Standing your ground amidst the storm

“You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.”

J.R.R.Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

When the Balrog, great fiery beast, chases the Fellowship through the dark chambers, Gandalf the Grey turns and stands his ground on the bridge of Khazad-Dum. “You cannot pass”, he commands, sword in hand and staff set firmly on the stone.

The moment in history in which we find ourselves is asking of us all the same courage and resolve. Amidst a storm of fear, relentless propaganda, censorship of dissenting voices, coercive pressure and threats to submit to lockdowns and experimental treatments still in early trial stage, removal of basic freedoms and civil rights, intrusion into private choice and information, mainstream denial of adverse effects from these interventions; how do we stay strong against such a vehement, persistent barrage?

Mass formation is a collective delusion, or temporary psychosis, that develops in a population out of heightened fear. Anxiety is displaced onto an external threat, anger directed towards a scapegoat. The more irrational the premise, the more dramatic the break from reality. Intellectual intelligence is more prone to losing itself in the formation than intuitive and instinctual knowing. The intensity of aggression is driven by the need to avoid the subconsious awareness in the person that this all makes no sense. The denial is denied.

Such bubbles of vicious delusion always burst eventually. When they come down, it is as swiftly as the Berlin Wall. Our task is to stay calm, peaceful and still, grounded and centered as best we can. In that stance, we are connected to our greater Self and our indwelling Spirit, and the earth that supports our bodies so generously. Then we can find our courage to stare down the fear and hold to our “No!”.

Not the beast, but this event will pass. When it does, there will be many among us that need psychological help, dealing with the sudden dismantling of their belief systems, which can be experienced as a form of death. Many will need healing support in ridding the body of toxic chemicals. There will be much work to do when sanity returns to the collective.

Gandalf was taken down with the Balrog in Tolkien’s story, and fought with the beast as they plummeted into the utter depths (of psyche). He was victorious, and emerged Gandalf the White, empowered and transformed through his ordeal. Let us also stand our ground through these challenging times, knowing that it will be the very making of us as individuals, us as the solid foundations of a new, better earth.