A COLLECTIVE PSYCHOSIS

It is a very dangerous situation we are in- because of the position of
power Bush and the religious right find themselves in, they can
literally dream up and create the very apocalypse that they are
imagining is prophesized, like a Self-fulfilling prophecy. In a
perversely self-reinforcing feedback-loop, the more death and
destruction happens, the more this confirms to them the truth that their
deluded end-time scenario is actually happening as prophesized. In a
diabolical self-validating vicious cycle, Bush and the religious right
are ignoring the role they are playing in creating exactly what they are
using as evidence to prove the rightness of their viewpoint. ME disease
is a world where up is down, as its flawless illogic is convoluted and
inverted at its core.

Malignant egophrenia is crazy-making. It induces a very hard to
recognize form of insanity. When we fall prey to egophrenia, we are
unable to recognize that we are taken over, as we become bewitched by
our own projections, accusing other people of doing what we ourselves
are doing. For example, Bush is talking about himself when he accuses
Saddam Hussein of being “a man who has defied the world,” and “a man who
has made the United Nations look foolish.” Part of the disease is that
when we point at it and call it by its true name - as being a form of
insanity called ignorance - people who are stricken with the disease
will see us as the one's who are crazy.  Unless we recognize the
insidious nature of this disease, there is a crazy-making field around
it that will make us a part of itself. Collective psychosis is like
that.

There is only one reason why the mainstream psychiatric community is not
studying this contagious psychosis as it spreads through Bush, his
regime, and the surrounding field. They are not studying this disease
because they haven't yet recognized that the disease even exists. To the
extent that any of us are unaware that this non-local pathogen pervades
the field we become hooked by it through our own unconscious blind-spot.
By not recognizing the nature of the disease, the mental health
community becomes its unwitting agents, helping the disease to
propagate. What clearer sign do we need of a collective psychosis than
when our mental health system itself, whose job it is to monitor such
phenomenon, not only doesn't recognize that there is a collective
psychosis running rampant in our society, but are themselves infected
with it?

The DSM-IV, the psychiatric diagnostic manual, is continually expanding
and including new diagnoses as we deepen our understanding of and map
the contours of the human psyche. The problem is that the DSM-IV is an
expression of an ‘old paradigm’ way of thinking in that it looks at
mental illness as it exists in individuals, regarding the individual as
an object existing separate from the field around them. This is based on
an illusion, for the individual is embedded in the greater field (family
system, society, and planetary culture) and is an expression of this
multi-textured field. The individual and the field around them
interpenetrate and condition each other so fully that they can't even be
regarded as two separate aspects that have become joined together, but
rather must be seen as inseparable parts of a greater whole. Egophrenia
expresses itself non-locally throughout the entire field. Consequently,
instead of being viewed through the lens of the fragmented, separate
self, it requires a more holistic vision that recognizes the existence
of the interdependently co-arising field. It’s not a question of
integrating ME disease into the existing DSM-IV, but instead of
radically expanding, up-leveling and re-visioning our understanding of
the nature of illness itself.

It’s profoundly important that the mental health community at large
recognize this age-old disease with which we are all afflicted. Doing
this changes this community from being part of the problem to part of
the solution. The disease literally feeds on our unawareness of it. The
recognition of the disease is itself the beginning of the cure. By
recognizing the nature of this collective psychosis, we snap out of
being part of it. Malignant egophrenia, unrecognized and misdiagnosed
until now, has wreaked havoc all throughout human history, and is at the
very root of our current world crisis. To the extent we are unaware of
the nature of this collective psychosis, it has us in its grips and will
unconsciously get acted out through us in a destructive manner. The
choice is truly ours.

