I had another topic to use for my blogpost but it didn’t flow and with current events, and this is what did flow. It’s written in a more serious tone than I usually like to write, but it’s what came through, so…
Why I have never allowed any posting or "discussion" of QAnon or other conspiracy theories on my social media and other thoughts...
1) It legitimates fiction as worthy of competing with facts in the world of ideas.
2) Conspiracy theories are infectious. They spread as a mental virus and the more they are seen, read, repeated, discussed, the mental virus grows until there can be mass delusion. (Guess what?!! That's what we have now!) That doesn't mean that one-on-one discussions with people in person is not worthy—that may be one of the only ways to help those who've been thoroughly conned or brainwashed (see article at the end of this post.)
3) Conspiracy theories are not something to "play with" or "have fun with." Their destructive nature is devastating to people who are vulnerable to mental manipulation, and as we've seen at the Capitol and with COVID-19, they can be devastating to society as well.
4) Being an energy healer, I know full well that many think energy healing is a conspiracy theory in its own right. And this is where at least one overlap between energy healers and QAnon et al arises. Many legitimate healers and alternative modalities have been dismissed by people who don't know what they're talking about and haven’t done their own research into alternative medicine. And thus, healers have grown suspicious of "science" of "governing authorities" etc. A conspiracy theory that questions everything might then be a gateway “drug” for some healers/wellness influencers (and dabbling in conspiracy theories might help some influencers grow their following and make money at the same time.) I do agree that questioning “the way things are” is a good spiritual practice if you have a solid psychological foundation that can discern lies and self-delusion and shadowy motivations. But throwing out science and authority carte blanche is also not a solution as it is just another way to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
5) As energy healers who rely on intuition, it is easy to think that intuition is “better” than science because it can give you many more details and much more accurate information than current science and medical studies can. While it is true that energy healing is my preferred method, it is not better than say a vaccine that can prevent smallpox or polio. My intuition and energy healing may help someone’s immune system and energy system be as strong as they can to fight off a virus, or to help them heal from it once they’ve contracted it. As a species, we may one day evolve so that many of our current forms of medicine become irrelevant through elevated consciousness and energy work, but we are so not there yet. If you want to dismiss the best medical science has to offer, in order to be intellectually honest, you would have to dismiss ALL of it (birth control pills and medicinal herbs and emergency surgeries after car accidents and treatments for broken bones, dentistry, etc.) Picking and choosing what science you like and what you don’t (and without legitimate training as to what is and is not good science) is too arbitrary for the good of the whole. It puts vulnerable populations at greater risk and we need to take the well-being of the other and the whole into account, not just our own personal preferences. Neither medical science or energy healing work in every situation — that doesn't automatically delegitimize either. Also, our intuition can always be skewed by our own biases and blind spots.
5) Being an energy healer does not mean I am against science, research, and facts. In fact, it was by researching science at the beginning of my big paradigm shift that I was convinced that what was happening to me was legit. I know science can't (yet) prove everything about energy healing or intuition, but there is already much scientific proof that energy medicine and intuition are legit. I greatly appreciate energy pioneers who have science backgrounds (Barbara Brennan, Adam Dreamhealer, etc.) who can bridge the gap between the paradigms until the big shift happens in human consciousness. Barbara Brennan (former top NASA research scientists) says our scientific instruments are not yet sensitive enough to test all energy healing, but someday they will be. It's a new frontier.
6) It is a good maxim to use current medicine and science unless you have a proven alternative that works. For me, I have a number of alternative modalities that are proven to work, but I will still try to use both current medicine and science along with the alternative. I will also use my intuition to refer people to medical science. For example, if I see something in a person’s field that is off medically, I’ll suggest they get it tested by their doctor. I see medical science and energy healing as complementary and it is my intention as an energy healer to integrate as many small “t” truths as possible, be they from science, medicine, social sciences, intuition, energy consciousness, individual experiences, etc. This facilitates our consciousness into greater holisms that can bring us as individuals and communities into greater paradigms of wholeness and will help facilitate the great awakening for all of us into the big “T” truth: that we are beautiful, amazing divine incarnations in human bodies and at the core all is well.
Mask up! Stay safe! Be well!
Further reading:
A Theory of Everything by Ken Wilbur.
Article on wellness and QAnon
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a35056548/wellness-fitness-influencers-qanon-conspiracy-theories/?fbclid=IwAR0Ctzxp1zCuCojGZp_Jt8uBuwUY0HGjqPT1O6Dbb293z9GgK5D0qmQcDwc
Article on how to talk with those caught in conspiracy theories' grip:
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-54738471
Article on mask effectiveness:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/new-study-highlights-new-evidence-that-masks-prevent-coronavirus-spread/
--
If you are so moved and are able, please consider supporting my writing by making a donation (PayPal Donate button in the right hand column) or buying one of my books. Thank you!
Monica McDowell is a dynamic speaker, author, and practitioner in alternative wellness and spirituality. Find her on Thought Catalog here. She is the author of The Oracle of Devor, The Girl with a Gift, Confessions of a Mystic Soccer Mom, You are Light (internationally published by 6th Books in over 14 countries) and My Karma Ran Over My Dogma, and has the distinction of being the first ordained minister in America granted civil rights by a federal ruling. She lives in Seattle, Washington, USA, and can be reached by email here.
