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 your painful, but heartfelt and honest letter. It is heartbreaking.
In my 64 years, I’ve seen the great strides, and backslides as we’ve progressed in civil rights and women’s rights and human rights. In the big, big picture, we’ve at least been trying to do the right thing. It’s always been a work in progress, but at least we progressed.
And now, to watch helplessly as we self-destruct, it’s gut-wrenching.
Nobody, at least no ordinary citizen, wants this, but I, like most people, feel powerless.
I truly believe, we are trying though. In groups we gather, we rally, we protest, we speak out, but when we do this on the days that our own states elected officials are murdered?! And the federal government mocks that? It feels hopeless.
Please know that we will continue to fight. It will take time and I hope I’m around to see sanity restored in this great nation, because we ARE good. We want to regain our good standing,
But we need to reassess how that’s done. It can’t be done again, as it has been in the past, as a benefit to us first. We need to be more genuine within this world. It can’t be about personal greed and growth again.
Thank you for all that you do. I learn so much about my own spirituality and ability to grow personally, from your Mind valley site
If nothing else, this awful and assaulting chaos has forced me to spend a lot of time alone and in self growth and reflection. It’s safer there, and I’m learning to be a quiet observer.
Dear Vishen, my dearest soul brother,
You do not know me yet, but I feel with every fiber of my being that you will. It is fate. We are birds of a feather, and I believe we are meant to fly together. I sense you may need a loving, wise voice right now, and so I write this as one lighthouse to another, shining truth through the storm.
After reading the unkind things people have said, I felt called to speak up. These times are asking more of us. No more sitting on the fence. No more hiding our truth. It’s time to stand tall and speak from the soul, for what we believe in, for what is right, for what is real. Even if it means losing some people.
Because the work we do is not about making money.
It is a passionate soul’s purpose to make change for the highest and best good.
And about awakening consciousness.
I see you, brother.
I’m currently studying psychology at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, earning my degree at 51! It’s never too late to follow the call. One of my lecturers recently said, “If you want to be a great psychologist, you must take a stand for what you believe in. You cannot be neutral in times of moral crisis.” That hit home for me. Big time.
Yes, recently I’ve lost a few hundred followers for speaking my truth. And yes, that’s okay. Because I didn’t come here for followers, fame, or fortune. I came here to make a difference and create change for a better world.
Just like Jonathan Livingston Seagull, some are here to graze, some are here for power, and others are here to soar. You, Vishen, are a flyer. A visionary change agent. And so am I.
Please remember: this is not the fault of the people of the United States. They have been played, misled, and manipulated by those in power. The people, at their core, are good, loving, and kind. But division is the game by the powers that be. Divide and conquer has long been their strategy. And now more than ever, we must practice compassion, empathy, and more than ever before we must trust our intuition, anchor in truth, and continue to educate ourselves and others.
That’s why Mindvalley matters. Vishen, you’ve created a sacred space for awakening, transformation, and conscious evolution. The light leaders will understand. Those not ready for the light and truth you offer may fall away, and that’s okay. Because the light is rising. And your words, Vishen, are part of this awakening. Your truth is a lighthouse for many.
Those who are deeply triggered? They, too, are being activated. And sometimes, pain/resistance shows up as projection.
I was born in the U.S. but have lived abroad for many years. I still do love America and Americans as they are very special heart-centered people. I pray for its healing, and for all the beautiful, soulful hearts there to continue shining like beacons through the chaos. The storm is here, but we must not be swept away by it. We must continue to be lighthouses.
Keep shining, soul brother. Keep speaking your truth. Your voice matters now more than ever.
I hear you.
I see you.
I stand with you.
I wrote this poem, and it’s in my Awaken the Oracle Within deck I created! I want to share it with you and your community.
Be a lighthouse
Do not beg the storm to soften.
Instead, stand firmly in it, be the eye of the storm, grounded in your truth.
Barefoot on sacred ground, eyes wide open, with wind in your hair and truth in your bones.
Be the lighthouse, not the lifeboat.
Do not carry others to safety; the lighthouse does not rescue. Instead, it shines bright, guiding the path
a golden, radiant beam—cutting through fog,
illuminating the way for those ready to remember.
Do not command. Instead, embody the light.
Not power over, but power from within.
Not hierarchy, but harmony. Not perfection,
But wholeness.
Choose to lead not with force, but with fierce compassion – a voice that knows when to roar and when to whisper with wild grace.
This is the New Feminine Paradigm Leader.
Equal parts soft and strong, shadow dancer, truth speaker, wounded healer, and wisdom keeper.
New Paradigm leadership is cyclical, not linear – like the moon, the tide, and the womb.
The lighthouse invites. It magnetizes. It co-creates. It listens. It trusts. Light the path not by dimming yourself, but by rising so others remember they, too, are the light. Shine your inner light.
