psychology

Understanding Addressing The Pain

by

Writing this in 2024 it seems that conspiracy theories flourish in spiritual and mystical communities we’d not expect to see them in. To flip through Instagram or podcasts and hear some “crunchy” New Age yoga teacher swing from positions to WHO conspiracies and Hillary-Clinton-Is-A-Clone is disturbing. Worse, like the more standard conspiracy theories we’re used, to there’s a violent trend in these communities.

The Starseeds are buying guns, the Yoga enthusiasts want to hang doctors, and we’re wondering what the shit is going on.

Well first, if you’re surprised metaphysical communities have issues with conspiracies, fascism, and violent imagery, you’re not paying attention. This has always happened, from grifters to cultic spinoffs to political manipulation. We’re just a bit surprised by it since too many of us still, unconsciously, think of these as some fusion of hippies and peace-and-love New Agers.

But let us not forget that many people seek out magical and metaphysical practices out of pain.

That ache that won’t go away so you try yoga. The spiritual void from consumer culture that leads you to a Buddhist church. The bad year that leads you to magic in hope for understanding and influence. So many of us take to the mystical out of ennui or agony or need.

This is not always a bad thing of course. Those moments of waking up are vital for us to get what’s going on and realize what we have to do differently. But sometimes, the pain leads you down terrible paths, to grift, to fanaticism, to worse.

Conspiracy theories for many are an attempt to soothe pain as well. To explain problems you can’t explain easily. To seek assurance of meaning, even if the meaning is horrible. To give you some way to channel that rage inside you left from your bad job or bad family. Conspiracy theories, used by grifters and manipulators, are also something that can make people feel better for awhile.

So many of us turn to “The Big Picture” in a moment of pain. But it might not be waking up, just finding new ways to numb ourselves.

As much as the conspiracism and tilts towards revenge fantasies bother me in many communities of the metaphysical, keeping this in mind helps. It helps us understand how to handle people better, protect them from falling into traps, and maybe avoid the traps ourselves.

It also reminds us that these days, some of these folks might turn violent as we’ve seen, and we can keep an eye out.

– Xenofact

The Imaginary Children Bring Terror

by

Previously I had written how Imaginary Children were important to many a conspiracy theorist. By claiming to save children that didn’t exist – from the not-born, to the not-real, to the in-the-imagined future – people justified all sorts of grifts, conspiracy theories, and so on. “For the children” is both a triggering set of words and a meme because of how common it is.

These phantom children also justify all sorts of extreme responses.

To say one is going to “save the children” is an excuse to pretty much do anything you want – after all, doesn’t everyone want to do that? There’s no amount of money (belonging to other people) that you can spend, no amount of surveillance you can’t do, no amount of arrests you can’t make. “The children” are the ultimate excuse.

And of course for authoritarians, the perfect excuse.

To say one is going to “save the children” also means anyone you accuse of harming them is also undeniably evil. Who would ever want to hurt (the made-up) children but someone irredemably evil? You can do anything to anyone you want if you accuse them of hurting children first, even imaginary ones.

Again, perfect for authoritarians and bigots, but perhaps I repeat myself.

However, even if people are not harming the illusionary children, people who are in the way are still a barrier. If they question you or don’t want to go on a crusade, they’re at best someone to ignore if not outright enemies. Plus you can convert anyone questioning your love of false children into a villain when you need to.

An endless supply of enemies to send minions after.

In fact, to say you’re doing things “for the children” – especially future children – let’s you justify ignoring or creating problems. Ignore climate change, we have children to save. Creating a police state mine just be fine if you’re saving the children. Not paying your workers a living wage is important because your great wealth will be used for the future children – honestly.

If it’s for the children, you can do anything. Also you might just by coincidence become rich and powerful. Imaginary children are perfect tools for grifters, con-artists, and authoritarians.

Again, what’s weird to me, what is hard to understand, is how people can so easily ignore real children. Maybe it’s because real children aren’t perfect, aren’t the right color, and take effort to take care of. Maybe dealing with real children requires one confront the horrible reasons they suffer. Either way, plenty of folks seem to prefer imaginary kids to real ones – probably because they’re an excuse.

It’s up to us to focus on real people, kids or otherwise, because those focused on imaginary children will use them as an excuse to be terrible. It’s important to focus on real people because the people worried about imaginary children will use them as an excuse to be terrible to them.

– Xenofact

The Changes: People

by

As I study the I Ching, cultivating a kind of mental “Ecosystem” of thought, I’ve found various changes in my mindset as hoped.  Last column I mentioned that the I Ching, the Book of Changes, helped me think of situations (portrayed as Hexagrams) as “Changes” – situations that arise and transform and depart.  This viewpoint has been informative, useful, and reduced stress since I feel both more empowered and less prone to worry.

But there are more insights I wanted to share, namely that I realized that it’s useful to think of situations, portrayed by Hexagrams, as “Changes,” but so are people.  People are Changes.

People are constantly shifting and changing – that’s kind of what we do.  Who we are right now is the result of various circumstances, we steer ourselves towards certain goals, and change to someone else.  A human is indeed a Change, a constant shifting dialogue with both ourselves and the universe.

When I had this insight, I suddenly saw how I viewed people as static and how wrong that was.  A person can be different between morning and night, hour to hour, or minute to minute.  Yes we may have reasonably solid traits, but those will change and evolve, and even their expression may alter when they’re solid. 

This made me see other people much differently.  I saw how my idea of a person as static meant I was judging them inappropriately and missing how they may grow and develop or just have a bad day.  It also reminded me that interacting with people is navigation, just as one navigates the Changes of the I Ching.

For some reason, seeing people as “more changeable” helped me appreciate them more as people.

But if other people are Changes, then so am I.  I am not solid, I am more a flow like water, shifting and moving, now deep now shallow, changing direction.  I am different day to day and moment to moment.  That also means that, seeing I am a Change, I can choose how I evolve and grow and respond.  I’m not a solid thing, I am far freeer than that.

I even saw this in my Secret of the Golden Flower style meditation, where I just follow a slow even breath.  Every moment of breathing and following is a moment that leads into the other, a constant changing stream.  If I get some distraction I merely flow back, realizing that I am, as noted, a dialogue.

We’re all changes, we’re all not solid.  It’s rather relaxing.

This work at building a mental “Ecosystem” using Taoist thought has helped me lead a richer, deeper, more connected life.  I’m curious to what insights I might have next – we’ll see what arises.

–Xenofact