Morbid Imagination...what if things went *really* bad...? (long)

I actually watched the movie "I Am Legend" with will smith all the way thru for the first time last night. It creeped me out but left me with many lingering questions and my imagination worried at it like a dog on an old bone...

For those who haven't seen it, it is a post-apocalyptic world where he is a sole survivor, manily due to a natural immunity to the thing that killed everyone off. The 'virus' was supposed to be a cancer cure, but it went horribly wrong and the people turned into rabid 'feeders' who can't go into the sun, so i guess they live underground and feed at night, but there's very little left to eat so they probably just turn on eachother.
Will Smith has his house rigged with several lines of defense, but has managed to stay hidden from the dark-eaters because he is always home and locked in by dark. He is also a scientist of some kind, and has been working on a vaccine using his own immunity - he culls an infected individual to test on every time he thinks he has a new strain or vial to work with. His dog even gets infected at one point and he has to kill her or be killed himself, very sad because then he has NO companionship at all after that.

The story culminates with him going out to start a fight with the things and probably to committ suicide...but a woman and child find him and take him home and patch him up. Unfortunately, the creatures now know where he is and they come to get them all the next night. the woman is heading to a 'survivor colony' in new hamshire, and he refuses to go. as they finally end up in the downstairs lab at the end they notice the infected woman is responding to the newest treatment...he draws her blood and passes the vial to the woman to take to new hamshire, and sacrifices himself so they can get away...I guess this is why he is a legend, because supposedly it saved the human race.

whew! okay that's the cliffs notes...here's what spurred thoughts in ME

~~~~~

I suppose the thing that would kill off the most people the fastest would be a virus or something like it? (reminds me of stephen king's 'the stand)...but where would the bodies go? in this movie i guess they wqere eaten, but really...after a few years, would every trace of carnage be just bones and/or dust?

How fast would it take for mother nature to 'take it back'...? There was grass and bushland in the streets, but is that possible after just a couple years? what about wildlife? would the animals come back in droves? more rodent or herd-type? what about packs of wild dogs that used to be domesticated?

How long could one actually survive in this scenario...? canned goods are only good for a couple years, so scavenging would be a moot point after a while. I guess you would learn to hunt, unless things were 'contaminbated' somehow - but what about water? would you be able to find fruit and vegies? would you even be able to plant a garden?

these are just a few of the logistical questions...the more psychic type thoughts make me wonder if we think that some kind of armageddon scenario is bound to happen here sometime soon? I know we are always trying to manifest the good and positive, but really...do you think it is very likely that we will see a population-culling event in our lifetimes?

just some dark thoughts to keep us warm tonight ;) sorry :scared: yikes!

I always hope that I'm one of the ones who dies right away. I wouldn't want to be a dark feeder in this situation, but in situations where lots of people die and only a few remain, I always think that those remaining are the unlucky ones. I guess that my will to live isn't that strong. (...or maybe I can see the definite pros to moving on to the other side rather than being in the hellish situation that would exist on Earth.)

I've always seen the other side, the survival after the fall type stuff...so I guess I have a pretty strong will to live. but I wouldn;t want to be on the 'dark' side either. if that were the only survival, i'd forego it ...

but see the supernatural stuff is a side thing here. I don't expect it to come to that crazy hellish zombie world.

..the stuff that I think about is the reality of being alone, the reality of life in that kind of numbing silence. how to live with the animals and learn the territory, the way of living off the land that is left. I have always said I'd love it if the tourism here just dried up and we could have our little mountain all to ourselves, so the hermit vibe is strong in me already, i guess. lol

past life traumas being triggered. We do NOT need to go through this again and again and again. We have already been there, done that, died repeatedly of plague pestilence and war. That is why we resonate with catastrophe movies. Watch it again when you are prepared to let yourself fully process your previous traumas that are triggered by it. Do it in parts if necessary to keep the catharsis to down to a level you can cope with and let yourself cry, cuss at the bad guys and just in general vent but always remember you are releasing trauma and that is a good thing. I did my self- treatment watching battlestar galactica a few years ago cried my eyes out and felt so much better after for it. I just recently rewatched it with my Mother and was happy to see it didn't trigger things like it used to.