The lighthouse does not reach or rescue; it shines to remind others of their inner light.
It does not save. The light guides others to safety.
It does not pursue. Instead, it attracts with the light of its presence.
You are not here to tether the drifting or pull others into the light. Do not reach. Instead radiate.
You are here to honor the truth of your flame,
to tend the sacred fire of your soul.
That is your offering. That is your power.
That is your light leadership. You are not the storm.
Not the tide. Not the waves.
You are the quiet, unwavering lighthouse—holding the paradox which is the portal to peace.
The light that remembers when all else forgets.
And in that remembering, you guide the world home.
~Schamet Horsfield
With love, light, blessings, and unwavering solidarity,
Schamet Horsfield
Lighthouse. Seeker. Sacred Rebel. Mirror. Soul Sister in the Great Awakening
How disappointing. I have used this platform and enrolled many in it for the thought leadership found here.
As a patriot, with a family I am behind Trump for what he has been exposing, and giving me back hope for my children growing up. Creating an America that is truly free of hypocrisy and dictates.
I would think that an “enlightened” leader would look beyond main stream media before espousing the same propaganda.
You have no idea what it has been like as an American Citizen, watching a corrupt system steal everyday from those it should protect.
Do I love Trump? Through his actions absolutely! Because he has actually kept his promise and for the first time in a long time I am proud of our leadership.
Now I am faced with deciding if I will ever recommend MindValley again, and too whether I will continue.
Let’s take a more honest look at your post.
Nato: All Nato members in the Hague are praising Trump’s leadership on strengthening the alliance with a 5% spending target. If you want Russia to STOP, match them. Peace through strength.
Bombing Iran’s nuclear sites: Would you rather a repressive authoritarian regime have nuclear weapons to carry out it’s very clear death to Israel, death to America goals? Anyway, sites destroyed, Iran and Israel at peace.
Tariffs: Almost every country has tariffs. Those child-sounding, corrupt politicians you mentioned have over decades sold out America’s workers for corporate profits and political contributions. Every county’s citizens have a right to set their own tariff policy, and then countries are FREE to trade or not trade with those rules. Both parties abandoned the American middle class, Trumps actions have real wages going up!
America isn’t going to be what YOU want us to be. We’re doing to be who WE want to be. We love freedom, limited government, honesty and transparency, hard work and fixing real problems. I think that will be an example for the planet. If not, no problem just look to your next best example, we don’t mind.
Vishen – you do great work and built a great company. Consider staying out of politics unless you want to drive 1/2 your customers away. If you choose to engage, at least drop the platitudes, dig in and develop real solution to real big problems. Best Wishes.
That’s the point.
WE get to decide what America is to be, not some keyboard warrior on the other side of the globe.
He isn’t driving half of his customers away. The vast majority of the people outside the United States envy and hate the United States. They would actually cheer him commentary because it aligns with their disdain for the United States
I have followed you and have done so many programs when Mindvalley was not even there. I have seen you grown and you have inspired me and I have trusted in your guidance. All the programs that I have done were excellent I have learnt so much from them and I will continue to learn. You are also one of the membership platforms that have reduced the price of membership which rarely happens.
I agree with you and I am glad that you voiced your thoughts. We can do all the self development we want but we can’t just live in that bubble. What’s happening around us affects our thoughts and decisions and more than anything future generations. I came to America 33 years ago now I am a grandmother and what was America at that time it’s certainly not what it is now. And I honestly wonder and worry about my safety and my children.
I miss truth. I have friends and family with opposing beliefs and when I hear them argue it is clear that in this media/tech environment we are fed only a certain angle. Everyone thinks their side is “right” and the other side is not just wrong but pure evil. I miss open and respectful debate. I’m actually bored in a room when everyone shares my viewpoint. I grow and learn mostly when I inquire the “why” and the history and the reasons that someone may believe differently than me. I may change my opinion or I may not but I always learn and expand my empathy. In the US we are divided into silos. One left, one right. Vishen, this was clearly a very biased statement and from reading the comments they each fit into their respective “silo”. This isn’t progress. I wish you would’ve tried with an angle of let’s listen to each other and find our common ground and move in that direction. More love and understanding and less hate and division. I’m a physician and I feel humans are hard-wired for certain things like survival and often we are just seeing our fear instinct and negative bias take over. We have always survived by being part of a “tribe” and were extinct if kicked out of the “tribe”. We want love and to protect our kin and fight those who would harm us or our kin. Basic stuff. MV could be a very uniting platform as it attracts those seeking more knowledge, understanding, and growth. How about and honest respectful debate instead of a scolding?
In many ways I agree with your letter. There is chaos raging in the US. The division amongst us all is worse than ever.