One of the signatures of ME disease is that it hooks people through
their unconscious blind-spot, so when people are afflicted by this
deadly disease they are truly asleep to what is getting acted out
through them. Bush himself is being manipulated, used and victimized,
like a puppet on a string, by a deeper matrix of cover-up and deceit
that has been perpetrated by him and his very regime, and has now taken
on an autonomous life of its own. This disease, if it gets out of
control, means self-destruction for both victim and perpetrator. There
are no winners. The entire interconnected web that supports Bush can be
recognized to be tentacles of this virulent, non-local pathogen that, to
the extent that it is not seen, is potentially gaining more and more
sovereignty. Like a sci-fi movie, we have dreamed up a
higher-dimensional Frankenstein monster that has taken on a life of its
own and truly threatens all of us.

THE IMPORTANCE OF NAMING THE DISEASE

Malignant egophrenia is both an expression of and at the root of the
extreme polarization and dissociation in both the human psyche and the
world process at large. The disease is archetypal in nature, which is to
say that it has eternally re-created itself and played itself out over
the course of history. We can even say that it’s the ‘bug’ in the system
that has in-formed and given shape to all of the conflict and disharmony
of human relationship. ME disease is as old as the human species.
However, we’re now at the point in our evolution where we can finally
recognize it, see it, give it a name and diagnose it.

Malignant egophrenia is truly diabolical in nature and is what the
ancient, indigenous cultures would call a demon. Jung warned us that a
difficult task lay ahead of us after the mass insanity of the second
World War. He points out that after the ‘demons’ abandoned the German
people, these negative energies weren't banished. To quote Jung "the
demons will seek a new victim. And that won't be difficult. Every man
who loses his shadow, every nation that falls into self-righteousness,
is their prey." Projecting the shadow literally opens the door for
malignant egophrenia to take up residence in our being.

What the ancient people called demons Jung calls autonomous complexes,
which are split-off parts of the psyche that can possess a person and
seemingly develop an independent will and quasi-life of their own. These
autonomous complexes can't stand to be seen in much the same way a
vampire can't stand the light. Malignant egophrenia will shape-shift and
do everything in its power to resist being seen. It’s elusive, mercurial
and very much a trickster. The disease obfuscates itself, creating any
number of distractions to hide behind, and will even react violently to
being seen, for being seen takes away its omnipotence and autonomy.

When we see a demon we know its name. Naming it is exorcistic, as it
dis-spells the demon's power over us. To name something is to symbolize
it. The word ‘symbolic,’ which means that which unites, is the antidote
and antonym to the word ‘diabolic,’ which means that which divides and
separates. George Bush claimed to be "a uniter, not a divider." However,
he has only united one thing- the entire world against us. To see this
diabolical aspect of what is coming through Bush, namely, that he is an
instrument that is creating separation, is itself to be seeing with
symbolic awareness.

Naming the disease, we are able to (alchemically) contain it, so that it

can't possess us from behind and act itself out through us
unconsciously. Once the disease is named, it’s anchored to consciousness
so that it can't vaporize back into the unconscious. This de-potentiates
the disease, beginning the process of re-integrating it back into the
profound unity of the psyche. The energy that was bound up in the
compulsion to endlessly re-create the disease becomes liberated and
available for creative expression.  The prescription for this disease is
simply for enough of us who see it to connect with each other in lucid
awareness so that it can be contained, metabolized and healed. We can
put our collective realization together and dream a much more
grace-filled universe into incarnation. This is an evolutionary impulse
from the universe in which we are invited to participate.

Encoded in the disease is its own medicine. Hidden in the daemonic is
our guiding spirit, our true genius and inner voice. This is why Jung
calls the daemonic the "not yet made real creative." The fact that such
a dark shadow is emerging in our world is an expression that light is
nearby, as shadows are themselves an expression of light. Demons are
actually blessings in drag. Lucifer is truly the bringer of light.

A MODERN DAY PLAGUE OF EGYPT

Malignant egophrenia is manifesting itself, both literally and
symbolically, hidden yet visible for all who have eyes to see,
simultaneously veiling and revealing itself. Symbolically encoded in
egophrenia's literal manifestation is the key to its re-solution.
Symbols are the language of dreams. A symbol brings together and
reconciles two contraries into a greater whole. A symbol reflects and
effects a change in and of consciousness itself. A symbol is both the
expression of as well as the doorway into a more transcendent,
higher-dimensional part of ourselves.

