October 18, 2025, marks No Kings Day, a day of global reflection and peaceful action. It began in the United States as a civic and spiritual response to the ongoing rise of authoritarianism, a movement embodied most vividly by Donald Trump, yet far bigger than one man. While observed worldwide, No Kings Day is not a protest against nations where constitutional monarchies or traditional royal families are woven into cultural life with integrity. Its focus is specific: the growing concentration of personal power in the United States and the danger of treating any political leader as a ruler above the law. Across the world, people will pause to affirm a truth we too often forget: democracy, compassion, and conscience cannot survive when we hand our power to those who rule through fear, deception, or the seduction of certainty. No Kings Day is not about left or right. It is about light, the light of awareness, integrity, and shared humanity that no single person has the right to claim as their own.

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The Rise of Kingship and Why It Matters Now

In times of uncertainty, people often turn toward strongmen who promise clarity and control. We see this today in the United States and around the globe, where the rhetoric of grievance and domination has become a political brand. Donald Trump continues to represent this archetype, not as a remnant of the past but as an active symbol of what happens when power is confused with truth. The message is seductive: I alone can fix it. But beneath it lies a dangerous psychology that mirrors what happens inside each of us when fear drowns out faith. We seek kings when we forget our own sovereignty. We look outward for rescue instead of inward for responsibility. No Kings Day calls us back to that responsibility, to our capacity for discernment, compassion, and courage. It invites us to remember that leadership is sacred only when it serves, not when it rules.

The Psychology of Kingship

The archetype of the king carries both light and shadow. In its healthy form, the king protects and nurtures. In its distorted form, it becomes tyrannical, addicted to loyalty, allergic to truth, and blind to the humanity of others. We see this distortion at play daily in the public arena. Donald Trump’s brand of kingship thrives on division and dependency. It teaches that truth is whatever he declares, and that those who question him are enemies. But the real danger is not only external; it is internal. The same “king energy” lives within us when we cling to control, when we confuse certainty with safety, and when we silence parts of ourselves that dare to dissent. No Kings Day is a chance to dethrone that energy, not through anger or rebellion, but through awareness. When we notice how easily we surrender our power to external authorities, we begin to reclaim the throne of our own consciousness.

From Kingdom to Kinship

When we relinquish the illusion that one person can save or define us, we rediscover community. The shift from kingdom to kinship is the foundation of both democracy and spiritual growth. In A Life Aligned, I wrote that harmony, not control, is the secret to living a fulfilling life. The same is true for nations. The healthiest systems, whether personal or political, are those where many voices contribute to a shared truth. No Kings Day is a call to that collective harmony. It is not an attack on leadership but a redefinition of it. Real leadership listens. It invites dialogue. It recognizes that no one, not even a self-proclaimed king, holds a monopoly on wisdom.

Practicing Personal Sovereignty: A Mind-Body-Spirit Guide

Here is a step-by-step practice to help you embody the meaning of No Kings Day in your own life, to replace domination with dignity and hierarchy with wholeness.

1. Notice the Inner Monarch

Take a deep breath. Ask yourself gently: Where does the need to control still live in me? Maybe it is the voice that must always win an argument or the fear that if you do not dominate, you will be diminished. There is a Donald Trump within each of us, the inner tyrant who mistakes volume for vision. Becoming conscious of that part does not shame it; it transforms it. Awareness is the first act of freedom. Journal prompt:

“When do I give my power away, to leaders, to approval, to fear?”

2. Invite the Inner Council

The problem with kingship, both outer and inner, is that it silences other voices. In contrast, a conscious life is a democratic one. Imagine gathering your inner council: your healer, your artist, your skeptic, your child, your sage. Let them speak. Listen deeply. This simple visualization mirrors the process of social healing. When all voices within are heard, peace follows.

3. Ground in the Body

The body does not lie. It is the great equalizer. Step outside and feel your feet on the ground. Notice how the earth supports everyone the same, presidents and peasants, believers and doubters alike. As you walk, whisper quietly:

“I stand on shared ground. No one stands above me.”

This awareness dismantles the hierarchy of fear from the inside out.

4. Act from Alignment

Every system that elevates kings depends on the passivity of its people. Awareness without action is compliance. Today, choose one act that affirms your sovereignty and compassion:

Speak truth even when others distort it. Reach out to someone on the other side of your beliefs and listen. Refuse to mirror the contempt that fuels division. These small acts are revolutionary. As I often remind my clients, “Unless you marry intention to action, you end up with only a brief affair.”

No Kings Day is the marriage of consciousness and courage.

5. Gratitude as Resistance

Gratitude is quiet activism. It reclaims joy from those who would weaponize despair. Before bed tonight, name three freedoms you still have:

The freedom to think critically.

The freedom to love without permission.

The freedom to grow in awareness.

Whisper your thanks, and know that gratitude itself is a declaration of sovereignty.

No Kings, No Victims

The allure of kingship is that it offers simplicity, one voice, one vision, one savior. But that simplicity comes at the cost of your own agency. Donald Trump, as a living symbol, reminds us what happens when personal insecurity meets unchecked power. His presence keeps before us a collective mirror, showing how easily people trade integrity for identity, and democracy for devotion. When there are no kings, there are also no victims. Each of us becomes responsible for the consciousness we bring to our world, in what we tolerate, amplify, and choose to believe. As Viktor Frankl wrote, our ultimate freedom is the power to choose our response. In that choice, we reclaim what no ruler can touch, our inner freedom.

A Global Reclamation

From Washington to Warsaw, from Sydney to Santiago, No Kings Day continues to grow as a movement of civic consciousness. It does not challenge the cultural monarchies that govern through service and tradition. Rather, it speaks to the American experiment itself, reminding us that democracy cannot survive the worship of any single personality. The world needs fewer kings and more citizens awake to their own light, people who understand that service, not supremacy, is the true mark of greatness.

Living in a World Without Kings

The world does not need more rulers. It needs more people who are self-ruled, guided by love, anchored in integrity, and willing to listen. When you live this way, you become ungovernable by fear. The manipulations of kings, whether in politics, media, or the recesses of your own mind, lose their hold. So on this No Kings Day, take a moment. Remove the invisible crown. Feel its weight fall away. Notice what remains, an open heart, a steady breath, a clear mind. In that space, you will remember the truth that authoritarianism cannot erase:

No Kings Day is not about abolishing crowns. It is about remembering that, in a democracy, the crown belongs to the people. You were never meant to rule. You were meant to serve love. And in doing so, to shine.

With blessings and gratitude, Dr. Mark Arcuri Querétaro, MX