someone somewhere must really get a charge out of all the fear triggered by these armageddon movies and disaster docs on discovery, tlc and the rest. Heck most of the stuff will smith is in is all end of days stuff. sometimes I think of what I read was the paranormal reality in the show Twin Peaks that there were other-dimensional beings who fed on human fear. if there ever is any creature that could do so they must feast upon the fear mongering going on in the msm, movies and disaster tv shows.

Disasterbation :o

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/disasterbation-turns-you-blind.php

If you look in GD and the Energy/Environment forums, you'll find plenty of disasterbaters, unfortunately.


I don't remember the name of the scientist, but he was on The Daily Show a few months back. His book was on world population and how as the women of developing nations go to school and then into the workforce, they put off having children until later in life, and thus have fewer babies. His prediction is that the population will level off and then drop down to manageable levels. Although, technically, the planet can't sustain more than one billion (I think) we might be able to sustain more than that with other technologies as we develop them.

I tell you a movie that may make you cry your eyes out, too, and isn't a disaster movie so to speak, but does cover the plight of the "Third World" : Powaqqatsi

It didn't affect me so much when I first saw it back in the 80s, but now that I've grown more spiritually, it had a profound effect on me, including crying. It's quite moving, and showing the conditions of the poorer countries, even though their industrialization is also covered.

for the ones getting their kicks scaring people. For most I think barbara hand clow is right and we have catastrophobia due to past life traumas. If not dealt with we are more likely to magnetize and draw similar events to ourselves so personal healing is actually a global imperative. When we are no longer acting from knee jerk responses based on events centuries of millenia in the past we can get our brains and hearts in gear and deal better with what is in front of us today. When we know the reasons why we fear scarcity so that individuals and society as a whole have the philosophy of F-u I got mine, the rest of humanity can go jump off the nearest melting ice floe with the polar bears as in past lives of subsistence living and starvation and plague so that in this live no amount of food can fill them, no amount of goods can satisfy them, they could devour the entire planet in one gulp and still ache for more... That is phobic level fear and beyond.

I admit I chose battlestar galactica to watch as a disaster exposure therapy as it's fiction so it was easier to face instead of a disaster movie set in the present. I even watched a series of wwi documentaries and managed that. wwii was too triggering still.

Thanks for sharing it, Shallah. :hug:

Someone/something definitely feeds on this fear energy. It's up to us to break it.

Thought is ENERGY! ENERGY produces results..........
Think how you want it to be..............don't go to the dark side.it is really just fear of death or insufficiency.
That said, I have survived the London plague in a past life time.
There I stood all alone, my family gone, in the field of a small croft, looking across the fields toward London, with black smoke rising from the smudge & body burning fires.
I can't prove it factually, but my geneology supports it. Family was there at that time. And I have visited that lifetime in another happier context before.
I was fortunate to tap into a psychologist, doing these workshops back in '79,80. He is gone now but what I learned is now being utilized........30 years later.
ANd I must say I have been fairly pragmatic person in the interum not given to flights of fancy even in my artwork, tho it does require long time passages spent in the right brain hemisphere.........atypical in our society today.
And this " journey" I am on is altering the character of that art work output quite remarkably!