Why I have never allowed any posting or "discussion" of QAnon or other conspiracy theories on my social media and other thoughts...
1) It legitimates fiction as worthy of competing with facts in the world of ideas.
2) Conspiracy theories are infectious. They spread as a mental virus and the more they are seen, read, repeated, discussed, the mental virus grows until there can be mass delusion. (Guess what?!! That's what we have now!) That doesn't mean that one-on-one discussions with people in person is not worthy—that may be one of the only ways to help those who've been thoroughly conned or brainwashed (see article at the end of this post.)
3) Conspiracy theories are not something to "play with" or "have fun with." Their destructive nature is devastating to people who are vulnerable to mental manipulation, and as we've seen at the Capitol and with COVID-19, they can be devastating to society as well.
4) Being an energy healer, I know full well that many think energy healing is a conspiracy theory in its own right. And this is where at least one overlap between energy healers and QAnon et al arises. Many legitimate healers and alternative modalities have been dismissed by people who don't know what they're talking about and haven’t done their own research into alternative medicine. And thus, healers have grown suspicious of "science" of "governing authorities" etc. A conspiracy theory that questions everything might then be a gateway “drug” for some healers/wellness influencers (and dabbling in conspiracy theories might help some influencers grow their following and make money at the same time.) I do agree that questioning “the way things are” is a good spiritual practice if you have a solid psychological foundation that can discern lies and self-delusion and shadowy motivations. But throwing out science and authority carte blanche is also not a solution as it is just another way to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
5) As energy healers who rely on intuition, it is easy to think that intuition is “better” than science because it can give you many more details and much more accurate information than current science and medical studies can. While it is true that energy healing is my preferred method, it is not better than say a vaccine that can prevent smallpox or polio. My intuition and energy healing may help someone’s immune system and energy system be as strong as they can to fight off a virus, or to help them heal from it once they’ve contracted it. As a species, we may one day evolve so that many of our current forms of medicine become irrelevant through elevated consciousness and energy work, but we are so not there yet. If you want to dismiss the best medical science has to offer, in order to be intellectually honest, you would have to dismiss ALL of it (birth control pills and medicinal herbs and emergency surgeries after car accidents and treatments for broken bones, dentistry, etc.) Picking and choosing what science you like and what you don’t (and without legitimate training as to what is and is not good science) is too arbitrary for the good of the whole. It puts vulnerable populations at greater risk and we need to take the well-being of the other and the whole into account, not just our own personal preferences. Neither medical science or energy healing work in every situation — that doesn't automatically delegitimize either. Also, our intuition can always be skewed by our own biases and blind spots.
5) Being an energy healer does not mean I am against science, research, and facts. In fact, it was by researching science at the beginning of my big paradigm shift that I was convinced that what was happening to me was legit. I know science can't (yet) prove everything about energy healing or intuition, but there is already much scientific proof that energy medicine and intuition are legit. I greatly appreciate energy pioneers who have science backgrounds (Barbara Brennan, Adam Dreamhealer, etc.) who can bridge the gap between the paradigms until the big shift happens in human consciousness. Barbara Brennan (former top NASA research scientists) says our scientific instruments are not yet sensitive enough to test all energy healing, but someday they will be. It's a new frontier.
6) It is a good maxim to use current medicine and science unless you have a proven alternative that works. For me, I have a number of alternative modalities that are proven to work, but I will still try to use both current medicine and science along with the alternative. I will also use my intuition to refer people to medical science. For example, if I see something in a person’s field that is off medically, I’ll suggest they get it tested by their doctor. I see medical science and energy healing as complementary and it is my intention as an energy healer to integrate as many small “t” truths as possible, be they from science, medicine, social sciences, intuition, energy consciousness, individual experiences, etc. This facilitates our consciousness into greater holisms that can bring us as individuals and communities into greater paradigms of wholeness and will help facilitate the great awakening for all of us into the big “T” truth: that we are beautiful, amazing divine incarnations in human bodies and at the core all is well.
Mask up! Stay safe! Be well!
Further reading:
A Theory of Everything by Ken Wilbur.
Article on wellness and QAnon
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a35056548/wellness-fitness-influencers-qanon-conspiracy-theories/?fbclid=IwAR0Ctzxp1zCuCojGZp_Jt8uBuwUY0HGjqPT1O6Dbb293z9GgK5D0qmQcDwc
Article on how to talk with those caught in conspiracy theories' grip:
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-54738471
Article on mask effectiveness:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/new-study-highlights-new-evidence-that-masks-prevent-coronavirus-spread/
--
If you are so moved and are able, please consider supporting my writing by making a donation (PayPal Donate button in the right hand column) or buying one of my books. Thank you!
Monica McDowell is a dynamic speaker, author, and practitioner in alternative wellness and spirituality. Find her on Thought Catalog here. She is the author of The Oracle of Devor, The Girl with a Gift, Confessions of a Mystic Soccer Mom, You are Light (internationally published by 6th Books in over 14 countries) and My Karma Ran Over My Dogma, and has the distinction of being the first ordained minister in America granted civil rights by a federal ruling. She lives in Seattle, Washington, USA, and can be reached by email here.
