Covid-19's Lessons
by Bob Peterson
The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting everyone: the world is rife with anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. I see this not as a tragedy, but as a huge set of spiritual life-lessons being forced upon humankind.
The fear and hysteria of the virus has spread faster than the virus itself, thanks to the mass media and their campaign of terror. (I sometimes think the mass media should be labelled terrorists, since they use the same tactic--fear--to control people and promote their agenda.) But fear is never productive in life or in OBEs.
I've always been an optimist and tried to see the bright side of things, no matter how bad. Why? Because optimism pays. As a life-long reader of Jane Roberts I've always believed that, as "Seth" so aptly put it, "You create your own reality." If you wear "negativity sunglasses," your reality will be negative. If you wear "fear sunglasses," your experience will be terrifying. But if you're optimistic and expect positive outcomes, your reality will be positive. [Many modern new-agers believe in "The Secret" and the "Law of
Attraction" but before all that was Jane Roberts and "Seth." One of my
favorite books is
The Nature of Personal Reality. Do check it out if you can.]
That doesn't mean bad things won't happen. When bad things happen, it's usually a life-lesson: something we
agreed to do at a "higher self level" to learn (or teach) important spiritual lessons, fulfill sacred contracts, karma, or otherwise meant to be. Sometimes we need that because we stubbornly refuse to learn until we're forced out of our comfort zone, and that sometimes involves negative emotions like loneliness, grief, fear, pain, and despair.
So one of the best things you can do to weather this pandemic is change your attitude to positive and optimistic. One of the ways you can do that is to look
not for the negative outcomes, but for the lessons being taught. And if we learn the lessons we're supposed to, we don't need to learn them the painful way. At least that's my philosophy.
Why is this happening now?
Let's face it: The system was broken. Humans were raping the land and polluting everything: land, sea, and air, at the expense of nature and Earth's creatures. Globalization--global buying, selling and trading--fueled more greed and lust for political power. There was a rampant attitude of entitlement and self-centeredness, with little-to-no appreciation for people who made it all possible. We needed an attitude adjustment.
Freedom and abundance
We took our freedom an abundance for granted. But as glam-metal band
Cinderella once sang, sometimes you "Don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." We need to relearn the value of freedom and abundance by its temporary absence.
Environmental effects
Sadly, Covid-19 has done more to help the environment than Greta Thunberg, Greenpeace, and all the climate summits ever held. The Earth is healing itself. People are polluting less, using less gasoline, having a less negative impact on the environment. This is a lesson in how to work in cooperation with nature, and not to rape the Earth.
I recently watched a show about recent attempts to clone live mammoths using ancient DNA (An episode of "Destination Unknown" with Josh Gates). While many scientists are sounding the alarm about losing arctic permafrost to "climate change," groups of people are illegally using power washers to purposely
thaw the permafrost as fast as they can to uncover valuable mammoth remains in Siberia. These are not scientists who want to study mammoths. These are just greedy people destroying our world for a few rubles. It's very disturbing, and it needs to stop. But like elephant tusk poaching, rhino horn poaching, drug trafficking, and sex trafficking, it's a problem of supply and demand. The only way to stop it is to cut off the demand.
Crime is at an all-time low
Everyone is staying at home, so burglars have no targets. There are no masses, so no mass-shooters. Many businesses are closed, so armed robberies have almost stopped. Curfews keep people indoors and at home, so there are less opportunities for rapes and murders. Even the gangs in Chicago are laying low. Criminals are learning to live without crime.
Self-sufficiency
In the wake of panic
over-buying, people are learning to become more self-sufficient. Many
people are planting gardens to grow their own vegetables, raising
chickens, and making due with less. We're learning to reduce, reuse and
recycle like never before.
Preparing for the future
People
who used to live hand-to-mouth are suddenly learning the value of saving
money, and stocking up for hard times. For many it may be too late, but
not for everyone. The lesson is in seeing beyond our noses and living for the future, not just for today.
