Big Brother isn’t watching. He’s singing and dancing. He’s pulling rabbits out of a hat. Big Brother’s busy holding your attention every moment you’re awake. He’s making sure you’re always distracted. He’s making sure you’re fully absorbed. ― Chuck Palahniuk, Lullaby (author of Fight Club)

One of the first lessons I learned on ZeroHedge was whatever topic or event was holding everyone’s interest, look around to find what else is happening which most people are probably too distracted to focus upon. I have little doubt that Ebola is a horrific disease and should not be casually dismissed. Between the misinformation, disinformation and blatant assumptions produced in both the mainstream and alternative media and it being an effective distraction from other vital events, I have decided to break our own web site rules (avoid fear filled click-bait topics) and talk about what we see and sense happening.

In our view, one of three scenarios is taking place. One, the authorities either orchestrated or deliberately allowed Ebola to spread, in which case OMG. Two, gross incompetence and negligence has permitted the disease to travel around the world; once again OMG. And a third possibility is that despite the honest efforts of hardworking and alert private and public agencies to halt the contagion, Ebola has continued to work its way into major population centers, OMG! Most likely some combination of these points of view are at work. Or maybe in a wonderful yet horrid twist a fourth possibility exists, the idea that perhaps there is no Ebola in the USA to begin with.

Regardless of what we think is happening, as with all systematic risks the best bet is to rely upon ourselves for prudent precautions, decisions about modifying our regular behavior and planning for various situations. Whether planned or incidental, if Ebola is ever reported to be spreading among urban populations in the developed world, many systems will be quickly overwhelmed. Hospitals, doctors’ offices, pharmacies and online supply companies will be inundated with panicky people.

Banks, ATM machines, grocery stores and gas stations may see alarmed and confused crowds as people begin to project fear about the big picture and finally begin to take action. The bottom line is that as fear spreads, people who are unprepared, more than 97% of Westerners, are going to panic. We don’t expect it to be pretty. The chance of you becoming caught in a mob of unprepared people who are scared witless is exponentially greater than coming in contact with the disease itself.

There are many excellent articles detailing how to quickly prepare in order to ride out a mandatory quarantine or health scare. I will not recreate that wheel here so I have included what I thought were the best links to those articles below. Preparing to rely upon yourself is the smartest course of action whether we experience a best or worst case scenario, or more likely something in between.

But there are other considerations I have yet to read about amidst all the Ebola articles flying around the internet. Even without the disease spreading to a local destination, the idea of it has spread like wildfire and has permeated our minds. Much of what I am witnessing springing from that thought process is not pretty. More often than not it exposes a complete lack of compassion and perspective.

By no means am I suggesting anyone expose themselves to a potentially sick person or create any type of physical risk. But to categorically decide a person with this disease is the bad guy, unworthy of a kind thought and mentally written off without a care for their suffering, or that of their family, is inhumane. Have we become so narcissistic and cold as a society that we cannot even spare emotional kindness for a fellow human because they are not from our country, our race, our tribe?

Ebola has not turned people into crass and hardened people, it has simply exposed what we already are capable of. Our character is not defined by how we act day in and day out, but how we act when under stress and facing a storm. It is when we are face to face with our own worst fears that our true nature shows itself. Each of us has a choice during these moments to become truly kind, thoughtful and strong, even if only in the thoughts and tone we convey to others.

It appears really bad decisions regarding the containment of this disease and dissemination of information has led to rampant speculation. I have little doubt the fear factor is being deliberately ramped to achieve a maximum effect of grabbing headlines, creating “click-bait” and distracting the herd once again. I cannot think of a more effect way to compel the world to look away from political and financial tyrannical acts than to threaten the physical safety of everyone, regardless of who or where you are. And as always, while we busy ourselves with laying blame and expending our energies on wagging our fingers and making our points, most people will miss the bigger picture yet again.

Furthermore because fear has swelled up inside, people will again gladly trade their freedom and personal sovereignty for the illusion of security. Even with so many people “waking up” to the manipulation by (insert your favorite boogeyman), personally embracing a perspective that we are all just as valuable as the next guy still seems a rare commodity. Unfortunately we happily revert to polarizing ourselves and others. By reacting with fear we have by-passed the step where potential Ebola has entered our bodies and we let it go straight to infecting our minds.

