By Terry Edwards-
While we are locked down as a result of the Corona Virus pandemic, debates continue to rage about the extent of the virus that has radically changed our lives so much. The controversy takes two main forms. One is the reality of the virus that puts us all under threat, and the other is an exaggeration of the virus which in reality is no worse than a standard flu or a little worse. The protagonists on both sides are often qualified medical experts.
As with all these debates, it can sometimes be very difficult to establish the truth of the matter. The current situation makes me feel that I have about as much influence on where I am going as a fork floating on a white water rapid.The coronavirus and the lockdown which accompanied it has put most of us in a position where they can control their own circumstances. Only the wealthy, powerful or those who belong to a privileged class have the power to a lot about many things. Some governments will bow to public opinion when forced to, some will not. Even that safeguard is open to manipulation by propaganda and dogma. What we know is that several lives have been lost due to Covid-19.
Most of the victims had underlying issues, some did not, though requests by the eye of media for statistical data about those groups of individuals has not yet been produced. It is still in the works, we are told. Those who consider the virus to be just a strong strain of flu begrudge the lockdown, and some even recklessly defy it. Consideration for the rest of the population carries minimal weight in their minds. The other half of society is terrified by the virus. They are self isolating in their homes and watching every bit of depressing news about the devastating rate at which this invisible and dangerous virus is killing lives. In the process, many are having to cope with the bad news that their loved ones have died due to the virus.
Fear
In the end it will be a tug between fear of death by virus or fear of poverty and deprivation. Helpless as we are, I am proposing a mechanism through which every one of us influences events simply by being here without even knowing we are doing it. We don’t seem to realise is that we are part of a collective mind. As individuals, we yearn to be free, and this is part of the attraction and the illusion of wealth. Wealth is an imaginary means to acquire freedom and power at the expense of others. I say‘illusion’ because money does not actually exist. It is just a set of numbers on a computer drive.
It works because we tacitly accept that money is real, because we are impacted whenever the lack of it shows up. In a sense, money is just a commodity in the hive mind. The word simply describes a collection of people. The closure of businesses to reduce the spread of the virus threatens the financial well being of those executives running their show, it also presents an uncertainty that is worrying. This is a characteristic of society, namely collective consciousness. When we feel powerless, it is because the hive mind constrains the freedom of the individual to act independently by the application of external circumstances over which we have no control.
Common Purpose
It makes us believe the same things and act in unison for a common purpose. There is no malice in this. The hive mind has always existed in a subtle way. I suggest it began to emerge when hunter-gatherer communities coalesced into nationhood. If a king was no more than a man who lived in a big home there would be no history. It is not the man or woman who leads that makes a ruler; it is their role in the hive mind. Powerful thinking means looking ahead, planning wisely and seeing the full picture. The sacrifice of self isolation is important for the common good. It can also be demoralising for those who fail to use it productively and improve aspects of their lives.
Those suffering with mental health issues will struggle but can overcome it. We must bear them in mind in our calculations of the duration of this lockdown, but it is also an opportunity to provide them with the much needed therapy or assistance that can take them through an experience of positive elevation. All the best and worst things come from the mind, which is why it is a useful tool.
At the moment, we allow the hive mind to run things because we do not know it exists. Until we do, the common purpose will serve the benefit of the few over the many, business and power before humanity. The hive mind drives us in a relentlessly materialistic direction that has no place for ethics and integrity. The hive mind took charge of morality with the rise of institutional belief systems like religion, dogma-based politics, and more recently political correctness. It preys
on our need to conform.
Spirituality is not a belief system; it is an attitude to life that puts the evolution of the individual above the needs of the state. Currently, the hive mind views us as a unit of work and commercial transaction. We are here to do things and buy things. True spirituality is not about beliefs. It is actually a process whereby the individual expresses their place in the universe. It is a feeling of oneness and love that comes from within, not a set of controlling ideas imposed from without. True spirituality places us beyond the confines of racial, national and even planetary identity.
We are living in a time when the complexity of our human society is moving into an exponential mode.The positive attitudes arising from it are alive today. We are part of nature’s grand experiment in consciousness. That is what fashion and trends in art, life and belief systems are for, to find what works. One day it will take us beyond national borders and group identity into personal liberation where being is more important than doing and owning.
As we get more and more locked down by circumstances beyond our control, the mathematics of chaos suggests that a flowering of unimaginable proportion could take place. It could happen any day soon that we won’t need a military industrial complex to hold us in total darkness. This is not a prediction. The possibility is there but it depends on us. Positive change cannot result from violent rebellion and conflict; it can only work through love.