Valuing essential services
Suddenly
rich celebrity jocks, sports heroes and sports teams have no real
relevance. People are starting to learn the high value of doctors,
nurses, healthcare workers, truckers, tradespeople, and stock grocery store workers: people who keep the
infrastructure running. I only hope we learn to value teachers as much.
Socialism
I've always
had a love-hate relationship with my friend (and ex-publisher) Frank DeMarco: I'm a
staunch Libertarian and he's an all-in Bernie Sanders-style "democratic
socialist." I've always insisted that socialism will never work in today's world because
people are too selfish and motivated by greed. Most people are motivated by their own self interests: they will work for themselves and not the common good. Forcing them to do so will never be successful.
It goes back to that same supply and demand. I
see Covid-19 as a spiritual big lesson in selfishness versus
selflessness. We've got to learn the difference between needs and wants.
We've got to learn to live for each other, not for just ourselves. This is an important step humankind has to learn before socialism will work.
But those lessons are also forced upon us: we're all learning is compassion and empathy. Since the outbreak, I've seen people reaching out to help others: offering to help pay their bills. I've seen companies donating to charities, giving free loans, extending credit, forgiving debts, and allowing people to go months without paying bills. I see landlords letting the rent slide. I see neighbors helping neighbors. It's very touching. Walking outside, I see fathers playing catch with their sons. I see adult children talking to their parents on Zoom, Facetime and others. I see people buying groceries for friends and neighbors. I see people helping people, and I like that. That gives me hope.
Valuing Our Time Together
We're also learning to value our
lives while we've got it. The value of death is that it reminds us our
time is limited: we shouldn't waste the time given to us.
Recently,
a good friend and fellow introvert named Ron (who seriously had the
longest beard I've ever seen...had to be at least 4 feet long), died
from a sudden illness (unrelated to Covid-19). Sadly, because of
Covid-19, friends and family were not allowed to visit him in the
hospital before his death, so he died alone.
Like Ron,
many people are now dying in hospitals, alone. My heart goes out to
everyone affected. As much as it hurts, it teaches us compassion and how
important it is to spend time with the people we love, and to make the
most of the time we have with them. Being forced apart is teaching us
the value of being together. And OBEs teach us death is not the end.
Relationship lessons
We're also learning to value our relationships.
Thanks to Covid-19, families are now forced
to actually
live with each other. This is make-or-break
time. Couples who have "surface relationships," or "relationships of
convenience," or "love-hate" relationships are now forced to actually live together. In our
fight-or-flight world, "flight" just became very limited. Now it's
sink or
swim. We're all in the pressure cooker, and as the heat gets
turned up, you either learn to get along or
you break up. Unfortunately, domestic abuse is also increasing as the
abused are forced to live with their abusers. There are many lessons to
be learned on both sides of the equation, but they're tough tough tough
lessons.
Time for introspection
This virus has also caused a lot of isolation and loneliness. Some people, especially extroverts, feel like fish out of water. It's teaching the value of alone-time, introspection, and quiet time. It's teaching the value of the inner journey. There's a renewed interest in meditation, astral projection, out-of-body experience, and transcendence. People are starting to see how valueless it is to glorify "busy" and they're finding value in quiet meditation.
Where does it lead?
The road ahead may be long and difficult. Our civil liberties are being stomped on in the name of safety and well-being. Politicians don't know how to fix this, and fumble stupidly with trillions of dollars of new debt, most of which won't go to the people who really need it. Politicians only know one thing: How to enrich themselves and their buddies.
Despite all that, I'm hopeful for the future. If politicians don't screw us up too badly, supply and demand should re-balance the system. We may never be "the same" again, but like I said, that's alright because the system was broken.
So use this time for meditation, introspection, and of course, OBEs and spiritual development and spiritual exploration. Turn off the television with its droning mantras of negativity, and find hope in the lessons that are now becoming so obvious.
And all you astral projectors out there: Now is the time to step up your game; to teach the shallow-minded to value the spiritual journey more than entertainment.
Now is a time of great change for everyone, both inside and out. The road ahead lies in setting aside fears, finding strength within, supporting each other, and helping everyone find the path back to a compassionate "Humanity 2.0."
Bob Peterson
14 Apr 2020
