We can regard the Ebola outbreak in West Africa as an event calculated (at a higher level of human consciousness) to shock us into a realization that our (collectively held) thoughts and beliefs surrounding social equality are still in desperate need of revision.
The epidemic is a traumatic “mass event” designed to change and modify our collective thinking, and eventually our core beliefs, in relation to the issue of egalitarianism. Integral to our overall “shift in consciousness,” this event aims to highlight a profoundly disturbing element within our belief systems, which needs to be corrected before we can evolve as a species able to operate at a cooperative, global level of awareness.
Seth on the nature of epidemics:
The question of epidemics, for example, cannot be answered from a biological standpoint alone. It involves great sweeping psychological attitudes on the part of many, and meets the needs and desires of those involved—needs which, in your terms, arise in a framework of religious, psychological, and cultural realities that cannot be isolated from biological results. (Seth, The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events: A Seth Book. Roberts, J. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc.; 1981. p.20.)
“Danse Macabre” by Michael Wolgemut
The Ebola crisis is, as was the Black Death in the 14th Century, a physical outpouring of the need within us to effect a psychological change—a change in the way we think that will reverberate through to the very core of our belief systems. The Ebola crisis is one, perhaps of many crises (we usually need a few), that wants us to look within (once again) and examine the core beliefs we hold about being a human being. Remember that our core beliefs* form the filter through which we express our Selves as a species.
A crisis in any domain of human activity is asking us to look at our beliefs that underpin the expression of that activity.
The Ebola epidemic in West Africa is a scaled down version if you will of the Black Death of the Middle Ages. The message then was to look to our collective belief systems and make the changes necessary to make our developing pockets of civilization (countries) more egalitarian—thus making life healthier and more fulfilling for a greater percentage of the population.
The same message underscores this Ebola outbreak. Only this time we are talking about the absolute necessity for egalitarianism to be a fixed principle within our collective mind as we evolve into a global civilization.
Seth: [ Epidemics can serve as a]
…warning that certain conditions will not be tolerated. There is a biological outrage that will be continually expressed until the conditions are changed. (Ibid., p.31.)
A shocking volume of deaths always grabs our attention—morbidly illustrated by the media’s zealous accounting of the numbers. We still need lots of people to die before we can turn our attention away from our personal lives. In actuality, large numbers of deaths “amount to a mass statement” on behalf of those that have died. Their deaths are meant to serve a purpose. Moreover, that purpose is always to do with making us aware of beliefs we hold that deny freedom of expression for all—all others, all life, All-That-Is.
Death always contains a message about life.
Since the end of the second World War (a mass event if ever there was one), the continent of Africa and black people have become the place and race at the forefront of reminding the rest of us of the constant need to maintain a vigilant attitude with regard to the egalitarian issue. They are the race within the human race that first took up this particular flag of principle (for a more conscious and compassionate life for everyone) in the 18th Century. Back then, black people assumed the lead role in one of the most infamous human learning experiences in history.
The cross-Atlantic slave trade was another informative mass event made transparent by the magnitude of deaths—an event that was meant to reveal to us the abject futility of a discriminatory society as Europeans sought to establish new communities in a New World.
It is no coincidence that this largest outbreak of Ebola is located on the West African coast. This was the primary location for procuring slaves for labor needs in the developing New World. The location itself should serve as a reminder to us of the message underscoring the slavery experience. Today’s place names—Liberia, Freetown—scream out the key issue involved during this episode of human injustice.
Fast forward to December 2014
The standard of living for many black Africans along the West coast and many other parts of Africa is not that advanced from the time of the Middle Ages. Many West Africans today maintain a deep dissatisfaction with their adopted (Western) lifestyle.
Beliefs and values gleaned from European colonialization (an insidious partner to the slave trade), have muddled the thinking of black tribes along the West coast over the generations. Where once tribes would use rituals of chanting, singing, dancing, and envisioning to allow the solution to a problem to come to them, now there is but a confusion of thoughts that bring only despair. Where once tribal populations would show no evidence of neurosis, now despair, apathy, hopelessness, anxiety, and depression is rife.
Will this Ebola outbreak have as dramatic an effect on world history as the Black Death mass event?
(The aftershock of the Black Death created a series of religious [Papal Schism], social [The Renaissance], and economic upheavals [e.g., The Peasants’ Revolt], which had profound effects on the course of European history.)