problems. When people are unable to work with their fear it can create avoidance - so one never deals with real threats and suffers from the thought of things that may not happen. It saps the energy and clouds judgment. I know as I have an anxiety/panic disorder. I don't intend to let anyone or anything, by accident or design, add to the phobia collection I already have. I urge everyone who can to work with fears to deal with them as healthfully as possible so you can then decide how much of a threat truly exists and take what precautions seem best. Do it for your own mental health. Do it because fear clouds your judgment and wastes valuable energy that is better used in preparing for real possible threats as best as you can - not to mention lessens one's ability to take joy in the good things currently in your life. Anticipatory fear has been a big waste of time and energy in my life. An example of this is my cat Angel. She had malignant cancer when she was only a kitten. The vet didn't get it all and didn't have the hear to tell us she would die soon. He was shocked she turned up the next year for her checkup and shots with our other cats. In fact she has outlived all her litter mates and is still with me in spite of chronic renal failure for several years now. Too many times I have feared loosing her to a return of the cancer or worsening of the renal failure, crying and imagining the worse when I cuddle her instead of taking joy in the fact that right that minute my dear sweet kitty friend was in my arms happy and purring up a storm. Even tho I know better I don't work with all my worries and fears as much as I could so I waste time expecting this or that worst outcome that sometimes happens but more often does not.

Now about the creamed corn fear feast - I have no clue if this is true but I do like it for one reason - it totally PISSES ME OFF which actually helps me face the fear watching it letting it do it's thing not avoiding but not wallowing either, until bit by bit it shrinks down, down down until it is only a concern instead of OMG we are all gonna die ack run away head for the hills etc.

The other thought is for those who believe in the law of attraction - it is another reason to work mindfully with fear so you don't attract what you fear. It is like preparing for a snow storm instead of saying ACK! we are all going to freeze to death, it will be like the Long Winter by laura ingols wilder *runs around in panic* instead it is better to get the snow shovels ready, make sure enough canned food is on hand to last several days, fill up some jugs of water in case the power goes out, maybe get a sleeping bag to keep warm at night if you lack supplemental heat source, get extra batteries for flashlights. etc.

:)

as well as cyberpunk dystopian future stuff that is too close for comfort like Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, Makers by Cory Doctorow. Recently purchased Witch of Hebron by J.H. Kunstler (read the first one-- World Made By Hand). Also a good read is S.M. Stirling's Change Series--Science fiction but basically post apocalyptic in which internal combustion engines don't work anymore (either do guns) and there are "eaters" though sentient and a wide variety of different communities that develop. One of the main characters is of the old faith which makes it very interesting for me. It is interesting in the survivor's search for meaning and adoption of mythos.

For real life -- I encourage you to investigate the Transition Movement (transitionus.org)(http://transitioninaction.com/) and Yes! magazine (http://www.yesmagazine.org/) for during this transitional period that Rick has described (Pluto transiting Capricorn--next 23 years), it's important to work on positive solutions rather than allowing the scary people to create our world in their twisted vision.

I also belong to the Collapse Network (which is a subscription site)that features a World News Desk that has links to news articles around the world which gives one information -- and connects the dots, one can see where the monied interests are exploiting the planet, the complicity of our governments and the consequences to the people; -- Michael Ruppert has a radio show on the Progressive Radio Network on Sundays at 9-10 pm. He talks about creating Lifeboats for the coming post peak oil time and being able to adapt and work with your local communities in creating resiliance and sustainabilty. Ironically, he has an amusing article about Zombies http://www.collapsenet.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56&Itemid=76

I'd like to add postpeakliving.com and The Crash Course (http://www.chrismartenson.com/). I am not a "doomer" a term of dismissal that others use to avoid addressing seriously the arguments of oil and energy depletion and its ramifications, it is like being called a "socialist" for supporting HCR when there is nothing remotely socialist about it.

The New Economics Institute is also visionary in this pursuit and has a report --very inspiring-- gives good ideas on organization, structure, systems etc. There are local Permaculture groups everywhere that work on gardening projects, education-- canning, bike repair, ecological projects, reclamation projects, examination and discussion of different community living groups, public space cleaning, etc. Getting involved in these kind of organizations and meeting like minded people will give you a more positive outlook on the future as the current state of the nation, economy, etc. is very despair-inducing. Plus you have a better measure of control, a plan.

