Bombings at the Boston Marathon

We all experienced a sadly familiar sense of shock and horror when we read or saw that two bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Of course, it’s too early to know what or how or why; at this point, it’s all about images and anguish, sorrow for those on the scene and shock for the rest of us observing the media reports.

I remember when the news of 9-11 hit, we all went through the classic stages of reaction: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance – not necessarily in that exact order, but rather mixed and muddled together. I work with energy healers and human programmers, and the first thing we noticed was that the bliss bio-computer of the entire country crashed as the media repeatedly showed pictures of the plane hitting the tower. This is not a criticism; they were just doing their job. However, journalists and newspapers (and television news stations) were still playing into the hands of the terrorists, because the point of the 9-11 attacks was to disable the country, not the buildings. In that, they were successful; we are still feeling the effects today as we endure security screenings at the airport, security agencies that basically operate outside the law, and banking restrictions that border on the ridiculous. Other countries that have had much more prolonged exposure to terrorism manage to conduct themselves with more confidence in the public; what makes American reactions so different?

I think that as a country we have become so used to dominating the world that we cannot believe anyone would successfully stand up to us. Of course I am not saying that there is any justification for terrorism: there is not. However, our national response is akin to that shown by the playground bully who does whatever he wants but is shocked when someone does the same back to him. There are consequences to acting without restraint; we are quick to point these out to others who do what we don’t agree with, but (speaking as a country) find it very hard that we ourselves might be vulnerable to attack as well.

This unfortunate situation is made worse because we no longer have practice at resiliency… and maybe this is because we lack clarity on our correct place among the nations of the world. We don’t feel as if we should have to bounce back from anything. We act as if we are inviolate, immune from any criticism or self-awareness in our interactions with the rest of the world.

Now, we don’t know who set off the bombs in Boston, and we don’t have any way to prevent what has already occurred. We do have choices about our immediate reactions and eventual responses to this and other public acts of violence. As with any other shock or trauma, our first responsibility lies in supporting those immediately affected. Fortunately, this is something we Americans are very good at: sending aid after the fact.

We also need to regain our own equilibrium; our shock and dismay doesn’t help find solutions for anyone. The real problem is that we tend to base our response on outrage, which is just the reaction terrorists are looking for. These lower forces that sometimes operate through us HAVE TO aggravate, irritate, agitate, frustrate, or force us to tolerate things we should never put up with. When we give in to that temptation to express rage, revenge, depression or grudges, we are allowing even more access to negative energies that feed off human imbalance and lack of inner harmony. What we need most is to breathe, reset and reboot our inner bio-computers so that we can move forward in a more thoughtful, measured way.

Forgiveness is not a matter of saying we agree with somone who has done us wrong. It does mean that we no longer allow anyone else’s hatred, greed, envy, malice or sheer insanity to dictate what we think, feel, believe or desire, much less spark our laws or actions. What you focus on expands in your life, so make sure your actions and choices focus on how you can help, give, serve, teach and allow what is right in the world: what builds up rather than tearing down, or seeking vengeance for the destructive actions of others.