The advice I give myself as a seeker of truth when scouring the Internet is this:
1. Watch the Us vs Them
Tread VERY carefully with anything that puts me into an “us vs. them” mode of thinking. Pushing against hardens my biases. Trying to understand the other side, even when that other side is being framed as evil itself, will often soften me to the sound of clarity.
2. Check the Word “All”
Check myself if I hear the word “ALL” coming from my mouth. Very rarely is EVERYONE in on it. And even when “they” are “all” in on it, it’s often guilt by association or ignorance. There’s more clarity in understanding that ignorance than attacking it.
3. Notice What You Want to Believe
It’s incredibly easy to be duped when you’re listening for something that you want to be true. I attempt to stay mindful of that and approach news from a place of: Can I corroborate this information and is there a more “rational” news source I trust with a different story that could also make sense?
4. Ask What They’re Selling
What is the YouTube channel selling or promoting? It doesn’t mean they aren’t a credible source. It’s just good to know when the guy talking about guns is also selling survival go-bags for the apocalypse.
5. The Spiritual Discernment Meaning
Finally, I ask myself, “IF this were true, how would I feel?” And I just feel as deeply into that feeling as I’m able. I sit with whatever feeling it stirs up within me and sit with it for a good while. I feel through the rage or resentment and get into the fear and then the grief. I’m looking for the causal emotion.
This is the spiritual discernment meaning in practice: feeling so deeply into what I’m watching that it moves all the way through me.
I try not to take any action until I’ve let those core emotions come up and pass through every ounce of my being. And then I ask if any of what I just watched was “true” and if there’s a mode of integrity that I’m inspired to enact in that moment.
Discernment in Practice
I wait until I’m in emotional integrity with myself and THEN if still inspired: I take action.
But even in the complete absence of truth, the most obvious lies can still show us our deepest fears. They can trigger healing when we let them stir up, find, and trigger the experience of all of the latent emotional programs and injuries within us which we’ve been so cleverly hiding from.
I’m much more interested in the CAUSE of my gut reactions than the reactions themselves.
As I learn to let the news become a catalyst for ridding me of mental, emotional, and spiritual biases, I find that everything ends up serving me in beautiful ways. And from a place of emotional integrity, I know what I’m to do next.
This is shadow work in action.
If you’re ready to feel through what triggers you, explore the Shadow Work practices.
Godspeed.