Relying on our government is absolute folly. They are too invested in the status quo to effect change in any meaningful way. It's easier to just turn us against each other so they can laugh all the way to the bank. There has been no meaningful effort at dealing with global warming and post peak oil. How many Americans have been hired with this new green energy program? Likely as many people who were helped with the mortgage restructuring program. I don't have the faith in the president that many here do. I have decided that I will continue to focus on transition and a new way to live, and be a force for good as much as I can be -- build our own economy despite Washington and act in accordance to my conscience in and out of the voting booth to retain my personal integrity.

I'm sorry to sound so cynical but I have a vested interest in keeping our family from being casualties of poor governance and irresponsible stewardship.

:thumbsup:

:hug:

...and this is where i was going with the questions. Thanks for the links.

I am not trying to feed the fear, but trying to look at the practical ramifications of us being witness to a population bottleneck in our lifetimes.
I believe in sustainability, hemp replacing oil, permaculture, etc...
(ironically enough there is a thread in GD about peak oil this morning and a movie called 'the collapse' which seems more fact based and not a happy ending movie either... i plan to watch it later)

While I am sure we have those negative energy seekers and those past lives to cope with, i also think it behooves us to really think about the possibilities and be informed.

Saying "don't think that way, don't feed the fear" is like putting one's fingers in one's ears and refusing to look at the reality - at least that's my take on it...thinking good thoughts isn't always the smart plan.

I know i was present when Atlantis went down, and i won't let myself go 'down with the ship' again,
instead, i choose to be conscious of the signs as they happen and prepare for what comes...earth changes, civil unrest, loss of goods and services, loss of electricity, etc...
There is nothing wrong with talking about the contingency plans.
it isn't based on fear, but looking straight into the future's best & worst case scenarios and choosing to be prepared.

and yes, it is the curious part of me that asks those morbid questions...what would happen to the people? where would the animals go? How hard would it be to have communications if there's no electricity? to me it is part of understanding and planning...not that i am building a bomb shelter...but i may want to school myself in Ham radio and growing food...is that so bad?

I think we have misunderstood each other. In the original post you talk about the morbid fear of the worst that could happen which is why I posted the suggestion to work with the fear. I never said anything about not taking action.

working with a fear means facing it again and again until the charge, it's energy, has worn itself out.

It means really thinking about it and using reason to see whether it is based in reality and then if so taking what actions a body can to best deal with it.

Dealing with the fear means I have more energy to put into practical solutions because my body isn't worn out from useless adrenaline rushes and chronic anxiety. I figure fear it is pretty much the same for others as well to whatever degree the fear is hitting 'em to begin with.

As an anxious person I hate to see others plagued as well. Also I have seen in extreme cases what fear can do so people try to prepare for economic collapse or other similar scenarios in less than helpful ways such as hoarding plant seeds and not learning to garden - and preserving and root cellering - *now* when their life does not depend upon it. Or folks trying to figure out the cheapest way to live on white rice, corn oil, and a bottle of multivitamins for x number or months or years and then expecting thing restart to the way there were before whatever doomsday situation happened happens. I don't expect anyone here to do that but it just shows how fear scrambles the brain. Or another example is the poor smucks falling for beck's goldline scam :(

if you want practical solutions well it looks like you already are looking into some. Look at how people lived in the 1900s or back the earthers do today. Depending on how bad you expect things to be you might want to look for like minded friends or form a group of some sort so you know who you can depend on when the fit hits the shan that will help one another out, share & fairly trade resources and willing to teach viable skills. stock up on stable staples and need medicines. STudy at what happens in previous disasters to see what you will likely need. look for classes with skills you think you will need and if you can't find 'em lobby your local adult ed or county's cooperative extention or other approriate source for classes in veggie and medicinal herb gardening, canning and drying of food, and the like.

but..........my husband always said, "if we ever have a nuclear war, I want to be at ground zero", and I concur!

"Party at Ground Zero" :evilgrin:

Hubby would have thought it appropriate!

