The Origins of a Mass Psychosis

In The Real Risk published at the beginning of November, I highlighted the true danger of totalitarianism as the globalist’s agenda marches onward.

Today, we’ll do a deep dive into why the rise of totalitarianism is happening.

I’m not referring to why the global technocrats want to establish totalitarian systems of control. (That’s a topic for a different day.)

Instead, we’ll examine the psychological dynamics of why so many people are willing participants.

While it can be argued that what’s unfolding right now is unprecedented, the truth is that what’s happening is following predictive patterns that occur throughout history.

What’s different now is the scale of this global initiative.

DISCLAIMER

This article addresses deeply-rooted and challenging topics. It is written for open-minded adults who are seeking insight and alternative perspectives on various complex issues. If you get emotionally triggered by the information presented here and you feel compelled to send me a message to express your negative emotions (instead of working within yourself), please save your energy and use the Unsubscribe link in the original message instead.

PART 1: The Dynamics of a Mass Psychosis

If you haven’t already seen it, I highly recommend watching Mass Psychosis: How an Entire Population Becomes Mentally Ill.

I’ve referenced this presentation by Academy of Ideas numerous times before, but it bears repeating and it’s worth watching more than once.

We are our own worst enemies or as the Latin proverb puts it “Man is wolf to man.” In Civilization in Transition Jung states that this proverb “is a sad yet eternal truism” and our wolf-like tendencies come most prominently into play at those times of history when mental illness becomes the norm, rather than the exception in a society, a situation which Jung termed a psychic epidemic.

For those of you who have been examining your shadow, you will likely appreciate the truth of this perspective.

A mass psychosis occurs when a large portion of society loses touch with reality and descends into delusions.

Jung found that those who make up the infected society “become morally and spiritually inferior” sinking to an “inferior, intellectual level.”

Once individuals form a group within this mental state, they are capable of freely committing crimes without remorse.

Such dynamics were observed in Stanley Milgram’s experiments on obedience and authority in the 1960s.

Philip Zimbardo also witnessed similar results in his famous 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment.

If you’re unfamiliar with this experiment, see Zimbardo’s enlightening TED talk on the Psychology of Evil.

Here’s a one-sentence summary: Given the right conditions, we are all capable of committing the worst atrocities against each other.

Mattias Desmet & Mass Formation

The extraordinary thing about this regressive process is that it happens on an unconscious level.

That is, most of the individuals engaged in these atrocities (including many who are simply complicit and compliant with them) aren’t even aware of what they are doing—either to themselves or others.

They have fallen under a kind of mass hypnosis and collective delusion.

I invite you to check out the work of Mattias Desmet, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Ghent University.

Dr. Desmet’s main focus is on a concept called mass formation—a mass psychosis that leads to totalitarianism.

Here are four excellent interviews with Mattias Desmet:

Interview 1 | Interview 2 | Interview 3 | Interview 4

At the very least, I recommend watching this interview to get a better understanding of the psychology of mass formation:

(You don’t need to watch it first. I provide summary points below.)

Mass formation is the exact kind of collective hypnosis and willing participation in totalitarianism that we have been witnessing and experiencing over the last two years.

Under mass formation, many individuals lose all capacity for critical thinking (regardless of their education).

Desmet cites Gustave Le Bon’s Psychology of the Crowd in his interviews.

Le Bon pointed out that the higher the level of education, the more susceptible individuals are to mass formation. (I have certainly observed this to be the case as well.)

This lack of critical thinking helps explain why providing more facts and information to individuals under this hypnosis doesn’t help many people wake up.

Four Conditions for Mass Formation

Desmet highlights four conditions that need to be met for mass formation to take place:

1. A lack of social connectedness;
2. A lack of meaning;
3. Free-floating anxiety and discontent; and
4. Free-floating frustration and aggression.

“Free-floating anxiety” means a person feels anxious but doesn’t know why (and isn’t necessarily fully aware of this anxiety).

Clearly, our modern society satisfies all four of these criteria prior to this pandemic narrative.

Unmet Basic Human Needs

Not surprisingly, all four of these criteria are addressed directly by Abraham Maslow and other humanistic psychologists.