But I take a more optimistic view. In order to break free from the deep corruption that has overtaken our country for many many years, we have to experience a deep unraveling.
It’s starts with exposure of the corruption. Also needed is a hard look at our surroundings to evaluate what’s causing the collapse of our country. People need to be honest about what affects them personally day to day.
Our country could not continue as it was…constant war since Afghanistan. Iraq, Libya, Syria…
And I certainly pray, not now Iran.
My hope is that us, the people, come together and stop identifying with one of two parties.
Break away from the rhetoric. We need to realize, it’s not our elected officials that will save us. Only we can. As citizens coming together. Form bi- partisan coalitions in your communities and find the common ground!
Wonderful description of your view, and the basis upon which I have canceled my subscription – your arrogance of talking down to the majority of Americans who voted for our President in with a overwhelming majority, and at the same time, speaking for the rest of the world. Please do Americans – who love this country, who love their sons, fathers and daughters, know what a man and a women is, and take action rather than take up the time of hard working Americans with pronouncements – a favor, keep your son wherever he is (being taught by you) and remain there too. You’re so brilliant and insightful in your view that American isn’t good enough for you.
Delusional.
Trump fell short of a majority, earning 49.8% (~77.3 million votes), while Kamala Harris secured 48.3% (~75.0 million)
Although he won the Electoral College, those numbers still did not reach a full majority (> 50%)—he won with a plurality. His margin over Harris was just around 1.5 percentage points.
Let me see the letter you wrote when the democrats were destroying our country. And they still are, look at California right now, look at all the democrat cities, is that how America is supposed to look according to you? Is that the country you want for your son?
This letter is nonsense.
I am very impressed you post every reply. This shows openness to criticism and not just praise. Sad to those who do not see it. I love when I read somewhere that from outer space there are no borders. I hope to live long enough to see Peace on Earth.
AMEN to this! And I truly respect you for speaking your mind, the minds of many of us, publicly the way you do. That is how true leaders act.
Thank you for these words. It summarizes everything I’ve been feeling in my lived experience in the US. I am grateful for platforms like MV to help me stay centered and balanced amidst all of the political chaos.🙏🏽
Thank You Vishen,
You are a highly evolved Being .
I am so grateful for you and others like you .
Many Blessings 🤍🤍🤍🤍
May Earth Heal .
May the human consciousness be raised urgently .
I
Vishen I am very surprised and disappointed that you have chosen to air your political views on this platform. It is our job as light workers and spiritual beings to hold the highest vibration of love. With the many transformations of this planet through the eons of time, we have seen both sides over and over again. I don’t remember you voicing your opinion with the last administration. When our borders were penetrated in millions of illegal aliens came across our borders, including gang members and terrorist. People who stole money from the Legal citizens of this country. And all the wars that were needlessly fought for money and the horrific child trafficking that is now being . But I digress. I love this country and I want to see it thrive again. I want to see our children happy with passion for something in their future. I am surrounded by teenagers with my grandkids and their friends, and these children have been brainwashed, targeted with chemicals in their food, jabbed with prescription drugs that are designed to dumb down their brains and spirits, and locked to their screens most of the day either in school… on their phones… or in their video games.
We must inspire these children with positivity and spiritual education that teaches them about their true selves. If we keep taking sides then we are doing the same thing that all of those who destroyed this world have done… Divide and conquer. I feel you’ve made a mistake by putting this out on the Mind Valley platform. I am not interested in political discussions here but that’s what this has turned into.
Vishen, I knew where you were standing and what your points of view were for a couple of years now; and I am very happy you decided to speak up. We should all do that. “Standing in your lane” while things go sideways is never an answer; but a sign of weakness because it usually comes from bypassing. I too dream about a bright American future, though I live in Europe. Because it affects all of us. I wish more and more leaders come out like this and do their part as activists for a better world. Mindvalley member & forever fan 🫶
Vishen, I knew where you were standing and what your points of view were for a couple of years now; and I am very happy you decided to speak up. We should all do that. “Standing in your lane” while things go sideways is never an answer; but a sign of weakness because it usually comes from bypassing. I too dream about a bright American future, though I live in Europe. Because it affects all of us. I wish more and more leaders come out like this and do their part as activists for a better world. Mindvalley member & forever fan 🫶
Thank you Vishen, for this letter.
The pro-authoritarian sentiment in some of these comments is breathtaking, especially on the heels of seeing Tucker Carlson come right out this week and say what the rest of us have known for ages– that Fox News deliberately manipulates people, especially seniors. And that it is a “propaganda hose” (his words).
The slashing cuts Trump has made to our critical infrastructure he has done only to extend the tax breaks to his billionaire backers, which are set to expire this year. This is the only reason DOGE exists, that and for Elon to get his companies deregulated, because most of the agencies he took out were actively investigating him.
