The biggest conspiracy of all

I find conspiracy theories interesting - not so much on the level of content, but as a phenomenon in themselves. Here I use the term ‘conspiracy theory’ as a neutral description for all the wide-ranging controversial, unproven or unverifiable theories of political, social or systemic conspiracies.

I recently came across a David Icke book and I skimmed through it with interest. I'm aware of his theories but have never read any of his stuff. I didn't really like it. He presented some coherent insight into the ultimate nature of reality as a dream in consciousness, cobbling together elements of ‘The Matrix’ and advaita philosophy, while tacking on his own sci-fi-esque twists about shape-shifting reptiles (yes, really). But my overall feeling was that he's mixed truth with illusion. More damaging than a lie is a twisted truth or a half-truth. The book was called 'Infinite Love Is the Only Truth, All Else is Illusion', but Icke deeply contradicts himself by remaining so deeply immersed and caught up in what he himself says is all an illusion. He briefly talks of love being the only reality, yet his writing appears to come from a place of anger and fear.

It's clear to me that some of the 'conspiracy theories' are self-evident: it's a sad truth that large corporations do have a strong influence on government policy. Whether this is due to a nefarious plot to take over the world and create a 'one world government' or simply down to greed is uncertain, but I'd suspect the latter. The principle of Occam's razor states that the simplest explanation is usually the likeliest. Now, I believe there is evidence to support some conspiracy theories, (I won't go into which ones, as that is not the scope of the intended discussion). There is corruption, there are dubious agendas and all kinds of power plays that can happen within any organisation or government. This seems to be endemic to the unawakened human mind.

But I'm not sure dwelling on such things is a healthy thing. Conspiracy literature, such as David Icke and others, can have a compulsive quality and it's sometimes convincingly written. But I it feel creates anger, fear and paranoia and this can become a mindset.

Our experience of reality is filtered through our mind and psyche. Someone who focuses on conspiracies will tend to see conspiracies everywhere.

"Why hasn't John returned my call? It's been weeks since he got in touch. I bet Janet said something to him about what happened at the party. They've all been talking about it behind my back - they've had it in for me all along."

That's the 'reality' we experience, until we later learn that John has been in hospital and therefore unable to return our calls and that Janet has forgotten all about what happened at the party. I'm sure we've all done this before - seeing a vast conspiracy that exists nowhere other than our minds, a projection of our own insecurities and anxieties.

The mind's tendency to project is something that can't be overstated. Our anxieties, fears, insecurities and prejudices totally colour our view of the world and others (and it's interesting to note that often conspiracies are often levelled against minority groups and their perceived 'agendas' that threaten 'us', highlighting our projected fear and prejudice). We can never say how many of the conspiracy theories are simply projections of our own fears and insecurities. There's actually very little we can know with certainty.

Even if the theories are true, we don't have much scope to change things as long as we're stuck in the low, sticky energy of anger and fear. As Einstein stated, a problem can never be solved at the same level of consciousness that created it.

"He who looks outside dreams, he who looks inside awakens."

One of the best quotes of all time, by Carl Jung! I believe the conspiratorial mindset is disempowering for it keeps us locked in a world that isn't ultimately real anyway. It keeps us from seeking our own truth within and from connecting with the only thing that's real in the dream: the witnessing consciousness.

The only way we can really help the world is to go beyond the world and that means to stop fixating on external phenomena instead seek what's true within. The dreamworld is enticing with all its dramas and thrills and spills, whether they're real or imagined (and, ultimately, I'm pretty certain it's all imagined). But it's still just a dream in consciousness.

Perhaps conspiracy theories are a conspiracy in themselves to keep us distracted from realising our true nature? Could that be the biggest conspiracy of all? ;-)