Three out of four of these conditions speak to unmet basic human needs. (Meaning itself is a more complex need that we’ll address below.)

Unmet basic needs, Maslow found, create a sense of deficiency, anxiety, and often aggression within the individual.

The reality is that the majority of humans in our modern world have deep reservoirs of anxiety and aggression for a host of reasons.

Under this social context, the pandemic narrative was deployed around the world by corporate news outlets, big pharma, big tech, and many world governments.

Desmet explains that this narrative allowed millions of people to focus their anxiety and aggression on a specific object.

That is, instead of having “free-floating anxiety,” this energy was now focused on a virus and a pandemic storyline.

The object of their aggression became those who weren’t complying with the narrative. The exact same dynamics were orchestrated during the Salem witch trials and Nazi Germany.

Having an enemy to focus on is essential for this mass psychosis to take place.

Mental Intoxication of Connectedness & Participation Mystique

In mass formation, Desmet explains, the more nonsensical the narrative, the better it functions as a ritual for those participating in the group.

The rituals (in this case, mandates) then enabled people to band together, providing a feeling of belonging.

This heroic battle with the object of anxiety leads to what Desmet calls “mental intoxication of connectedness.”

Jung called this kind of “high” participation mystique.

Participation mystique it’s clearly observable in every cult-like group or experience throughout history.

Once this feeling of connectedness occurs, those participating in the mass hypnosis feel a sense of order and control, which helps to reduce their anxiety and aggression.

In a way, this pandemic narrative became a kind of mental drug for many of its participants.

As such, many of those under the spell of this mental intoxication will cling to the narrative for as long as possible—no matter how ridiculous, abusive, or violent it becomes.

Campbell on Myth and Meaning

Before his passing in the mid-1980s, comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell expressed deep concern for future generations.

Campbell observed that our collective myths (organized religions) had been losing their influence on the masses for decades.

When an individual is in resonance with a group mythology (in the form of religion), they don’t need to search for meaning.

Instead, they are told by an outside source what to believe and what life means; no further exploration is necessary or sought.

These organized belief systems give a certain degree of structure to the individual’s psyche.

But what happens when large numbers of individuals don’t have these external myths operating within them?

Without a living mythology, Campbell understood, the psyche is like a boat without a rudder.

The Pitfalls of Nihilism

For over a century, postmodern philosophers have arrived at two important and inter-related insights:

1. We have infinite choices in our lives and
2. There is no inherent meaning to these choices.

(These are actually very deep insights if you reflect on them for a while with an open mind.)

But most postmodern philosophers tended to be deeply depressed individuals (take Nietzsche, for instance).

Depression can take different forms. The average person might get depressed when life doesn’t go their way or when they fail at achieving the desired aim.

This run-of-the-mill depression differs greatly from existential depression that can arise from the contemplation of the two insights listed above.

The more one examines this lack of universal meaning, the deeper one’s existential depression and inner angst can become.

If one stays on this track for long, it can ultimately lead to nihilism.

With nihilism, things like values, virtues, morality, knowledge, and truth become pointless.

Life becomes a series of useless meanderings heading to oblivion.

The philosophy of nihilism leads one to take a destructive attitude toward life (because “who cares” if nothing means anything).

Nihilists believe there are no consequences for one’s actions and decisions. Only this material experience exists (nothing spiritual beyond it).

Unfortunately, the globalists and technocrats behind this “great reset” agenda have adopted this nihilistic philosophy. As such, they don’t see value in human life.

Many individuals among the masses also have a nihilistic attitude toward life.

For them, nihilism was handed to them subconsciously, mainly via media influences (film and TV) and academic fairy tales presented as “science.”

And they adopted this philosophic position without consciously examining or choosing it.

Solutions to Nihilism and Existential Angst 

Humanistic psychologists like Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers found a solution to this problem many decades ago:

Actualize your innate creative potential.

The term Maslow used for this process was self-actualization.

Basically, forge your own path. Create your own play. Cultivate mastery within.

Campbell arrived at a similar solution:

Create your own meaning. Live your own myth.