Thoughts have energy. This phenomenon has been repeatedly shown to exist in laboratory experiments. I have a mental exercise where I envision each of my thoughts as manifesting a cartoon character of myself, which then separates from me and goes out into the world. My good and kind thoughts create a positive version of me, while my fear and anger creates dark characters of negative energy. If I allow myself to work into a lather by my fears I could create a whole dark army of Ebola thought ghouls. Just take a moment to envision all our dark thought forces joining together. Step aside Middle Earth, the collective human catastrophic war has already begun and it comes from within our minds.

In addition to how we direct our thoughts and intentions about Ebola, we might take some time to carefully consider the possibility there are other physical choices beyond 'just' preparing with extra supplies. How will I react if Ebola is reported to be closer to my location than it presently is? At what point will I make changes to my routine, even if those choices impair my income, my career or perhaps my child’s standing in school? When do I say enough is enough and risk the ire of others who might judge my decisions as going against the grain or what is 'expected' of me?

Ultimately, each of us is responsible for our own health and safety. Our doctors, hospitals and rescue systems may or may not be there during a time of need to assist us. But this does not relieve any of us from our own responsibility to keep ourselves safe or healthy. Even if Ebola is transmitted relatively unimpeded globally I will not waste my energy creating dark armies of anger over why others did not, would not or could not prevent it from spreading. While it may feel good for a few moments, righteous indignation contributes to nothing except feeding my ego. It would be so easy to go there and react emotionally.

I am mindful that the same entities running this circus, specifically the government, media and corporate interests with a big backing of academic medical talking heads, are the very same entities who have brought us continuous war and pending economic collapse. Many of us have learned to take any information from this arena with a grain of salt. We pay attention because it may help to indicate the direction the herd will be stampeding, but trusting it as reliable? No. Consider everything and believe nothing.

These circus managers have instilled a sense of entitlement within us in order to control our thinking. We pay taxes to support them so we have a “right” to expect their protection, in this case from Ebola. It really doesn’t matter how vehemently we think this should be the case, it simply is not. Directing energy towards anger wastes time and energy that might otherwise be used to react to, and then evaluate, alternatives with a clear head and a sound mind.

What can be done is to respond to this and any other threat in a positive manner. Stress [read anger/fear] has been shown to drastically lower the immune system’s function. My priority in an outbreak of disease is to keep me and my family healthy. I attempt to stay informed without reacting emotionally to developments that may or may not be accurate, and most often I can do little about. That doesn’t mean I don’t form opinions about these many tidbits I am reading about. But I, like most of you, have little or no concrete proof about any specific detail. In times of chaos a level head free from emotional confusion will often prevail.

Anyone who tells you they know exactly what is going to happen is wrong because they don’t. I happen to know they stopped manufacturing accurate crystal balls a century ago. We are fully capable of coming up with the “right” answers for any given situation when we push past our fears and predispositions. While this is particularly challenging when considering the safety of yourself and your loved ones, everyone will benefit the most when you calmly put on your own proverbial oxygen mask first and breathe deeply.

Mrs. Cog

October 8, 2014

Below are listed what I have found to be helpful and informative links. Please note that often an author will often include their own opinions into articles such as these. I encourage the reader to sift through and sort out any helpful information that might benefit your situation from various emotional responses that contain blame, negligence, agendas and the like. We are each capable of considering their opinions without generating more negativity if we so choose. I want my Ebola mind army to be one that heals.

Here’s Why You Should NOT Panic Over Ebola - by Daisy Luther

Prepping for an Ebola Lockdown: No one goes out, no one comes in – by Daisy Luther

Social Distancing as a Means to Avoid Contagion – by Lizzie Bennett

Prepping For Mandatory Quarantine: Now is the Time to Prepare – by Tess Pennington

Ebola: Does It Matter? – by Dr. Joe Alton

BioDefense - Pandemic Preparedness FREE Online How-To Course

Ebola Survival Handbook: A Collection of Tips, Strategies, and Supply Lists From Some of the World's Best Preparedness Professionals Paperback – September 22, 2014

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