So much good food for thought here. So many valuable insights.


I addressed some of my own stuff on the subject about a week ago.

http://edgeofthevillage.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/change-is-coming/


So, part of what I feel on the subject is that the future will be whatever we want it to be. If more people see a holocaust and an end of the human race, then we'll have that. If more people see a future of peace with enough food and where people actually thrive... then, we'll have that. My bet is on the thrival scenario.

We are built to not only survive, we are built to thrive.

Peace to all,
Bonnie

Avoiding Mass Extinction Engine (AMEE)
http://www.amee.com

The goal of AMEE is to assign an energy identity to everything on earth -- and they mean everything -- by pulling together the most accurate and reliable information available about the carbon and energy footprints of products from businesses, organizations and governments. The project is open sourced, and anyone can contribute their skills to help improve AMEE's platform, from coding to planning. And of course anyone can access the aggregated data. Businesses and governments can use the data for their own accounting, and anyone with a healthy curiosity can find out how much embodied energy is in their new laptop or how much carbon dioxide their last flight spewed out. By focusing on and advocating for transparency of information, AMEE hopes that globally, we will gain more understanding about and responsibility over our impact on the planet, and perhaps avoid an untimely end as a species.

on The History Channel called "Life After People" http://www.history.com/shows/life-after-people that sort of addresses those things you mentioned about Mother Nature taking back the world after we are gone. One thing though that Mother Nature does though is to create a small pocket of genetic mutants that can survive when a disease comes along that could wipe out a species.

For instance when the Brits colonized Australia, they brought rabbits with them. But the rabbits didn't have natural predators in Australia and they became a rampant invasive species there. The Brits decided to infect them with a rabbit disease to kill them off. It worked for the most part, but there was a small pocket of rabbits that had a mutation that was resistant to the disease, so they started breeding again. I don't know how they eventually controlled the rabbits but it goes to show there's always more to the event than meets the eye. They same happened to humans in the Middle Ages who were two-thirds wiped out by the Bubonic Plague in Europe. There were a small group that were resistant to the disease and others who got mild cases of the disease and survived.

I don't see an Armageddon type scenario myself, but I think we are headed for some hard times before things get right again. I too try not to think about the awful but some times you can't ignore it. Population will have to be culled down the line if not by us voluntarily, by giving women the tools they need world wide to control their fertility, then by Mother Nature Herself through Her own means. She may set a predator on us to cull our numbers and that predator could be a virus or bacteria that takes care of business.

and I have seen that show and find it fascinating... the ruins of western civilization are in my psyche, could be something from past lives too. those visions are not foreign.

I think it's likely we will see 'something' happen in our lifetimes... Hoping I set my kids on a path to being strong and smart and in tune with the land. that's a positive action to take...
Maybe my yearning for a yurt community is coming on stronger these days too...maybe we will see more people doing the community and tribe thing in the next couple years. (unfortunately we will probably see alot of koresh's and heaven's gate-types too..)

requiring an electronic membership pass to enter... hmmmm... those are thriving today...

Arcology, a portmanteau of the words "architecture" and "ecology",<1> is a set of architectural design principles aimed toward the design of enormous habitats (hyperstructures) of extremely high human population density.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcology

Or, as they are known, Republican Pleasure Domes.

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We can create the beautiful world we all know to be possible. Do you want it? Believe in it and it will be created. A certain amount of clean-up has been done at the higher levels as we transited out of BushCo (a catastrophic, destructive event, likely the nuclear damage of an American city, was simply lifted out of possibility, as it had to be; I have since taken knowledge of how frail is our cultural self-esteem as well as its morale strength; the damage, not even total obliteration of a city through an act of warfare would have broken our morale. As such, I have become compassionate to uphold the higher path! And needless to say, we have been prevented from that negative path and set upon this path of positive opportunity.)

What do you want to create? It's time. Even fooling around with negative intent is increasingly self-destructive in this energy of love and inclusion.