I’ve noticed this too! There’s a spiritual YouTuber that I’ve been following for a couple years now whose content really uplifted me. However, I’ve not been resonating with their messages for the last 9 months. I started feeling anxious after listening to their videos. Then they recently posted a QAnon support video, saying they’ve been part of this “movement” for almost a year.
QAnon is a cult and it lures in vulnerable people. Perhaps, these spiritual mentors that we follow have personal issues that we don’t know about. All we can do is send them some love, light, and compassion and pray they reconnect to their higher self. It’s sad to watch though.
I have several people in my life that seem to have beliefs of this QAnon stuff all of a sudden too. Maybe they started changing about a year ago. I just read an article on this QAnon philosophy, its disturbing. I was alarmed at how quickly they draw people into this web of conspiracies.
Perhaps some of you may find this essay from the Dark Mountain Project to be helpful. It was written in 2016, but goes a long way towards trying to grasp this weird mix of politics, spirituality, hysteria about satanism, and crazy conspiracy theories that have reached their apotheosis in the form of QAnon:
Yes, the QAnon conspiracy is insidious. It's sucking in so many people. There are a few people I know who were diehard anti-Trump, but got sucked into QAnon and now support Trump all in the name of QAnon.
I can't remember where I read it, but someone pointed out that QAnon was nothing more than a cover created by actual pedophiles to keep eyes off of them.
Apologies if I came across judgemental with my views on morality and politics. It is strongly held view of mine, and sometimes I do go about expressing that view too strongly.
I will admit, this post was a bit of a controlled vent of some frustration.
@luminous Good morning, I don’t hear your harsh judgment but your serious pondering about what’s going on w good people being seduced by conspiracy theories. I was thinking of an acquaintance before I fell asleep last night and pondering the very idea of how good people are being sucked into this qanon cult phenomena. So I thank you for offering me more constructive thought and hopefully some resolution this morning. (Thank you, Universe!)
Since last year, I was determined not to vilify or hate anyone anymore (45 included) bc I found it was eroding my soul. I also thought it’d be better to try and understand their motivations, their psyches, and their experiences—my parents included. If I can observe their weaknesses and vulnerabilities without attaching my moral and emotional outrage, then perhaps I’d even better understand my own. (This idea connects to what Maria Shriner wrote about again in her Sunday Paper this morning—tenderness—, this time w the Divine Feminine connection. Thank you, Universe, again!) And after reading the article that Coyote just posted, I’m reminded again of the constant ebb and flow of our beliefs and our survival.
I believe that at the crux of this hysteria lies individual suffering (and of whole communities as the article mentions) and the individual’s inability to stop and offer more tenderness to even the most despicable souls. Throughout this year especially, I decided that I don’t want to hate anyone. I don’t want to harbor their sadnesses, weaknesses, insecurities, and especially their inner rage. I’ve thought often of Polyphemus, the Cyclops, in The Odyssey. He loved his precious sheep while he devoured men. Was he a loving being? Yes. Did he love everyone in the same compassionate way? No.
@lowtide Coyote's article is above and I’ll post Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper essay which speaks to a return to tenderness and the Feminine Divine, if this to what you’re referring. Here it is:
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“Not too long ago, a friend suggested I write down the definition, values, and characteristics of the “divine feminine.” He said it would be a “good exercise” for me moving forward. “Mhmm, OK,” I thought. I sat down to give it a try and ended up staring at the paper for a long time. I wrote something and erased it, and I tried again and again. Nothing really felt right to me. Then last Sunday in this newsletter, I wrote my essay about courage and tenderness. The response I got was overwhelming, from both men and women. “That is what we need!” people wrote to me. “That’s who I want to be!” My friend Elizabeth suggested I even curate a new conference called “Courage and Tenderness: The New Hero’s Journey.” Others wrote that they had never contemplated tenderness in the public space, but that they were open to it, even hungry for it. (An old video of Joe Biden resurfaced this week that visualized what I’m talking about.) As I read all the responses from readers like you, I allowed myself to be touched by the words. I allowed myself to receive your kindness and gratitude for the idea, which wasn’t really my idea at all. It was the Pope’s! But, perhaps I presented it in a different way, maybe even a feminine way. Several people also responded to the paragraph I wrote about bestowing tenderness on my tough mother. People told me those lines really took them aback. I’ve thought a lot about that in the days since. The truth is, I have spent many years trying to understand the towering warrior that was my mother. My quest has, in turn, helped me to better understand myself. Better understanding myself is not why I wanted to understand her, but it is the gift I got from delving deep into my mother’s drive, restlessness, rage, pain, and determination. I learned a lot from seeking to understand the way she wielded power in the halls of