What is this Pandemic Really About?
Rather than talk about all the handwashing and similar instructions that are all over the news and social media, I want to take a different perspective. Not that social distancing and handwashing and such things aren’t important, but I am wondering about a spiritual/metaphysical approach and understanding. I think it is important to incorporate the balance of body, mind and spirit.
Think about what this pandemic is doing to you, to your family and friends. Think of what it’s doing to people all over the globe. Yes, people are sick, and people are dying. This virus appears to be quite aggressive, doesn’t it? It doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, famous or not. It spreads aggressively.
If you consider the behavior of many in recent years or decades there has been much aggression has there not? In recent years has there not been an absence of compassion in the lives of many? Have not men, women and children been murdered as though they did not matter, all for the sake of a dogma, an ideology. The homeless have become no more than unsightly irritants sort of mucking up the city so to speak. The homeless are viewed as if they have no souls, they do not matter. The gap between the haves and have nots continues to grow. The poor are becoming more so and the poor with children, well, those children are starving. It appears to me that removing food stamps from hungry families is an act of aggression. It’s as though their lives, their well-being, don’t matter. And yet, life matters. If you don’t have compassion for others, then life does not matter to you. And if life does not matter to you then your life does not matter and you will feel that deep in your heart, and you will try to run from it. But you cannot run from yourself, and you cannot run from life. You have family, friends, communities. There is also a global community and if you don’t believe we are all connected then realize this pandemic shows us that connection ignored over time. We are being forced to connect even though in quarantine. What happens across the world happens to each of us.
Look at the fear. Look at the anger and aggression. Look at the ‘soullessness’ of our world. Look at the sense of powerlessness that pervades and is wreaking havoc. Ideologies that were supposed to provide structure, a sense of value and mattering, and a sense of stability have become dogma, and often hateful, uncaring dogma without soul or compassion. And it seems so many are interested only in their own interest. But what is your best interest? Is hatred really in your best interest? Is a lack of caring and compassion really in your best interest? Out of the ideologies comes conspiracy theories about “the other side”. When there is strict adherence to a dogma there is a sacrifice that comes with it. It is the sacrifice of an important part of being human, and that is mind. Ideologies result in mindless compliance. You give up thinking, you give up rationality, and you give up the capacity to see and appreciate the gifts of God, one of which is the human mind. You open yourself to being manipulated by those spouting the dogma. It becomes a matter of ‘do what I say’, ‘believe what I believe’, no discussion necessary and if you don’t agree and comply you are terrible, and dumb and evil. And with the dogma you must relinquish love and compassion in favor of guilt and shame. And behind guilt and shame there is aggression. You will attack yourself and/or others. Look at how you attack yourself, look at how you attack others with judgmental, critical attacks, often with no basis in fact and ignoring your value and that of others.
We are souls with minds and bodies. You are a soul inhabiting a body. You are also mind and you have emotions. Your emotions can be very revealing and yet most of us feel victimized or are ‘victimized’ by our own emotions. We really are not victims, but it seems that way. But we can learn from our emotions. We can open to our souls.
I have often used a simple example: if you go into an ice cream shop and pick out the flavor you want, you have just made a judgement. You have a preference about what you want in your life. Throughout life we have to make those judgements. But what about the person that goes in, picks out their favorite flavor, and rants about people who want a different flavor. He/she rages inside about how evil and stupid people are who would want a different flavor. They might even wish them harm. That’s judgmental. It is angry and punishing. We are often blind to how judgmental we are, and blind to the damage it does.
This virus is teaching us. It’s time to stop. It’s time to reflect. What matters? Where is the compassion? I wrote a blog about fear last month for the Acoustical Pyramid website. It is certainly as relevant now as it was then. More than one sage has said that love casts out fear. The love is already there, you just have to let it in and use it. Turn your fear into concerns and address those concerns. Exercise your power. Work on more than one level. Certainly, take care of the body. Do what you know to do to take care of the body by following CDC guidelines and take some supplements to boost your immune system. Don’t fall for scams. Then work on a spiritual level. Using your imagination flow love and peace into the world. Quiet the mind, enter the Quiet of spirit. The sounds of the Acoustical Pyramid can help greatly with that. Those sounds ‘tickle’ the pineal gland. From the Quiet of Spirit, flow the love, peace and compassion to the world. In doing so you will help the world and you will help yourself.