We are told that Trump-haters are seeking solace in mindfulness meditation, using faddish apps of dubious efficacy.  They may bring fleeting respite from anti-Trump hysteria, but upon returning to reality, they're again seized by cognitive convulsions, uncontrollable outbursts, and perseveration. 

Meditation and mindfulness apps are popular.  "Calm," described in the Apple app store as "the perfect mindfulness app for beginners," was the 2017 App of the Year.  The co-CEO of the company that makes it observed that downloads doubled in the months following president Trump's election.  Nevertheless, Trump Derangement Syndrome remains pervasive, plowing a pernicious path through liberals' precious psyches.

The faddish mindfulness programs predominating in app stores are more oriented toward meditation methods that induce temporary rapture but not lasting enlightenment.  In general, they seek to make the mind calmer and encourage focusing on the present moment.  The goal is to achieve heightened states of concentration that lead to tranquility – the effects are temporary.  After focusing on automatic banalities like breathing, they generally encourage expanding awareness of sounds, sensations, and ideas.  Very disturbing ideas, indeed.

Commercialization of mindfulness has even infiltrated the halls of Congress and is especially popular among Democrats.  Democrat Congressman Tim Ryan, one of the leading proponents of the mindfulness sessions, stated, "There is value in having some quiet time before votes – it can help anyone make better decisions."  Oh, dear!  It doesn't seem to be working: recent voting patterns reflect more of a vegetative state of oppressive orthodoxy than a meditative state of awareness.

Instead of quick, convenient sessions in search of instant emotional well-being, the Dems might be better off by cultivating Vipassana meditation in order to apprehend ultimate reality.

Vipassana, with its emphasis on noble silence, is a more gradual process that seeks insight into the inherent nature of things by changing the way we perceive and understand our wondrous universe.  Its purpose is permanent change, transforming a haze of illusion into brilliant clarity and oneness with nature's ways.  A wise 35-year practitioner recently convinced me that the resultant illumination into inner truths of reality is liberating and can free one from the insidious, self-imposed anguish resulting from muddled musings and impaired perceptions.

Rather than being misguided by popular implementations of modern mindfulness, TDS-sufferers might achieve lasting relief by patiently pursuing Vipassana meditation.  It would help them eradicate their mental impurities and resist obsequious obedience to obstructionist orthodoxy.  They might even refrain from mindless utterances like "America was never that great."  Tell that to the downtrodden masses from the wretched areas around the globe who continually seek the American Dream.  One who harbors, or supports, similar thoughts is mindlessly currying favor with seething socialists and intolerant insurrectionists rummaging for relevance in the scrapyard of history.

Not acceptance, but recalibration of their warped perceptions would be constructive.  Nevertheless, some meditation practitioners assert that Trump's detractors need mindfulness more than ever, even if it reinforces their views that the world is against them.  However, misapplied meditation methods magnify their neuroses; despite all their mindfulness downloads, their downward spiral into anti-American mania irrevocably accelerates.

But don't fret: Vipassana provides a promising path for liberal obstructionists to attain lasting calmness rather than madness.  First, they need to quiet their minds, second, to quell their inner demons.  As the old adage advises, achieving anything worthwhile in life takes time and effort.

As this article points out, some of the studies that promote the benefits of mindfulness are less than robust; some don't even control for placebo effects.  Indeed, recent studies indicate that quick-fix, Westernized forms of Buddhism promote selfishness rather than selflessness.  It seems that impatient and less trained mindfulness patrons are "full of it."  Indeed, many tend towards egocentrism – a trait that's pervasive among the disaffected liberals who have twisted themselves into emotional pretzels by ruminating on their feeble collusion concoctions.

Perhaps one reason why the less rigorous methods offer only temporary respite from stress and anxiety is that they have to contend with our natural proclivities.  For example, two recent research papers examine the way we perceive the world.  It turns out that our minds are more naturally "silent" than they are persistently in tune with our environment; instead of a steady stream of consciousness, our conscious thoughts constantly fluctuate between on and off.  The recent research, published in Neuron, shows that it's hard for our "distractible" brains to consistently focus.  No wonder the benefits of samatha-style meditation are temporary – once focus on superficial sensations is inevitably lost, anti-Trump zealots revert to their malevolent mayhem.  The step-by-step thoroughness of Vipassana is more suitable to the way we are wired.

One thing is empirically demonstrable: modern mindfulness applications aren't quelling the burgeoning ranks of tormented liberals.  But a carefully cultivated regimen of Vipassana meditation might soothe them by opening their imprisoned minds, riddled as they are with peculiar thoughts more suitable to a mental asylum than a vibrant public square.

Fashionable mindfulness encourages illiberal malcontents to hyper-focus on their doctrinaire thoughts and subversive sensations – without judgment.  Their egos prevail as they accept their ideas and feelings unquestionably.  They need to let go; they should embrace the noble silence of Vipassana.  Voice silence would also be nice until they are decent enough to repudiate intolerant instigators of mob rule like Pelosi, Maxine Waters, and their impudent ilk among the nasty Demon-crats.