Congress, in her extended family, and in my own immediate family with my father, my brothers, and myself as her only daughter. I could write forever about my mother, from whom I learned feminism, although I’m not sure the word itself resonated with her. But the concept of women being equal to men sure did. But today I want to focus on the description of the hero or heroine’s journey at this moment in our collective journey. It is, in its own way, the realization of the divine feminine. Women of my mother’s generation were not seen or valued, much less understood. If they had an idea, they were passed over or silenced. If they wanted to compete, they had to be a warrior 24/7. They had to bury their tenderness and femininity and show they could out-men the men. And even then, they were often invisible to the people around them. Thanks to so many women of my mother’s generation and my own since then, we have paved a way. Today, many young women are brave enough to step out and speak up without giving it a second thought. Women today, like the men of today, have the opportunity to lead in a more evolved and humanistic manner than those of generation’s past. In fact, they must if we want to survive. Yes, survive. You see, I believe that our collective humanity is on the line right now, and that it will take tenderness and courage, coupled with the divine feminine to resurrect us all. Today in our midst, there are record numbers of cases of anxiety, depression, suicide, abuse, and addiction. People report being bullied. Millions are desperately lonely and feeling anything but “seen or understood,” much less “included or valued.” It is time to reimagine the way we walk and talk in the world, as well as how we lead in our homes and places of business. It’s time to shift the old power balances that still exist around us, because it simply doesn’t feel like it’s working anymore. It is time for the tender warrior: courageous in thought, word, and deed. The tender warrior is vulnerable in action. Compassionate in speech. Fully alive and fully realized. The tender warrior uses their eyes to see what is, not what the deluded mind says what is. The stories we tell ourselves and others are critical to moving forward in a realistic way. They are critical to know what needs reframing and reforming. The tender warrior is an empathetic storyteller, one who is courageous enough to tell the story of where we are with honesty. Their mission is not to scare us, but to reassure us that the future we imagine is, in fact, possible for all of us. (Just look at New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her handling of the pandemic in her country.) They use a new language. They use words that we can collectively embrace, not hurriedly shove down our throats. So, who is this tender warrior? Well, you can be one. Yep, that’s right. Each and every one of us can be a tender warrior. To become one requires a tender heart and a courageous spirit. It requires a commitment to compassion, empathy, and the journey ahead. Everywhere I look, tenderness is needed these days. Everyone I know can soften under its expression. Even the toughest of the tough. I know this because I was one of those tough people for years. I felt I had to be tough to survive the family I was born into and the profession I chose. And yet, when tenderness touched my armor, the walls came tumbling down. Imagine that power. Imagine knowing that you have it to bestow on another. Think about that and let it sink in. I pray we can jointly commit to stop the bullying in our public square. It’s ruining lives and damaging psyches. Expressions of hate demean us all and destroy the very fabric of our humanity. Racism. Sexism. Ageism. Any “ism,” really. Let’s put them to bed once and for all. They are beneath us. It’s time. People are tired. People are scared. Who hasn’t had enough? A good friend told me that after watching the news the other night, she turned off the TV and wept. She said, “I can no longer tolerate the meanness. It’s destroying us all.” I said to her what I’ll say to you, “It will get better.” It will get better because the majority of us want it to get better. Now me must work to make it so. There is light ahead, this I know to be true. There is a new energy coming our way. So, let’s each open ourselves to it. Let’s open ourselves to being tender, fellow warriors. Be tender and embrace the divine feminine that exists in you. Do not be afraid of what’s feminine, regardless of your gender. It is healing. It is nurturing. It is soft and vulnerable, and yet it is so strong and courageous. In its magnificence, it can mirror to another person their magnificence. It can show them their own divinity, which in turn will allow them to fly. How extraordinary is that? It turns out that I know exactly the definition, values, and characteristics of the divine feminine. Now, will you join me in living them?
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Thank you so much! I just subscribed to the Sunday Paper. ?
I feel like there've been a lot of New Agers in those spaces for a long time, though. Art Bell gave a big platform to a lot of them. There were a lot of New Agers who also liked Alex Jones. An ex friend who went alt-right, actually radicalized *via* New Age spaces; first she became a fan of David Icke and it went from there. This was *years* ago - she started talking about David Icke back in 2011 or so.
New Age and being a QAnon type aren't synonymous, but the connection isn't far fetched as you'd think.
There are also some ways you can get sucked into a quasi-Objectivist mindset in some New Age communities, especially ones focused on manifesting ("The Secret," etc) or on self-improvement.