Campbell believed that it was up to each of us to cultivate our personal mythologies and keep them alive within us.

Some individuals have found “inner guidance” to become self-actualizing and to cultivate meaning for themselves.

A portion of society still has the older myths alive within them.

But the vast majority of us are experiencing a great deal of anxiety, depression, aggression, and a lack of meaning.

Most people live in discontent with their lives, work, families, and relationships. (And there are many reasons why this is so.)

As such, we find ourselves amidst a global totalitarian takeover and self-inflicted mass genocide. It’s an unusual period in human history, to say the least.

But let’s probe deeper to examine other mechanisms at work in this mass hypnosis …

PART 2: Eros and Thanatos

I’ve written at length about the opposing forces within our psyche.

From my experience, highlighting these opposing forces and becoming more acutely aware of how they operate within us, is an essential aspect of developing our consciousness.

This split or divide with us is what generates most of our self-inflicted suffering and conflict with others.

One of the most fundamental opposing forces is that of Eros and Thanatos.

In Greek mythology, Eros is the god of love.

In depth psychology, Eros is associated with the life instinct or the drive to live and experience.

Thanatos, in contrast, is the Greek god of death.

(In the Marvel universe, comic creator Stan Lee likely adapted the lead villain Thanos from Thanatos.)

In Hindu mythology, a close correlate would be Shakti and Shiva, the creator and destroyer gods.

Freud first highlighted this “death instinct” as a primary drive in human behavior (along with pleasure/Eros).

Eros and Thanatos are yet another illustration of opposing forces within the psyche:

The drive to live and the drive to die.

Yes, you read that correctly; we also have a drive toward death.

How Tobacco Companies Profited From Thanatos

In 1964, the Surgeon General released a report based on over 7,000 articles concluding that cigarette smoking caused lung cancer and chronic bronchitis.

It was ranked one of the top news stories of that year.

Needless to say, sales from cigarette companies were falling.

Madison Avenue advertisers were tasked with promoting tobacco cigarette brands to boost sales.

It’s not a secret that tobacco and alcohol companies use sex (Eros) to sell their products.

But following the Surgeon General’s warning, clever advertisers learned that they can tap into the death instinct to effectively generate sales for their clients as well.

Below is an illustration from advertiser Saatchi & Saatchi for tobacco giant Gallaher’s “Silk Cut” cigarette brand.

It was printed in 1983 and is considered one of the most successful cigarette advertising campaigns in history.

source

Essentially, the advertiser linked in the consumer’s mind this tobacco brand with the famous scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s horror film Psycho (1960) to sell cigarettes.

And again, this was a highly successful ad campaign.

Here are more illustrations of how advertisers and marketers effectively used the death instinct to sell cigarettes.

Identifying the Death Instinct

Some readers will identify with the death instinct right away.

They have experienced deep depression (perhaps even now), and they have heard that inner voice who seeks suicide to end their suffering.

(Keep in mind that demoralization is a key weapon used by the globalists during this pandemic to coerce compliance and squash the human spirit.)

Other readers might have a difficult time comprehending the death instinct.

They simply won’t allow themselves to consider the fact that they too have this drive toward death within them.

One way anyone can observe this Thanatosian drive is in their daily habits and impulses.

Who doesn’t have a list of destructive habits or impulses that they seek to tame?

How many bestselling books have been published on how to change our habits?

Why do we often take actions that are in opposition to our Future Self?

Why do we face such a seemingly eternal struggle with impulse control?

I understand that the prevailing belief of neuroscience pits the cause of impulse control on neurochemistry. But I would argue that this is a materialistic interpretation and that neurochemistry is an effect, not a cause.

Poor food choices, excessive alcohol consumption, drug use, media consumption, use of harmful hair and skin products, playing video games—there are a multitude of ways the death instinct operates within us.

Thanatos Can Be Elusive

Oftentimes, we avoid educating ourselves on things that are harmful to us.

For example, how many people avoid scrutinizing the foods they consume, reading the labels, and learning what it all means?

Most of us are willingly poisoning ourselves by making the unconscious decision to stay in ignorance.