It’s very sad when people get brainwashed into voting against their own best interests. The disastrous budget bill the party in power is desperate to pass cuts every single safety net for seniors, children, the poor, veterans, and our country’s most vulnerable. It’s the most destructive bill in our Nation’s history.
This bill requires massive cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, Veterans’s healthcare and services, SNAP (which provides food to children and seniors), and child care credits, resulting in vastly increased costs for the nation’s poorest families. It would result in the closures of rural hospitals, and take away health insurance for up to 1 in 5 children. It also takes money away from public schools and re-allocates them to private charter schools, providing scholarships for rich kids while creating a $5 billion shelter for GOP donors. The only people who benefit from this budget are billionaires, who don’t need the tax breaks.
Not that you would know it from the childish “Mythbusters” page on the White House website.
*****
But the worst thing the bill does is undermine Democracy, and this is something that would give Trump king-like powers with zero guardrails, and it’s retroactive. This alone is the single most destructive thing that could happen to our country, and it’s a direct result of suggestions from Project 2025. Anyone who cares about democracy needs to be calling their Senators to urge them to stop this, because the vote is this week.
It is so terrible that Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and former Republican chairman of the Federal Election Commission said,
“This outrageous change would undermine the rule of law and allow government officials, including the president, to escape the possibility of being held in contempt of court if they violate court orders. The provision would even apply to court orders and injunctions issued before this law takes effect. In essence, the provision could in a single stroke render thousands of prior orders across the country unenforceable via contempt proceedings. The rule of law in our country would be dangerously undermined if this provision becomes law.”
It destroys the courts’ ability to hold government officials accountable, which in effect, is our very last check and balance on unchecked authoritarian efforts. If we cannot use the courts to hold the government accountable, we will be officially in an authoritarian state. Countless experts agree on this, and experts on tyranny itself like Timothy D. Snyder and several others have left the USA for Canada, because they see the frightening similarities between us right now and 1930s Germany.
Immigrants contributed nearly $100 billion in taxes in 2022 (yes they pay taxes), according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. They have paid a commensurate amount annually. Meanwhile, Trump wasted $30 million of our money on his golf trips in just a few short months, another $45 million on that parade nobody went to, and DOGE wasted billions without saving us any money. In fact, the Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan nonprofit that focuses on the federal workforce, estimates DOGE’s cuts will cost taxpayers $135 billion this year alone. It’s clear where the waste really is.
Then there is the fact that Trump forced Tulsi Gabbard to say Iran was working on nukes, when her own address to Congress a few weeks ago based on our intelligence showed that this wasn’t true, and that there wasn’t any evidence of proliferation. His bombing without Congressional consent is disturbing, and the whole thing is giving Hans Blix commission vibes from the Iraq war— manufacturing nukes that aren’t there, then going in on the basis of that. All this to distract from the way he’s dismantling every civil protection we have here in America.
Thank you for offering your thoughts on this. Everyone saying you should stay out of politics needs a reminder that you’re as entitled to comment on politics as they are.
🙏🤍🕉
The U.S. is still the greatest republic in the world. Our political system has challenges on both sides. We had a vote last Nov and a man was elected. That is the process, we accept the results and support the country. I’m authentically happy you can choose a great school for your son and travel the country. You have , and are, living the American dream. Ps. I voted for the independent in Nov.
Vishen,
Maybe you learned from the universities and companies here in America, but you still left. Now, you want to send your son to school here, what is wrong with other universities around the world? Not good enough, but good enough to live here and educate here?
Your views are so biased, you should be a guest on “The View”, the one sided, leftist view of those women that stand for the corruption of the Biden/Obama administrations and the demonstrations paid for and run by the Soros organized crime family. Maybe if you knew the facts, you would think differently.
The wars are already stated prior to President Trump. You are a Trump hater, that is it. Call a spade a spade.
If you have this big beautiful world-wide platform, then use it for good to improve this great country if the USA. Yes, you try to help improve peoples lives, and you do, but do not denigrate this great country.
President Trump, at 79, could be on one of his golf courses, living in peace at Trump Tower or Mar-a-Lago, running his real estate and gold empire, and making more money for his family. He does not need this position; he lives this country and wants to correct what is wrong. The politicians on both sides are corrupt and he knows it- but cannot “drain the swamp”.
So you wanted Kamala “word-salad” Harris to be our president. We would now have 50 million illegals and all the prisons from all over the world would have let their prisoners run free in America.
The money that our government sends around the world funds corruption and wars. It was not Trump who funded Ukraine with $350B.
The citizens of the USA need to take our country back from all politicians and get the corruption and illegal spending out of government.
Vishen, get your facts straight and then write a new blog of the truth!