The Parallels Between Slavery & Cancer
Recently I had a close look at the politics of slavery and what the inner psyche of a slave looks like. It might seem like a stark contrast, but there are similarities to our modern day cancer industry and the beliefs formed around cancer.
A slave who was either brought to the United States or the Caribbean Islands lived a life of complete disempowerment. Their whole existence was steeped in fear. Fear is a powerful tool to control the masses. Take a proud race of 100 million people and how do you manipulate them to follow your bidding? Take away their power, teach them they are nobody and degrade their sense of identity and they are putty in your hands. This is indeed a sad reality and tragedy that still affects their descendants today.
I am of European ancestry. Just being born a white womyn, I am automatically given a sense of entitlement than others of a darker skin color. Did I ask for this upon birth? No. Was this a subconscious belief that I learned by being brought up in white America? Yes. Are the roots of prejudice in me even if I was born in Northern California far away from the Deep South? Sadly yes. (Continue reading for more about this subconscious prejudice.)
Recently I was on the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean. St. Vincent was one of the last islands to be ‘colonized’ by Great Britain, therefore the spirit of the people are stronger than those of other Caribbean islands which were slave breeding islands for three hundred years.
I grew up in Northern California in the seventies near the Bay Area, which was the birthplace of the hippy movement, Apple computer and forward thinking people. I pride myself for being open to new ideas and ways of being. I’ve been steeped in the cancer world since the Leukemia diagnosis of my best friend over four years ago and the Stage 3 Breast Cancer diagnosis I received eighteen months ago. This healing journey has necessitated that I take a close look at my belief systems and how I navigate in the world. When I crack the code and see my own oppressor/oppressed subconscious way of thinking I recognize that I have more inner work to do.
I was fortunate to understand the psychological dimensions of slavery and how its trauma impacts each future generation through a dynamic, intelligent teacher this week. I recognize that I have taken on my white cultural belief system of believing that in my entitlement of having the skin color I do that I can help another race that is less fortunate than me. I was shown that this way of thinking is in fact falling into the oppressor/oppressed cycle of belief. What those of us who were born with this privilege need to realize is that we have inherited a thought paradigm by simply being born ‘white’. What needs to be addressed is how we mentally separate ourselves from those of a different race. To recognize a pattern is the first step to bringing awareness to an issue.
Where does cancer come into this? As soon as I was diagnosed I was steeped in an incredible amount of fear from society, doctors, family and friends. Sentences like, “you will die soon if you don’t do this treatment” “We are going to prepare for your death” “You don’t have too long to live so you need to start chemotherapy” were thrown in my face. I am connected with a vast network of cancer journeyers walking a path of healing cancer naturally and ALL of us have been coerced by fear. It is no small feat to stand in front of the modern day cancer industry and refuse it’s toxic treatments to ‘heal’ cancer. Fear can force someone into something that they may not have chosen if they had taken time to sit with their decision. Tell someone they will die if they don’t ingest massive amount of chemotherapy and you’re much more likely to get someone to agree with the treatment, whether it is a conscious choice or not. Unfortunately I know too many people who regret rushing into chemotherapy, surgery or radiation as others pressured them to do so.
Fear can be used to manipulate mass groups of people for a greater purpose whether it is about slavery, the health industry, religion or the government. Unfortunately with our current United States government we have been given an increasing dose of fear since that fateful day on 9/11. (For those of you old enough to remember what it was like before 9/11, do you remember life before that fateful day? Do you remember how the so-called terrorist attacks helped to justify a new massive level of control in the USA?) Fear controls the masses. Keep feeding the population disempowering propaganda and you will soon have a host of mindless bodies willing to do the bidding of whatever larger system is in control.
While we are fortunate to be free of the horrors of slavery in our day and age, another nightmare is playing out with our health and food system. We are tangled in the puppet strings of a system that is about profit from the masses and basically keeping the American population sick. For every new cancer patient diagnosis big pharmaceutical companies can make $300 K or more through chemotherapy, surgery, radiation and hormone blockers. This is not even mentioning the tendency to over diagnose and the false diagnosis issue. Can you see why fear is an important element to control the masses with the colossal amount of profit to be made on a cancer patient? Please see the movie 'What the Health' for more information about how heart disease, diabetes and cancer is a humongous profit machine for big pharma!
Slavery comes in all forms, mental and physical. I encourage you to question your belief system. Where do you get caught up in mental belief systems about your own cultural identity and race? Where can you expand your awareness to see beyond what you were taught? Where does the edge of fear catch you regardless if you have a cancer diagnosis or not? If you are on a cancer journey, do you get caught up in the cycle of fear and how does that impact the choices you make about your healing protocol?
True empowerment comes from awareness of our thoughts and actions. If I am aware of all of my decisions and choices I make than that creates a ripple of awareness that will affect others in turn. The way to wake up as a nation, world, human species and the earth that desperately needs healing is for each of us to claim responsibility for our beliefs. If one person suffers than all of us do. Lets take the higher road and choose to go beyond our limited selves to embrace a deeper healing and a world where no one is caught in the chains of mental or physical slavery. We owe it to our future generations and precious earth. It is time to wake up!