Medium published my new article “The Coronavirus Era — Time to Calm Down and Rethink Our Lives”

Before the coronavirus became a worldwide phenomenon, we were in a very dangerous global state.

I had felt alarm bells going off as global tension and anxiety were reaching an all-time high. Whether it was fiercely growing world debt, tense international relations, as well as enormous amounts of pollution, among many other problems on personal, social, global and ecological scales, I felt like we were headed rampantly toward another world war.

In one way or another, all of our incorrect competitive-egoistic relations that we had established around the planet needed to calm down.

Then, all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, came the coronavirus. It surfaced precisely at a very threatening time when all the global tensions were about to snap.

Therefore, I am happy that things turned out the way they have for the time being, and that they didn’t turn out much worse.

In addition, above all the theories scattering around on the causes of the coronavirus, the supreme force of nature guides everyone and everything in a very precise and caring manner. In other words, nature organized our exit in a very exact way from the terrible state we were facing.

We, humanity, pushed ourselves to a dead end. Then, with relative smoothness, without any choice on our behalf, nature organized a new state and a way out of our entanglement.

And so it is today that many of us sit at home with nothing to do. The artificial and unessential things we were keeping ourselves busy with will quickly fade away due to us increasingly feeling no need to use them anymore.

As for our lives, and those of our children and grandchildren, it would be wise to create new departments and teams, both at government and societal levels, which will be concerned with bringing an atmosphere of mutual support to society. By doing so, we will all survive through this unique new stage of our development until we will get used to a new way of life.

I hope that after this crisis, all the superpower countries that were flexing their muscles and spreading their tentacles around the world — one financially, another militarily, and another industrially, and so on and so forth — countries like China, the European Union, the United States, Russia, Iran and others, will regain their composure and normalize themselves. Also, I hope to see people calm down from all the travel frenzy around the world.

I am certain that we will see such phenomena as we transition out of this coronavirus era.
I’m envisioning a new world, one where we will free up more and more room in our minds and hearts to consider why we’re alive, what is the meaning of life, and to put an end to all the hustle and bustle.
Until the coronavirus hit us, we were like little children running around from one corner of the room to the other.

From now on, it is all going to change.

We became more mature, and nature, like a disciplining parent, is pointing its finger at us and telling us “That’s enough! Sit down and think about what you’re doing!”

We have entered a new historical era where we need to stop and contemplate on how and why we’re living our lives, that we need to cool off, and after becoming more patient, head forward with more introspection, experience and knowledge about how to live our lives in a more balanced way among each other and with nature.
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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What is the big deal about the new coronavirus, COVID-19?“

COVID-19 is special because it touches everyone.

The coronavirus shows us the vastness of our interconnectedness and interdependence, and the extent to which our essential infrastructures are globally dependent.

Stocks are falling, air travel is limited, people are locked in their houses for quarantine, and it is all due to a minuscule virus.

Even before COVID-19 was called a pandemic, it affected over 100,000 people around the world, taking place in over 80 countries and becoming an epidemic in China, Italy, South Korea and Iran. Some experts say that it can be equated to a world war.

What matters, however, is whether we can draw accurate conclusions from this global-scale phenomenon.

First and foremost, we need to understand that in the face of nature and the common threat, we are all equal.

Over centuries, various scientists have been raising this topic, but nobody accepts it. Secondly, we have to realize that by living in society, we are all in one boat with no escape.

Since our perception is egoistic, through a lens that prioritizes self-benefit above everything else, we cause an imbalance in nature’s interconnected and interdependent system.

Understanding this phenomenon and taking corresponding actions will lead us to building a new model of human relations that fit the integral system we live in.

If we want to prevent further spreading of the coronavirus, we need to wash not only our hands—we need to also “wash” our thoughts and intentions.

When we start relating positively to each other, creating an environment of mutual support and encouragement, we will create a strong “immune system” capable of stopping any pandemic, and receive the ability to build a happy, prosperous, healthy and unified society.

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Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What are the causes of novel coronavirus?“

Beyond the many theories of the causes of the coronavirus, at a deeper level, we need to understand that it is a reaction of nature to the way in which we have been conducting our lives.

Nature is obliging us to realize that we are in an integral system.

If we disobey the laws of this integral system, its basic law of mutual responsibility that connects together all parts of the system, then the system responds with blows.

We should take the coronavirus, as well as other viruses that are yet to be revealed, as signs of our incorrect connection with each other, where we each think and behave egoistically, i.e., considering personal benefit over the benefit of others.

Also, we should learn that we exist in an integral system of nature, where all parts are interconnected and interdependent, and that there is only one disruptive force in the entire system—the human being, with his egoistic nature.

Therefore, we need to correct ourselves by changing our egoistic mode of conduct to an altruistic one, which would let us realize nature’s interconnectedness and interdependence positively.

Nature will nevertheless force us to improve our relationships until they become completely positive, with ties of mutual consideration, support, encouragement and responsibility connecting between us all. When that will happen, the coronavirus, as well as other negative phenomena in our lives, will disappear.

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From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 3/30/20

When Austria refuses to treat patients from Italy, Germany forbids exports of medical equipment, France refuses to provide masks, and the rich northern countries want no burden of dealing with southern debt, we are in trouble.

In addition to the friction between countries, there is a sudden increase in unemployment, and if it reaches a situation where food can no longer be served on the table, then we are in serious turmoil.

Will Europe or countries in other continents descend into another world war?

In the future, a war is indeed possible, even though we definitely hope it will not happen. But in the meantime, war is highly unlikely.

The coronavirus sets appalling conditions for war. The need for social distancing during a pandemic counters the circumstances needed for war, which requires flexibility of motion and the ability to mobilize armies.

Other than risk from the enemy, soldiers would be endangered by the coronavirus itself, as they would need to gather frequently in tight group settings.

Therefore, while the idea of war can be put on hold while we try to deal with the coronavirus, we still bear witness to bitter resentment cooking between countries.

And if we fail to rise above the divisive atmosphere separating us, then we can expect another form of crisis to wake us up to the need to unite above our differences.

Today, the coronavirus shows us a prime example of how it doesn’t discriminate between different people and countries.

If we as a human society step up to the challenge of relating to each other as equally as nature relates to us, where on one hand, we recognize our innately divisive drives that try to separate us, and on the other hand, prioritize unification above our divisions, then we would overcome the tendencies that would otherwise lead us to more suffering, wars and crises.

Moreover, by building positive connections upon our differences, we would discover a new and harmonious world where everyone becomes friends and family. It would be a world where love and care increasingly spread virally from one day to the next, and instead of needing to tighten our lockdowns to be protected from a pandemic, we would willingly tighten our connections to each other, protecting ourselves from any kind of harm.

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