THE CONSPIRITUALITY VIRUS

In February I got my second jab of the Pfizer vaccine. A week before getting it a dear friend and spiritual brother of mine wrote to me to “break off” our friendship. At first, I was confused as to why because I was sure that nothing had happened between us. But as I read on I came to understand that he felt the need to break our friendship for the sole reason that I publicly posted a pic of me getting my first vaccine. As I was getting inoculated from the Coronavirus, apparently my friend had been infected by the “conspirituality” virus.

My friend is a beautifully spiritual man. His style of spirituality is more “New Age” than mine, but our connection was heart-based from our first meeting. My friend is also an anti-vaxxer and an anarchist who has a strong mistrust of authority. And he didn’t hide the fact that he had gone deep down the rabbit hole of dark conspiracy theories of the “Plandemic” kind.

In our periodic contact over the past year, my friend would go on about how the pandemic was all planned out, the virus was fake, it was part of a bigger conspiracy to control the masses. He is convinced that the mandated wearing of masks is a psychological manipulation to get people to accept authority. He also believes that Donald Trump is a lightworker who was working against the forces of darkness to liberate humanity from this global conspiracy.

With our differences in how we see the pandemic, our talks were often a brotherly chiding each other – I would tease him about his conspiracy theories, and he would jokingly call me “sheeple”. But our conversations always came back to the heart, in a reaffirmation of our connection and loving friendship.

Then, between my first and second vaccination, he decided that in a move of “radical honesty” he had to confront me. He seemed to think he was like Morpheus in the Matrix confronting with the red pill of truth that I had lost my connection with my spiritual source. I had been lulled to sleep by the Matrix and because of this, he needed to “separate our timelines” (whatever that means). Apparently, getting the vaccination and publicly posting the pic as a statement went too far for his conspiracy beliefs. I was being canceled.

Vaccinated & Caffeinated – My First Jab Of The Pfizer Vaccine, Jan. 2021

To be fair, I do believe in some conspiracy theories. I also feel that there are important conversations to be had about vaccinations. My wife and I even have differences in how many vaccines to give our children, and we are in an ongoing dialogue on this issue. Personally, I have always leaned towards science on this issue. That being said, during this pandemic, public health is a priority for me and I’m firmly pro-vaccine when it comes to the Coronavirus.

This pandemic has affected every human around the world. Because of Covid-19’s global reach, it has amplified what I consider to be a much greater virus of extreme conspiracy theories. Especially in the health, wellness, and spiritual communities that I am in.

The “Conspirituality” virus is a brain worm that has spread through the minds of many in spiritual circles, including some of my friends. In some cases, it has gotten to the point that they feel the need to cancel me simply because I lean towards mainstream medicines’ response to this public health crisis.

It is a sad fact that these days I have found it impossible to engage in any degree of rational conversation with those who have been infected with “conspirituality”. Sadly, this included my friend.

Regardless of our differences in beliefs, my friend is now, and always will be in my heart. For him on the other hand, it seems that his beliefs require him to make the grand gesture of casting me out of his heart.

There are many sad things about the times we live in. First and foremost is the needless loss of life because of denial about the pandemic. But for me, one of the saddest is losing loved ones to fear-driven conspiracy theories.

May we all heal.