Paul Levy on Wetiko, the Mind Virus of Humanity
It's a big question, and the answer is not necessarily one or the other. I was recently impressed when watching the book release presentation of Paul Levy, who authored Dispelling Wetiko: Breaking the Curse of Evil. Paul shows a deep understanding of the mind virus theme, and explores it by talking about wetiko. Wetiko is a native American Indian term describing evil spirits. According to Paul, wetiko is a mind virus, but unlike other viruses, it won't mutate itself. It forces us to mutate by tricking us into identifying with it. Like any virus, it needs a host to survive. As Paul writes in his article The Greatest Epidemic Sickness Known to Humanity:
"Wetiko is a virulent, psychic pathogen that insinuates thought-forms into our mind which, when unconsciously en-acted, feed it, and ultimately kills its host (us). It doesn't want to kill us too quickly however, for to successfully implement its agenda of reproducing and propagating itself throughout the field, it must let the host live long enough to spread the virus. If the host dies too soon, the bug would be prematurely evicted and would suffer the inconvenience of having to find a new residence."This, of course, is virtually identical to what Don Juan had to say about the Mud Shadow Flyers (Archons):
"Indeed we are held prisoner! This was an energetic fact for the sorcerers of ancient Mexico ... We have a companion for life ... We have a predator that came from the depths of the cosmos and took over the rule of our lives. Human beings are its prisoners. The predator is our lord and master."What follows are some direct quotes and approximate paraphrasings from Paul's presentation, along with my commentary beneath the quotes.
"The predators give us their mind, which becomes our mind ... It has rendered us docile, helpless. If we want to protest, it suppresses our protest. If we want to act independently, it demands that we don't do so."
What is the Origin of Wetiko?
"The origin of wetiko is the psyche, the collective unconsciousness."This is a brilliant way of encapsulating the essence of the mind virus. It is a master of distraction, making us look outside of ourselves and find issues and problems there, rather than looking within. We find people or groups outside of ourselves that match our projections of evil or darkness, then falsely believe the darkness is (only) outside of ourselves. This becomes a self-perpetuating feedback loop where we become unwitting propagators of wetiko.
"[Wetiko] synchronistically explicates itself through the medium of the outside world ... it's as if this virus that's in the collective unconscious somehow extends itself and actually configures outer events so as to ... express something that's happening inside of us."
"It works through the unconscious, the blind spot, the shadow. It acts itself out in life, yet hides itself in the process."
These ideas are exactly in line with what famous psychologist Carl Jung said about the shadow. Jung said that, "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." The qualities and aspects that we don't like, acknowledge or love in ourselves are the ones we judge, criticize and attack in others. Yet, on an ultimate level, your world is a reflection of your inner state.
Does Wetiko Actually Exist?
"Wetiko doesn't ultimately exist. It has no intrinsic objective existence, yet it can destroy our species. Wetiko is a blindness that believes it is sighted, and arrogantly believes it is more sighted than anyone else (in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king)."Paul believes that wetiko has no fundamental ontological existence of its own. Yet, if this is true, we have to be careful not to be lulled into a false sense of security about the mind virus. Just because it may not independently exist does not mean it is not powerful. Some people get so overtaken by the shadow - falling into depression, addiction, compulsiveness and schizophrenia - that they are driven to suicide. This mind virus is undoubtedly strong enough to drive some people to kill themselves just in the hope of becoming free of it.
Interestingly, this concept of "the one-eyed man being king in the land of the blind" has also been cropping up lately in the work of David Icke. David uses the metaphor in his latest book The Phantom Self to describe the mind virus as a type of AI computer virus which has hacked life itself. He also labels it blind, saying that the only way it can gain the upper hand over us is to bring us down to below its level, since if we both operated at maximum capacity, the virus would be no match for us.
Wetiko Making Us Look Outside: A Trick or a Gift?
"Is wetiko destroying us or waking us up? It depends on how we dream it. It's a dreamed up virus."Left unchecked, the mind virus runs rampant, and can destroy your life and bring you untold suffering and misery. However, if the mind virus has no will or existence of its own, then it is really YOUR life force, trapped and distorted, which is wreaking the havoc. Paul suggests that whether we look at wetiko as a cunning enemy out to destroy us, or a cheeky challenger out to prod and poke us into a fuller awareness, is a matter of perspective. Obviously, it is more empowering to view the created situations and outcomes of the mind virus as gifts rather than as curses or burdens, because the former view may spur us on to become better people, while the latter may lead us to anger and hate. We do, at least, have that much choice, but unless we are already a fully awakened or enlightened individual, we do not yet have the choice of whether to invite wetiko into our lives or not. It's already here, and it's not going away, unless every last speck of shadow is fully acknowledged.