People don't see egophrenia because they don't recognize the symbolic
dimension of existence, but rather are absorbed in the literal dimension
of reality. It is very convincing to (only) take things literally and
see these literal facts as "the (one) truth," as events in this world
ARE literally happening. They're as real as real can be. This can be
very entrancing, particularly with the evidence right in front of our
face. People are dying. Seeing symbolically doesn't negate the literal
dimension but instead complements and completes it, as both are true
simultaneously. The literal and symbolic dimensions of reality
interpenetrate each other so fully that they can't be seen as two
separate things that are joined together, but rather are interdependent
parts of a greater whole. The birth of symbolic awareness not only more
fully completes our picture of the nature of the universe we live in,
but gives us access to the way to actually deal with this deadly
disease. Egophrenia is truly initiatory, as it is a wake up call to
symbolic awareness, which is a higher dimension of our being. All that
is needed for malignant egophrenia to reveal its blessing is for us to
recognize its revelatory function.

Jung says "Everything could be left undisturbed did not the new way
demand to be discovered, and did it not visit humanity with all the
plagues of Egypt until it finally is discovered." Malignant egophrenia
is a modern day plague of Egypt. If we don't see what it is symbolically
revealing to us, malignant egophrenia will destroy us. It's a gesture
from the universe, beckoning us, demanding us to integrate it and
thereby receive its blessing. By prompting, pressuring and challenging
us to come to terms with it and receive its gifts, malignant egophrenia
has the potential to awaken us, thereby furthering the evolution of the
species.

The fact that malignant egophrenia is manifesting in fully visible form
in our world right now is an expression that this particular energy is
available for assimilation in a way un-imaginable until now. When an
unconscious content is ready to be integrated, it always gets dreamed up
into fully materialized form. This is the dimension in which the energy
bound up in the infinitely regressing feedback loop of the disease can
be accessed and redeemed.

This quantum leap in consciousness that is being offered us by
egophrenia is fully imaginable into actualization in this very moment.
If we can make use of its lessons, ME disease becomes a portal into a
more whole and integrated part of our being, both individually and
collectively. Egophrenia is introducing and initiating us into the
dreamlike nature of reality, where this universe is like a mass shared
dream that we are all collaboratively dreaming up into full-bodied
materialization together. This is to have the realization that we are
interconnected and not separate from one another, as if we are parts of
and contained in a greater being. We wouldn’t be able to have this
expansion of consciousness without egophrenia, which means that
egophrenia is a ‘potential’ blessing in a very convincing disguise that
it's not.

Being a non-local field phenomenon, the malignant egophrenia epidemic is
something all six billion of us are collaboratively creating and
dreaming up together. Bush is an embodied, mirrored reflection of a part
of ourselves, just like we, reciprocally, are a reflection of a part of
him. His disease is our disease. Bush and his regime are a living,
full-bodied reflection of our collective shadow, as we are of theirs. We
have all dreamed them up to play out these archetypal roles, in full
living color, so that we can see and integrate these parts of ourselves.
Embracing these parts of ourselves that we see so clearly reflected in
Bush and Co. is the first step towards healing the situation. This is
because it dispells the polarization and separation which is the root
factor preventing reconciliation. Bush and Co. are playing out roles
that exist deep inside the collective psyche of all of humanity. If Bush
and Co. weren’t around, there would be someone else sent by ‘central
casting’ to pick up and play out these very same archetypal roles.
Compassion spontaneously arises when we truly recognize these
fear-ridden parts of ourselves.

GENUINE COMPASSION AS ACTIVISM

The malignant egophrenia epidemic is happening right in front of us. It
is self-evident for all who have eyes to see. If we don't look at what’s
happening, if we turn away, ignore it, and contract against it, we are
lying to ourselves. Then we’re colluding with and unknowingly feeding
the disease. Our looking away is a form of blindness. Our looking away
is a form of ignorance. Our looking away, our contraction, IS itself the
disease. Our resulting complacency and inaction is, in fact, an
expression of our lack of compassion. To quote Reverend Martin Luther
King Jr. "One who passively accepts evil [allowing it to happen] is as
much involved in it as the one who perpetrates it."

