Election 08: How to Make Sure You
Don’t Cast a Purely Emotional Vote
by www.Sedona.com
The 2008 presidential election continues to be a nail-biter, with only single digits keeping Barrack Obama slightly in the lead ahead of John McCain. In fact, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll released in July found 48 percent of Americans in favor of Obama and 42 percent preferring McCain.
At this point, it appears anything can happen. One in four voters say they are still undecided or may change their minds about who to vote for. Which brings up an intriguing question: how do most Americans decide whom to vote for?
Is it based on the candidates’ positions on important issues, as it really should be, or is it purely emotional?
Often, it turns out to be the latter.
“Most of us decide who to vote for based on mere emotional reaction or even the emotional manipulation from all the rhetoric and advertising going on,” says Hale Dwoskin, CEO and director of training of Sedona Training Associates.
In fact, one study presented this year at the ISPP 31st Annual Scientific Meeting, Sciences Po, in Paris, France found that “emotional responses towards political parties and their leaders are key determinants of partisanship, which in turn is the primary determinant of vote choice.”
Emotions, it seems, are often permanently intertwined with our political decisions. Take this excerpt from Drew Westen’s “The Political Brain,” for instance:
A study of my own, and a growing body of research in psychology and political science, show that the political brain is an emotional brain. It is not a dispassionate calculating machine, objectively searching for the right facts, figures, and policies to make a reasoned decision.
The reality is that our brains are vast networks of neurons (nerve cells) that work together to generate our experience of the world. Of particular importance are networks of associations, bundles of thoughts, feelings, images and ideas that have become connected over time.
Is it a bad thing to vote for someone based on pure gut instinct? Absolutely not, but this is not the same thing as voting emotionally.
How to Vote From an Instinctive Place, Not an Emotional One
Emotions and instincts are often confused with one another. While your emotions are easily influenced, clouded and often based on principles you may not truly believe in, your intuitive knowingness is clear, logical and sound.
This intuition is the natural knowing of your true nature, and it is easily obstructed by your emotions. For instance, anger, fear, pride, grief, and lust are all emotions that may cause you to choose one candidate over another, but these are not feelings you want to live your life by. Only by releasing these emotions can you uncover your intuition.
And as Lester Levenson, the creator of The Sedona Method, used to say, “Intuition is only right 100 percent of the time.”
So when it comes to casting your vote, you want to do it based on intuition, NOT emotion.
“The best way to use your clear reason based on actual issues is to use your intuitive knowingness,” Dwoskin says. “This can be easily accessed if you allow yourself to release your emotional responses to the candidates and the issues. The more you release, the clearer you will be in your vote.”
The processing of releasing is a cornerstone of The Sedona Method, and if you’re not yet familiar with it you can read about it here.
You may be wondering how you can tell the difference between emotions and intuition. It’s simple, really, because as you release your emotions will diminish and disappear, but your intuition will get clearer. You cannot release intuition; it will automatically arise when you let go of your emotions.
Even when you’ve decided on whom to vote for, you can still use the process of releasing, Dwoskin points out.
“I recommend releasing any attachment or aversion to the candidates you support,” he says. “The more you support them from love rather than need, the more supportive you are. And no matter who wins release until you are OK with the outcome -- and then continue to focus on what you believe is best for everyone.”
There’s still plenty of time before the election to start listening to your intuitive knowingness … so don’t delay. Learn more about The Sedona Method, and how it can help you to make better decisions in all aspects of life, now.
Source
USAToday.com July 10, 2008
The Guardian August 8, 2007
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