The Mindful Soul Center (formerly Conscious Life Space)

How to deal with fear when there is a collective conscious crisis and mass media overload.

Step one: Attend to your own inner health and happiness and hold yourself together!

It’s a choice. I want to help you to make that choice to focus and not get mired in the collective Crisis mentality by offering you actionable steps. So let’s take a deep dive and talk about Fear and how we can overcome it during a crisis. Then let’s get proactive.

I’ve been watching and experiencing some people reacting, even over-reacting journeying down mental paths of “What if this?” and “What if that…?” and, “If that happens what will I do?,” etc. Fear and anxiety consuming them as they subject themselves to endless news reports.

We all indeed react to events differently and it’s also true that it’s normal to experience fear when groupthink and mass media perpetuates and feeds fear around a health or other crisis. No, there isn’t denial here. Every year hundreds of thousands of people die from seasonal viruses (averages from 220k-650k each year) and complications caused by them. It’s a fact of life. This year is no different. However, what is different is how people are influenced by this news and by how we’re showing up in the world in response to it. So let’s stop talking about and naming the thing that is causing panic. Let’s feel the fear, be open to change and new ways of doing things and get on with life.

Information overload!

There’s so much information that it can become hard to decipher and even know what is true. It used to seem easier when we listened to and looked to radio, TV and Cable News as the internet was only beginning to form and shape our reality in some ways. The old model gave us mostly men and sometimes women in suits that we thought of as trustworthy figures.

Yes, younger people you may remember that time vaguely or be fully unaware of it. The old model even though it was flawed and people who worked at these organizations decided what to report on, it seemed like a real public service. Later News Execs realized they could make a profit on the news instead of losing money and things changed. Now, we are still subjected to a version of the news channels that evolved and are still run 24/7 by for-profit corporations. That’s one machine that we’re still attached to as they didn’t die away entirely and adapted to and continue to spread news through their own websites, apps and by other means.

Things you can do: Turn off the news or at least limit it.

So those quote-unquote trusted sources continue to produce media on the internet, and there is a ton of content and media created by informed people, uninformed people, half-informed people, smart people, sometimes people who mean well, real truth-tellers, people who don’t mean well, corporate and other propaganda machines – it runs the gamut. There is so much information from so many different sources it simply adds to our confusion and increases anxiety levels filling us with self-doubt. Is this true? Is it fact or fiction? How can I know?

Let’s pull it together here and remember you have the power of discernment.

What results from our confusion causes us to continue to focus on topics over and over again when a crisis appears. We watch news channels, read endless articles and videos on the internet and discuss the latest crisis with our family, friends and neighbours and continue to misplace our focus. It’s like a vicious cycle. So that brings me to another point about our focus and our energy. We influence outcomes thereby our reality.

The Collective Consciousness

Outcomes through consciousness can indeed be influenced by the collective. Want to know why that is true? Well since 1998 Princeton University and the Institute of Noetic Sciences Global Consciousness Project have been collecting data from random number generators. Ordinarily, they record 1s and 0s in random order but sometimes the collective consciousness influences the outcome. This influence is documented – data – the 1s and 0s, the numbers assume a structure albeit subtle (and the chance of this subtle structure being created by chance – odds are one in a trillion.) They have documented this influence of consciousness with real-world events.

The power of the collective is brought up today simply as a reminder that energy is exchanged, we influence events and outcomes. This isn’t woo-woo magical thinking. Scientific studies continue to corroborate this idea. But let’s save that topic for another day and talk about fear and how we can alleviate it and get on with living.

Feel the Fear.

Fear serves a purpose, however, living in perpetual fear is paralyzing. When we remain in a fearful state, it can lead us to depressive states, cloud our judgement and harm our personal relationships. So when fear comes up for you, take its warning, sit with it and tap into your gut – your intuition – wait for the response. Listen. Is your fear telling you to get out of a situation to sustain and protect your life? In real life situations of immediate danger you must act. However when it is an intangible fear or based on information that is not from direct experience, sit with it and allow your knowing to guide you.

Meditate on your fear and the feelings and emotions it evokes when you feel overwhelmed or anxious.

When we move away from judgement and opposition we can begin to understand that everything is neutral. How you respond to and approach any and every situation, that is what truly matters. When we let fear overcome us and paralyze us then we aren’t in a position to care for ourselves or others.

Instinct and Trauma

When our survival is threatened – real or not – we can lose our sense of power and of ourselves.

Understand that epidemics and pandemics are traumatic events themselves. When we experience a traumatic event even on the subconscious level it can reignite old traumas and we can react instead of respond to situations. When our survival is threatened – real or not – we can lose our sense of power and of ourselves.

It’s up to you to be proactive.

Get Proactive

Now maybe you’re forced to stay home and this is creating fear for you. Try to reframe this as an opportunity for personal growth where you can learn to set boundaries and create more structure and discipline in your life whether you have to work at home or not.

Celebrate the time you are gaining by not having to commute to work. Use that extra time to enjoy your partner or children or ignite your creativity or if you have some areas in your life that need more time dedicated to them now is the opportunity to do them.

Now if you find yourself struggling with anxiety or overwhelm or at a standstill, it’s time to be proactive not reactive. Here are some things you can do to get it together –

Change your focus!

Choose what media you want to ingest. Turn off the news. Listen to topics and watch videos on topics that interest you. You have the power of choice.

Stay in the present, get grounded and get real.

Ground yourself in the here and now. If you need help to ground yourself listen to this or Practice yoga:

Music Meditation for Grounding

10-Minute Yoga Practice

Practice yoga. Find a practice to follow on YouTube or practice with me.

I recorded a short practice today for you and am editing it – check my YouTube channel or Facebook page or on Instagram’s IGTV sometime on Monday the 16th. I just didn’t want to delay publishing this article until its edited. So, if you’re reading this now and there is no video embedded below, bookmark this page and check back or check the links above after the 16th.

Be of Service to Others

Get groceries for your elderly neighbours.

Check-in on families that struggle with childcare.

Is there a sickly neighbour that needs help caring for their pets? Or to take out their garbage?

Pick up litter in your neighbourhood.

Connect with your heart & home.

Make plans and take action.

If you are feeling fearful about your future in your current job, start thinking of what it is you truly want to offer the world through your work. Do you need to learn new skills? Start learning online. Is there a problem you have the skills to solve but were afraid to pursue that path before? Now is the time to reach out to experts in the field and network.

Set goals and make plans for the short-term or the long-term, then take your first step towards it.

Create something beautiful or delicious.

What else can you think of to add to this list? Leave a voice message when you click on the tab on the right. Or share this image below with quick tips.

Share this article with someone who might benefit from it.

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