I feel like there've been a lot of New Agers in those spaces for a long time, though. Art Bell gave a big platform to a lot of them. There were a lot of New Agers who also liked Alex Jones. An ex friend who went alt-right, actually radicalized *via* New Age spaces; first she became a fan of David Icke and it went from there. This was *years* ago - she started talking about David Icke back in 2011 or so.
New Age and being a QAnon type aren't synonymous, but the connection isn't far fetched as you'd think.
There are also some ways you can get sucked into a quasi-Objectivist mindset in some New Age communities, especially ones focused on manifesting ("The Secret," etc) or on self-improvement.
Yeah I've seen it a lot too. I had to distance myself from these circles because I didn't want to be associated with that stuff. It is disturbing how brain washed some people have become by some of these groups. Here in the UK, a few people tried to burn down and destroy 5G masts during the pandemic because they believed the conspiracies about 5G causing coronavirus. Some of these people also became quite frightingly violent about it too.
I recently came across an article from the Huffington post about Qanon, which talks about losing people to the Qanon movement:
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/i-lost-my-best-friend-to-qanon_uk_5f8707abc5b6e9e76fb95a96
Another talking about growth of the Qanon movement in the UK:
Further info on the QAnon conspiracy and the impact it is having on people's lives:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-53507579
I've thought about this a lot, trying to comprehend this same exact thing. My father's wife, who I always thought was a bit "nuts", is now posting Q related posts 95% of the time on FB. Like, really crazy stuff. She even started a podcast/youtube channel devoted to seriously talking about this (I don't listen for my own sanity). She is a well-off, highly educated, personable businesswoman who comes across very nice and smart. My father and his wife (they married when I was in my 30's) are very spiritual and study extensively about Mother earth, Native American beliefs, homeopathic remedies, etc., very grounded stuff. Now suddenly this year, it's exclusively Q beliefs involving pedophilia, human trafficking, baby blood, targeted individuals, etc. And it's all in the name of her finally having this "great awakening" and doing the work to bring this all out to light so we can rid the world of these evil (Democrat/Jews/Elites) people. It's completely tied into her belief system, like you'd believe in guides, positive energy, higher power, and now also this great awakening. I don't know if there is a hole or emptiness or deep fear beliefs, or a need for self-importance, or something else deeper?
@Luminous fascinating article you posted https://dark-mountain.net/2016-the-year-magic-broke-into-politics/
This stands out: ‘Those who are cast aside as human refuse often have a psychological need for illusions and scapegoats. They desperately seek the promise of divine intervention. They unplug from a reality that is too hard to bear.’
I was just talking with friends how our society has lost a moral compass. I have decided to try to be merciful and and admire others who are merciful too. the seven corporal acts of mercy: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to give shelter to travelers, to visit the sick, to visit the imprisoned, and to bury the dead. Anyone can do this. especially now there are many homeless on the street. Just get a bag, wash out an empty milk carton or juice bottle. Fill it with water instead of throwing it away. put it in the bag along with a pair of socks, a bar of soap, a sleeve of saltines, a washcloth and a mask. Drive to the place in your town where the homeless are asking for help. Give them the full bag. You will be transported into a new world where you feel part of all that is in love. Visit the sick astrally in hospitals and prisons. Send them love. Go to funerals. You will feel different inside. It will be good. I tried this. It is amazing.
I was just talking with friends how our society has lost a moral compass. I have decided to try to be merciful and and admire others who are merciful too. the seven corporal acts of mercy: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to give shelter to travelers, to visit the sick, to visit the imprisoned, and to bury the dead. Anyone can do this. especially now there are many homeless on the street. Just get a bag, wash out an empty milk carton or juice bottle. Fill it with water instead of throwing it away. put it in the bag along with a pair of socks, a bar of soap, a sleeve of saltines, a washcloth and a mask. Drive to the place in your town where the homeless are asking for help. Give them the full bag. You will be transported into a new world where you feel part of all that is in love. Visit the sick astrally in hospitals and prisons. Send them love. Go to funerals. You will feel different inside. It will be good. I tried this. It is amazing.
Great thoughts. Just one point of note though -- instead of filling a used milk carton or juice bottle with water, please just give pre-packaged water bottles. First of all, someone might have an allergy to whatever was previously in the used container (e.g. milk), and really no one should be drinking (or eating) anything given by a random stranger that is not securely packaged in a tamper-evident way.
@dee It seems like the New Age "The Secret" types and those churches that are like Joel Olsteen's-- prosperity gospel evangelicism are likely to converge. Throw a little conspiracy theory in there. They think they ate the red pill and are some kind of society "in the know." It is like a cult.