic words, especially from someone who has built an empire on self-improvement and empowerment. You literally picked a side Vishen! And you are speaking with such conviction as if it were truth. Born in America, it’s not my truth, nor is it 78 million other Americans’ truths. There is an awakening going on right now, which is super evident to people who are not paid-off or in collusion for their own personal gain. People are starting to see the TRUTH, and it’s disturbing to say the least. It makes me wonder why you felt it was okay to use your platform to preach YOUR truth and completely disregard a different perspective? Certainly not aligned with the teachings of your platform, so what’s your motive here? While you use words that elicit love, hope and peace – the underlying vibe didn’t feel that way at all. It felt like elitism – and coming from you, it was like nails on a chalkboard! I didn’t renew my membership earlier this year and was having second thoughts about re-joining. This post solidified my decision that you are in it for the money brother, and that certainly doesn’t align with my core values. Best wishes and sadly, goodbye!
THIS IS NOT who we are!
These are NOT our values!
Evil seeks to exploit.
Love seeks to uplift.
We will get through this difficult time.
The sun will shine on America again.
But OH, it is so hard when you are in the middle of it and there is no light at the end of the tunnel yet.
Please send your letter to U.S. Senators, Congresspeople, & to the Supreme Court. In a few short months, the President & the Representatives/Supreme Court Justices that are controlled by Trump have created so much damaging chaos, hurt international relationships, & aim to do more. The American People are protesting, calling/writing their representatives, and making our voices heard. With the decades-long strategy of the Republican Party to have control of the House and the Supreme Court (gerrymandering, banding together no matter what, Senator Mitch McConnell controlling the Senate…), it’s difficult to fight this tyranny, but it must be done. Evidence has arisen of election fraud, senators have been assassinated, senators & citizens are being arrested/pulled out of public meetings for speaking up – it’s a scary time in the U.S. Thank you for using your platform & please send this to the U.S. gov’t as well. They are supposed to represent U.S. citizens not control us. MAGA’s actions are despicable – human trafficking, creating logging roads/logging in National Parks, creating more wealth for billionaires, & attacking education, healthcare, environmental protections, pushing women to have more babies, & … the list goes on. It’s devastating & this whole administration needs to be impeached & removed immediately.
Please send your letter to U.S. Senators, Congresspeople, & to the Supreme Court. In a few short months, the President & the Representatives/Supreme Court Justices that are controlled by Trump have created so much damaging chaos, hurt international relationships, & aim to do more. The American People are protesting, calling/writing their representatives, and making our voices heard. With the decades-long strategy of the Republican Party to have control of the House and the Supreme Court (gerrymandering, banding together no matter what, Senator Mitch McConnell controlling the Senate…), it’s difficult to fight this tyranny, but it must be done. Evidence has arisen of election fraud, senators have been assassinated, senators & citizens are being arrested/pulled out of public meetings for speaking up – it’s a scary time in the U.S. Thank you for using your platform & please send this to the U.S. gov’t as well. They are supposed to represent U.S. citizens not control us. MAGA’s actions are despicable – human trafficking, creating logging roads/logging in National Parks, creating more wealth for billionaires, & attacking education, healthcare, environmental protections, pushing women to have more babies, & … the list goes on. It’s devastating & this whole administration needs to be impeached & removed immediately.
I read this yesterday. Put it down. Perplexed. Perhaps instead of pointing fingers I would prefer you share a meditation for healing across the globe.
Thank you Vishen. You have taken a risk in using your platform to speak your Truth. The World has witnessed many turning points, and while in recent years there has been a notable slide toward Authoritarianism it is the current US President and Admin that could seal the deal for so many millions beyond the borders of the United States. I have many friends in Europe & Canada who are keenly aware, and some who are currently impacted & silenced in the face of de-Democratization. I have many friends in Latin America who are still traumatized by decades of war, perhaps much of which was initiated by earlier American Imperialist tendencies. And yet, there is this hallowed ‘American Ideal’ that we strive for. May that flourish, and truly evolve to bring Light and Freedom to the darkness that is now spreading in the World. My heart aches as I watch & hear so many Americans endorse the destruction of our Constitution, which has been revered & adapted in so many places. At the same time, there is this idea of Abundance that also has a dark side. Of course it can free us from our past individual traumas, it has helped so many to gain personal financial freedom. And: NO ONE needs billions of dollars. NO individuals should use their wealth as power over others. Where is the commitment to serve the underprivileged? to feed the hungry caught in these webs of power struggles? It is how we choose to use our Abundance energy that can be the positive shift. Not just to ‘have more’. But to ‘give more’- of our time & energy. And our Love. I highly recommend to move beyond this striving for ‘more’…and go ‘serve’: feed the hungry mouths, help build a small-scale off-grid energy system in a village that has never had electricity, finance the building of a school so a rural indigenous community can gain literacy and then learn how to empower their own communities, help free small rural farmers from the choke-hold of Big Ag, which only seeks to steal their ancestral lands so they can turn a profit. Use Abundance not in self-centered ways, but to help others gain some part of social/environmental/economic justice. May we receive the true blessings of the spiritual teachings that show us how to serve the Divine. THIS is what I have devoted my life to. You are invited to help.
Such an honest and elegantly written letter. We really appreciate you putting this out there, given your influence and I think you speak for hundreds of millions of people with your words.
Thanks you Vishen for continuing to promote peace and love in this shared planet