UNCERTAINTY, by Kathryn Song, ©03/13/2020
We try to prepare for uncertainty But the only certainty we have Is that we are held, intimately held, By the Certainty which created the uncertainty. So that, by releasing ourselves into the uncertain, We can discover the Certain, Which has carried us all along.
In this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians are wrestling with how to provide the best care for their patients. While we as physicians and practitioners are doing all that we can for our patients at present both in-clinic and remotely, there are limitations. Dr. Kocourek recently reached out to Patrick Rodriguez, one of her energy healers to discuss the impact on personal energy from the COVID-19 pandemic. She asked him to discuss his perspective on dealing with the uncertainty that’s going on right now—all the unknowns. The following is his response of March 22, 2020.
Carl Jung, a famous philosopher and psychoanalyst is credited with defining the concept of the ‘collective unconscious.’ He said that, yes, we live our lives through our own eyes, our own consciousness, but we all also share an unconscious awareness. We are going through a time right now when the collective unconscious is that of fear, panic, anxiety, but also anger. The collective unconscious really IS all of us.
At times it seems rather esoteric. It happens to a great extent on the local level, and an even greater extent on the national level. In the United States, we have a media that is wonderful as far as information goes. We have over one-hundred channels available twenty-hours a day, and yet the predominance of current programming focuses on COVID-19. That flows into the collective unconscious. Even if you turn off the television, even if you don’t engage in social media, it’s now come to the point where it’s so strong, ALL of us are being affected.
In March, the Governor of California stated that he expects up to 50% of the population of California to contract COVID-19. I’m of the opinion from what I’m feeling and from people with whom I am speaking—and this is just a wild guess, that 70% of the population has already contracted the SIDE EFFECTS of the virus of fear, worry, anxiety, panic and anger.
It’s especially difficult for those who can feel the feelings of others. This happens very, very subtly, and this is where the real problem lies. Something that is a normal occurrence in a person’s life, and which would anger them to some level has changed in magnitude. Let’s look at anger as an example. If a person’s reaction would normally be at a level of 3 on a scale of 0 to 10, but they unexpectedly find themselves at a level of 8, then what they’re not consciously aware of is they are also tied-in to the collective unconscious.
That’s when it’s very useful to be aware: “This isn’t me. This ISN’T me.” The term for people who can feel the feelings of other people is ‘empath.’ These are people who can consciously feel the feelings of other people. The feelings of fear, anxiety, worry and panic are so strong in our collective at this time. My belief is that all of us are feeling it, whether we are aware of it or not. What I teach people who do have empathic abilities, is how to manage it. For those of us who are empaths, we’re often bombarded with feelings that we don’t understand and think they’re our OWN feelings. Even our own physical hurts, such as feeling back pain or knee pain, or all kinds of interesting things going on in our bodies it is, “Wow, I have a pain in my knee, and I’ve never had that before. I don’t remember hurting my knee.”
What I have people do is focus on the feelings. Allow the feelings to be there. Don’t try to push them away; don’t take an ibuprofen immediately. Firstly, focus on them. It can be a knee pains, it can be anger. It can be anything that you’re feeling. Secondly, ask the question as if you are expecting an answer: “Who does this belong to?” Now, who are you asking? It doesn’t really matter. If you believe in God, ask the question of God, or ask another spiritual deity or power, or your own subconscious mind—it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is asking with congruity. Ask the question with every part of your being engaged and expect an answer. Now, the concept is that the answer doesn’t matter. We don’t care about the answer; we care about the question—the ENERGY of the question. In other words, put EVERYTHING you have into it and ask: “Who does this belong to?” If it’s a feeling of worry ask, “Who does this worry belong to?”
The first time you ask this question, you may feel rather silly. Join the club! The feeling of silliness is an emotion usually triggered from our own internal energies. You already may feel worried over something. You already may feel panic that, “Oh my god, I don’t have enough toilet paper!” It’s the exponential increase of the worry that you’re trying to reduce. “Who does this belong to?” “Who do these feelings of worry, panic, anger, etc., belong to?” Allow the feelings to come up. Ask the question EXPECTING an answer. Take a deep breath and ask again, “Who do these feelings belong to?”
Almost every person I have worked with using this approach has immediately felt a drop in the level of their emotional intensity. You may not notice much after the first round, but if you do it again, then again, each time with intensity of intention saying, “Who do these feelings belong to?” The next thing you know is, “I do need to buy some toilet paper, but it can wait until next week.”
We’re living in an unprecedented time. In past disasters that have befallen the nation and the world, we have had to wait for the morning newspaper or the evening news, when we had very few stations. There is now 24-hour coverage. That can be in our favor, but for many of us, it’s not. Do you need to avoid the constant blitz of the media? That’s a question that can be interpreted in many ways. Some will feel they cannot turn off the media because they have a great need to be informed, and that’s okay. This energy is ALREADY in the collective unconscious and it’s a matter of becoming aware of YOURSELF as part of the collective.
This does not have as much to do with listening to the media as it does with becoming AWARE of your own feelings. If you do choose to stay connected, do so with a measure of discernment. Keep in mind that newspapers, news programs and the media sell advertising. They often use sensationalism. That’s not to imply that they aren’t reporting true stories, it’s that they do so with a measure of sensationalism—to capture the interest of the reader, the viewer. I’m not saying to turn it all off and go into isolation or be a hermit, but use discernment when watching, when reading. Mostly, it is in those times when it SEEMS like it is completely unrelated that you suddenly feel you need a gallon of milk, and THEN you feel panic.
A special note for empaths: Even those of us who are familiar with the impact of energies can be affected or caught off-guard. As an empath, I found myself buying several hundred dollars of food this past week. In and of itself, that was rather extreme, but then add the fact that I had been shopping two days before. It wasn’t until I was at the register and saw the total bill that I realized, “Oh, these feelings aren’t mine!” Yes, it was a little late in the game! Those are the times we need to remind ourselves we are a part of the collective and need to be compassionate with ourselves. Try to find joy, which can be a little rough these days. The more joy you have, the stronger your immune system will be. It doesn’t mean you will be protected from every virus or won’t contract an illness, but whatever level your immune system was at, it will increase to a degree and be stronger.
Dr. Kocourek wishes to express her gratitude to Patrick Rodriguez for sharing his perspective and experience. She hopes her readers find it helpful in navigating the COVID-19 situation and anxiety in general. Patrick has been doing energy work with clients worldwide for over thirty years. He can be contacted via his website: www.soulhealingtherapy.com. He holds sessions via telephone or Skype.
© Trinity Integrative Family Medicine, Inc., glkocourek, Mar-2020; revised 09-May-2021