"If we don't recognize what it is showing us, the gift it is giving to us, then it will kill us. It's like a lethal mirage. But once we recognize it, and identify it and its tricks, then it will dissolve into the nothingness from which it arose."
How Do We Defeat Wetiko?
"The only way to defeat wetiko is to find the place inside of yourself which is invulnerable to wetiko. If you fight it, you become it."The way to defeating wetiko lies in the realization that it only has power when it is hidden. The mind virus hides by tricking us into judging and labeling, and by identifying with form/matter not the more real energy/consciousness. The solidity of the world is illusory and is just a product of our consciousness. We become attached to our identity, but in an ever-changing world where things never remain the same, this is a recipe for suffering. We get tricked into thinking we have to defend some mental position or some idea of ourselves, when in the end it's just a waste of our energy. We get fooled into thinking that we have to fight something to change it, when the very act of fighting creates a resonance field with that which is being fought, and by doing so we strengthen it and become it.
"How do you deal with a demon? Find its name. Once you name it, it loses its power."
"Imagine waking in the dream and putting together your dreaming power with other awakened individuals."
When Paul talks about "finding the place of invulnerability within" and"naming the demon", he is not saying anything that great spiritual teachers and prophets have not already said. Many of them have stressed the importance of meditation, inner silence, of becoming the watcher or observer and distancing yourself from that insane voice in your head. To name the demon is to be the watcher. To find a place of invulnerability is to remember Who You Are - an individuated but powerful part of All That Is.
Overcoming the shadow is all about integration, not destruction. You can't destroy the "dark side" - it will be always be there as part of the whole in contrast to love, so that we can know what love truly is. The spiritual path is about healing whatever split we hold within by integrating the disassociated parts of ourselves into a fully aware whole.
Conclusion: Learn to Spot the Wetiko Mind Virus Within Yourself
As Eckhart Tolle writes in his book The Power of Now, it is better to refer to the darkness as unconsciousness rather than evil, because "evil" as a description connotes more separation rather than inclusion, and therefore decreases the likelihood of integration. The ultimate solution to the problem of wetiko is to see it in yourself. It will always be easier to see it in others, but as long as we remain focused on changing others, we neglect the crucial shadow work we must do ourselves. Only you can integrate your own shadow. Sorry to break the news to all you billionaires out there, but shadow work cannot be outsourced. No one else can do it for you, no matter how rich, persuasive, entrepreneurial, charming, sexy, beautiful or intelligent you are.
In this respect, we are all equal. Death and the wetiko mind virus level the human playing field, beyond all categorizations and classes. Both are an inevitable part of life, and both must be faced without fear if we are to move into our true power and full awareness.
About the author
Makia Freeman is the editor of alternative news / independent media site The Freedom Articles and senior researcher at ToolsForFreedom.com (FaceBook here), writing on many aspects of truth and freedom, from exposing aspects of the worldwide conspiracy to suggesting solutions for how humanity can create a new system of peace and abundance.
Sources
- http://freedom-articles.toolsforfreedom.com/new-world-order-agenda-is-alien-agenda/
- http://freedom-articles.toolsforfreedom.com/human-farm-human-energy-loosh/
- http://freedom-articles.toolsforfreedom.com/synthetic-agenda-heart-new-world-order/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kigmklazxPE
- http://realitysandwich.com/75652/greatest_epidemic/
- http://freedom-articles.toolsforfreedom.com/david-ickes-phantom-self-book-review/
I also read Parts I & II of Paul Levy's articles (linked in the SOTT Editor's Comments) . . .
AND the Transcript of the SOTT Radio Interview with Mr. Levy. Thank you for transcribing it.
That was some of the most amazing and helpful information I've encountered. I totally recommend to everyone that you may wish to read all those as well. Paul is a wordsmith and has captured the fundamentals of what is going on inside ourselves and outside ourselves in very easily understandable language.
Thank you very much Paul. I feel as if I've struck better than gold by finding out about this Wetiko Virus and how you've described it. I'm seeing more clearly that I do indeed harbor such a virus and how if affects how I view the world . . . and how the world reflects that shadow part of me. This will give me much material to Work on and I am in your debt.
And that you so much SOTT for being the site I can rely on to discover this awesome material that I feel is absolutely essential for those of us who wish to SEE what is . . . both within and without.
Cheers!