Let’s hope so!
It’s more likely though that this mass event is one of many to manifest over the coming decade. Many of our core belief systems are in need of reshaping and pruning before we can cultivate a healthier tree of values for humanity. We need to get our collective psychological structuring in reasonable shape before we can see any radical improvement in societal norms.
What can you as an individual do to quicken the pace of social reform?
Seth:
Literally, individual mental problems of sufficient severity emerge as social, mass diseases. (Ibid., p.31.)
So look to your own mental equilibrium.
Gray’s Anatomy
Turn Ebola around. Become “a lobe!”
Not an earlobe, but a “(well) rounded division or projection” of the collective brain of humanity.
Here are some pointers for you to work with in becoming a lobe in the creation of a more egalitarian global society:
- Examine your own beliefs in regard to how you interact with others.
- Begin by examining your ego-self’s relationship with your Essence Self. You do need to foster a relationship of mutual regard, understanding and trust between the physical expression of who you are (ego-self), and the non-physical, spiritual expression of you (Essence).
- Establishing a cooperative, compassionate relationship between the outer and inner expressions of your Self will allow you to view your interactions with others in a new light. Discrimination and judgment can be seen for what they are—malevolent actions born from a lack of Self-esteem.
- Self-esteem rests upon the relationship your ego-self has with your Essence Self. Ultimately, this relationship should rest in Divine Love. Your interaction with others reflects back to you the healthiness of your outer and inner self’s relationship.
- Examine how much you are able to live a life of freedom – the “basis of live” – to freely express your personality in the world.
Things to remember in nurturing an egalitarian attitude:
- Equality – be wary of any judgments or decisions you make involving others that hint at inequality.
- Classlessness – be wary of your interactions with others that suggest you may be compromising the true expression of yourself because of perceived class distinctions. Always be yourself when interacting with others.
- Impartiality – be wary of any decisions you make involving others that incorporate bias.
Just as the collective prevailing beliefs of Humanity need to be in reasonable alignment with the Natural Principles (presented in Its About You! Know Your Self), before we can evolve as a species, so too does each individual need to work on his or her own core belief structures and bring them into alignment. Each of us needs to examine and modify our beliefs where necessary in order to evolve our thinking, and thereby our actions.
The evolution of your expression of who you are matters enormously to the evolution of the expression of the human race.
The seeds of your compassionate, cooperative, creative, forgiving, and egalitarian thoughts grow in Humanity’s vast garden of beliefs. Cultivating such thoughts will help grow our collective prevailing beliefs into a more evolved and altruistic set of guidelines for interaction.
For anyone thinking of becoming actively involved in stemming the epidemic:
Seth:
As mentioned earlier, each person caught in either an epidemic or a natural disaster will have private reasons for choosing those circumstances. Such conditions also often involve events in which the individual senses a larger identification, however—even sometimes a renewed sense of purpose [my emphasis] that makes no sense in ordinary terms. (Ibid., p.140.)
Despair or apathy is a biological “enemy.” Social conditions, political states, economic policies, and even religious or philosophical frameworks that foster such mental states, bring about a biological retaliation. (Ibid., p.31.)
So guard against any feelings of despair, hopelessness, or apathy encroaching on the benevolent thoughts you are nurturing. Particularly if you are caring for those that have succumbed to the virus. These are the states of mind that signal a susceptibility to contracting the disease. Focusing upon such negative feelings and the thoughts they can generate will lower your immune system’s defenses.
With your mind’s defenses set first, you can then don the practical protective apparel and enjoy your invaluable contribution to the learning and evolution of humankind.
*Our Core Belief Systems – grown from the focus of our thoughts:
- Spirituality – beliefs about our existence outside of the physical dimension.
- Truth – beliefs surrounding that which is “absolute” and unchanging.
- Emotions – we grow a belief system in an attempt to understand and explain them.
- Sexuality – everything to do with the expression of our sexuality.
- Relationships – everything to do with the many types of relationships we have.
- Perception – the collection of beliefs you hold about how you interact with your Self, the physical world, and others.
- Sensing – beliefs about how information enters our perception.
- Science – the predominant belief system influencing our perception of reality.
- Physical creation of the Universe – grown from our thoughts about our creation.
- Duplicity – grown from our notions on duality, the “contrast” that always exists. Incorporates a belief that we must make a judgment on contrasting elements.
With my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation, Chris.