My guess is that most people would radically change their orientation and usage of their smartphones if they looked into the research of what EMF actually does to our biochemistry and our blood.

I’m confident that most people would be far more apprehensive to be exposed to radiation from WIFI and Bluetooth technologies after conducting a genuine investigation for themselves.

But staying in ignorance is a hidden driver behind Thanatos.

And this force operates through us despite our self-preserving instincts and our will to live (Eros).

Many so-called “accidents” are the result of a repressed death instinct too.

One illustration of how Thanatos operates is the death of Tony Hsieh.

Tony was the CEO of Zappos. He was an inspiring leader in the business community who used uplifting values to drive the culture of his ultra-successful online retail business.

He died in a house fire, apparently trapped in a storage area. I don’t know if the cause of the fire was ever revealed, but Tony died of smoke inhalation about a week later. He was only 46 years old.

To me, this is an unfortunate illustration of passive suicide. (Numerous people in Tony’s inner circle, including the music artist Jewel, commented on his downward spiral of excessive drug use prior to his fatal accident.)

I believe this type of thing happens every day.

The Rise of Thanatos

The insanity of our current society seems to be increasing by the day.

Of course, the social engineers behind this “great reset” are setting the conditions for this insanity intentionally to “move the herd” to their established future aim. (It’s a transhumanist technological control grid devoid of soul or spirit.)

Now, Switzerland has given the green light to Suicide Pods. (You read that correctly.)

A woman in Victoria, Australia set herself on fire in her car with a sign, “No one cares, mandates are killing us.”

Suicide rates will likely continue to reach all-time highs in many countries as these draconian mandates persist. (And the upcoming financial and food crises won’t help either.)

Back in June 2020, 10% of people reported having suicidal thoughts during the lockdown. Among young adults, it was 1 out of every 4.

Experimental gene therapy has been unleashed on the world. These experimental needles are even being pointed at our children.

The “official” death count from the injections is now over 21,000.

And VAERS admits that less than 1% of “adverse events” are being reported. (You can do the math yourself.)

Again, for contrast, the Swine flu vax was taken off the market after only 25 deaths.

Dr. Steve Kirsch estimates that 388,000 Americans have been killed by these “vaccines.”

A new independent study confirms that over 150,000 Americans have died from the injections so far. From the reports I’m hearing, we’re just getting started.

Seems like another pro athlete either collapses or dies on the field every few days now. (source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4, source 5; source 6)

There’s a 60X increase in athletes dropping on the playing field/court over prior years.

See also: Reiner Füllmich & 50 lawyers: ”The vaccines are designed to kill and depopulate the planet”

I’ve seen corporate news articles saying the cause of these heart problems is due to “post-pandemic stress disorder,” the “western diet,” and even “climate change.” Wow!

As Mattias Desmet said, in mass formation the more nonsensical the narrative, the better it functions as a ritual for those participating in the group.

Those fully under the hypnosis will double-down and triple-down on the provided narrative—whatever it takes to keep from feeling the gravity of the alternative.

Such is the situation in the mass psychosis we find ourselves in.

The Battle Between Light and Dark

What we repress grows stronger.

This is a fundamental tenet of the psyche that we often want to avoid hearing (even though that doesn’t make it any less true).

Our conscious minds have biases and positions in favor of one polarity over the other.

The more we repress one drive (say, the death instinct) and consciously push toward the opposite (love and life), the stronger the repressed drive becomes within our unconscious.

For example, striving to be “happy,” can often reinforce depression, anxiety, and sadness.

(I think what happened to Tony Hsieh, the bestselling author of Delivering Happiness, can be instructive to all of us.)

This repression is easily observable in certain new age and religious circles that seek to espouse “love and light.”

They focus on “ascending to a higher dimension” and “operating at a higher frequency.”

To accomplish this, of course, they need to cut themselves off from the darkness within themselves.

“Lightworkers” versus the “dark forces”—it’s an age-old storyline.

And it’s a clear illustration of our divided minds and deep wounds within our psyche.

The Dark Side of Prayer

The traditional way of counteracting Thanatos is via prayer.

