Cross postings: coping with the pandemic and egregores (group minds)

The following posts were originally posted on my main blog at https://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2020/04/post-no-1526-coping-with-pandemic.html and https://gnwmythr.blogspot.com/2020/04/post-no-1525-egregores.html.

Coping with the pandemic
It's only been a few weeks, and already some people are showing signs of stress. I'm fortunate not only to be an introvert, one with a strong inclination towards being a hermit in recent years, but also to have been doing things like meditation since I was 14.

We're seeing an apparent split of people into two groups: those who are being generous, and those who are being fearful and focused on survival.

I have to say, some of the latter are (a) people who have been doing it rough anyway, living from hand to mouth (or pay cheque to pay cheque) and thus have genuine worries about how they and their families will survive, and (b) people who have been harmed by the poor communication from the authorities (in particular, the FAILURE to talk about how people could still get groceries right from the start, as well as the failure to act decisively to support everyday people).

By now, they may well be feeling embarrassed about how they behaved, and, on the other hand, those who have behaved with generosity may be starting to feel the effects of confinement.

From here on, I suspect it is likely we are going to have to take turns at supporting each other. One one day (or week), person X will be strong enough to support others, the next day (or week) it may be person Y. We're going to have to be tolerant and understanding of each other and our respective strengths and weaknesses, and accommodate the changes that will happen over time.

Egregores

I've been reading  T.  Thorne  Coyle's book "By Dusk" (seventh in the "Witches of Portland" series), and it's pleasing for a few reasons. Apart from being a well-written book about magic and social/environmental issues, it also covers egregores.

Finally I've come across a book which talks about what used to be termed "group mind" in the context of a commercial organisation.

Ms T. Thorne Coyle has written about this before, which I mentioned here (although I can't find that page any more), but it is also great to see this in a book. Presenting the battle against such egregores in a novel helps, in my opinion, people conceive of being able to overcome some problems - although some egregores/group minds are good, or at least neutral.

In terms of overcoming such in corporations, the social activism leading to work on diversity and inclusion and social responsibility/a social licence to operate is also helping to transform problematic group minds/egregores.

It all helps - especially if we intend to work together.