There is a great danger when we see evil, though. To quote Jung, "It is
a fact that cannot be denied: the wickedness of others becomes our own
wickedness because it kindles something evil in our hearts…..the sight
of evil kindles evil in the soul." Malignant egophrenia forces upon us
the responsibility to come to terms with the evil inside our own hearts.
If we solidify Bush as being evil and react with righteous indignation,
we are guilty of the very same thing we’re accusing Bush of (i.e,
projecting the shadow). We then become a conduit for the very evil we’re
reacting to. Who among us has not been guilty of being a channel for ME
disease at one time or another? If, when we see this virulent pathogen,
we contract against it and react in any way, be it in judgment, hatred,
anger or revulsion, we’re helping to perpetuate the diabolical
polarization that is the signature of the disease. Our reacting in this
way, which is typical of many political activists, is itself an
expression that we ourselves have the disease, or to say it more
clearly, the disease has us.

This disease literally has the potential to humble us. We may think- not
us, we could never catch this disease. However, this very arrogance
opens us up to being hooked by the pathogen. We may think- let's step
out of our arrogance, for who are we to know anything? Let's be an
enlightened bodhisattva and not judge what Bush is doing, for who are we
 to judge? Or let's be an enlightened psychiatrist and not diagnose,
name or pathologize Bush in any way, for we don't want to cast any
spells. However, to have these attitudes is to fall under the seductive
spell of the bug, causing us to disconnect from and give away our power.
In this way, we forsake one of our greatest spiritual treasures, the act
of discernment. Being a spiritual warrior embraces and includes the most
extreme discernment, which is the ability to differentiate and is a
function of seeing clearly. Discernment is different that when we are
unconsciously caught in judgement, which is a reaction to and
contraction against something. Wielding the wisdom of discernment is an
expression of having genuine compassion.

Compassion is sometimes fierce, though. Sometimes it says "no," and sets
a boundary. Genuine compassion is not always smiley-faced, otherwise
known as "idiot compassion," which just enables and reinforces
asleepness. Genuine compassion is not passive. It propels us to act for
the benefit of all beings. True compassion demands us to be willing to
consciously step into our power, mediated through the heart, and to find
the courage to speak our true voice: The malignant egophrenia epidemic
has induced a form of criminal insanity in the entire Bush regime that
we are all complicit in by allowing it to happen.

With Bush as president it’s as if we’re in a car going over the speed
limit being driven by a drunk adolescent who has fallen asleep at the
wheel. It’s our responsibility to recognize the extreme danger of our
situation and come together to do something about it, whatever that
might be. If not, if we continue to passively and helplessly watch what
is playing out in front of our very eyes, then we have no one to blame
but ourselves. To quote Abraham Lincoln, "We- even we here- hold the
power, and bear the responsibility." Now is the time to join together
and creatively express our true voice. As the Reverend Martin Luther
King Jr. says "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about
things that matter."  Our only limitation is in our own imagination.

Malignant egophrenia is a true ‘reconciling symbol,’ in that it unites
the opposites. Malignant egophrenia is both a deadly disease and the
highest blessing co-joined in one phenomenon. Is it a wave or a
particle? It is a true ‘coincidentia oppositorum,’ a conjunction of
opposites, an expression of divinity. The question is, do we recognize
what is being symbolically shown to us by egophrenia, or not? The inner
meaning of the word apocalypse is ‘something hidden being revealed.’
Will these apocalyptic end times we are in be an initiation into a more
expansive part of our being? Or will it destroy our species? The choice
is truly ours. All that is needed is for enough of us to recognize what
is being revealed, and to creatively act out of this realization.





A healer, Paul Levy is a spiritual and political activist. He is in
private practice, helping other people who are also spiritually
awakening to the dream-like nature of reality. He can be reached at
paul@awakeninthedream.com. Please feel free to pass this article along
to a friend if you feel so inspired.

© 2004 P