Praying to a higher power evokes the “light side” in an effort to repel the darkness.

While prayer can be effective at times, it must be consistently maintained with fervor. Otherwise, the darkness begins to creep in once more.

But there’s another reason to be wary of prayer, and that is how one prays.

Consider what individuals are doing when they pray for love, for peace, or for help.

Is this not a negative affirmation?

When you pray for peace, are you not acknowledging that peace does not exist? (Otherwise, why pray for it?)

It could be argued that this is a form of black magic. And it’s performed unconsciously by millions of people every day.

Also, many people pray from a place of fear—fear of judgment, fear of the creator, and so on.

Again, I’m not suggesting that prayer can’t be efficacious, but I believe most people aren’t sufficiently conscious of how they pray.

And as such, they pray in a manner that can be more destructive than helpful.

Harmonizing the Opposites

The ancient traditions provided an alternative means of addressing the polarity of light versus darkness: the development of higher consciousness.

Most of the ancient traditions that were guided by practices and methods (as opposed to dogma) highlighted the importance of seeking the Center—the still point, the middle way, the inner observer.

You learn to simply observe what you’re experiencing without additional commentary or judgment.

From this vantage point, you can witness these opposing forces within you from the position of neutrality.

Here, you no longer leak your energy trying to engineer positivity to mask your true feelings.

(Feeling depressed, anxious, or angry during these challenging times is natural and human.)

As such, your unconscious doesn’t need to generate a strong counterforce to your engineered emotions.

Instead, slowly, you begin to arrive at okayness in the Center, seeing through a lens of clarity.

From here, you can take a constructive attitude toward life without clinging to it or secretly seeking your own demise.

You can live in the present instead of being a slave to your mind’s prior conditioning or to the agendas of exterior controlling forces (the global technocracy).

Instead, you listen to your inner guidance (call it “Spirit,” if you like) and act from there.

As Joseph Campbell said:

There’s a center of quietness within, which has to be known and held. If you lose that center, you are in tension and begin to fall apart.

The world is falling apart at an exponential rate.

If you’re feeling things are “out of control,” work with what’s in your control.

The more each of us does this, the more we dispel the energy behind this mass psychosis.

Where Are We Now?

In the interviews I linked to above from Dr. Mattias Desmet, he says that in mass formation, only about 30% of the population comes fully under the collective hypnosis (mob mentality).

About 50% aren’t under the spell but they are simply going along with the masses.

And the remaining 10% to 20% want to speak out and change the situation.

Stanley Milgram also concluded from his experiments that only about 20% of people have the capacity to disobey authority (at least initially).

The good news is that each day, more people are waking up.

Each step the globalists take toward their agenda for totalitarianism creates more opposition.

Many people who accepted the original narrative are now starting to see through the mirage.

The more insane things get, the more people will wake up to what’s going on.

And eventually, it will all collapse in on itself.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s The Real Anthony Fauci has made the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller lists. It has been the #1 bestseller on Amazon for over 9 straight weeks.

Fauci is guilty of untold crimes against humanity. I don’t think it’s inappropriate to label him (or Bill Gates) a mass murder.

But he is not being indicted despite all of the documented evidence, which clearly illustrates the magnitude of the collusion behind this global agenda.

(For anyone interested, here’s a list of names of the individuals responsible for killing humanity with this plandemic, compiled by Dr. David Martin.)

One of the leading cardiologists in the United States, Dr. Peter McCullough was recently interviewed by Joe Rogan, who hosts one of the most widely listened to podcasts. The show went viral.

McCullough is one of the few medical experts who didn’t succumb to mass formation and has been speaking out against this agenda from the beginning.

Corporate media is getting less influential by the day (especially CNN who seems pretty busy with their many pedophilia scandals).

Millions of people around the world continue to protest each month—despite the fact that corporate media won’t cover it.

While I don’t think we’ve reached the tipping point yet, the energy of this mass hypnosis appears to be losing some steam.

I realize we covered some “heavy” topics today. I’ll leave you with a satirical look at what’s unfolding from comedian J.P. Sears: