Focus on the good you can do rather than the bad others might be doing.
Some influencers who claim to offer or seek The Truth are promoting various conspiracy theories. I’ve even come across channels supposedly about spiritual awakening, which are just conspiracy theories, peppered with the occasional spiritual topic. Such channels present conspiracy theories as “truth,” when they are, in fact, just opinions. There may be some truth in what they say, but mostly, they appeal to darker emotions, such as suspicion and cynicism, without providing much in the way of provable facts to support their assertions.
Those with a conspiracy theory mentality can tend to see others, and see life, from a lop-sided perspective. There is an old saying, “When a pickpocket meets a saint, all he sees are his pockets”. In other words, how we perceive other people and events is heavily influenced by our values and our self-perception. A conspiracy theory addict is unlikely to recognize what is good and faithful about others. Those who encourage us to look down on others rarely exhibit any behaviour that demonstrates their supposed superiority. Meanwhile, those who strive to lead a life worthy of the best within themselves are usually too busy to take the time to criticize what others are doing.
No one can know the truth unless they know the truth about themselves.
We tend to see things the way we are, rather than the way they are. Therefore, no one can know the truth about anything unless they know the truth about themselves. There may be some factual truths in what they believe, but The Truth is more than facts. If we have cultivated Self Respect, then we are likely to be more in touch with our higher values and more noble aspirations. We will therefore be able to see when that is also true about others. If we are unable to see or do not endeavor to express what is noble within ourselves, then it is unlikely that we will see that in others. Nor will we be open to the possibility of it being what motivates them.
There is another old saying, “The Devil does not know that he is working for good.” This means that, as part of the evolutionary process, we need to have options to choose from. Some of those options will lead us towards the light, while others will lead us into darkness. We have free will, to a certain extent, so we have the right to make choices, but we also have to face the consequences of those choices. Only by following the light do we enter into more light. Those willing to think ugly untruths about others may tend to harbor ugly untruths about themselves.
The seductive attraction of conspiracy theories is that they offer a way to be “special,” to be “in the know.” It is supposedly to gain knowledge of something that few other people know, and to join a “special” group of people who are also assumed to be in the know. It can, in that sense, appeal to those seeking higher Self Esteem. Whether an interest in conspiracy theories can improve our Self Esteem is questionable, at best. A fun thing I sometimes say in response to being told a conspiracy theory is “I believe that all conspiracy theories are just a cover to distract us from what is really going on….” Then, in reply to their asking, “What is really going on?” I say, with a mock conspiratorial voice, “Exactly…”
Getting seriously focused on conspiracy theories can block our ability to perceive the good in others, ourselves, and life. If we are interested in conspiracy theories, but manage to take them lightly, and watch them more for entertainment, then possibly no harm is done. But following conspiracy theories can be a slippery slope. The more so, since the influencers who offer these theories usually need to become increasingly radical to compete with others offering a similar service. The effects of influential drift, mentioned earlier, can cause some of their original followers to adopt a darker, more extreme, and pessimistic view of life.
It is better to focus on what good we can do in life than spend too much time worrying about what bad things other people might be up to. In other words, better to focus on the good you can do rather than the bad others might be doing. Rather than dabbling in conspiracy theories, surely it is better to focus attention on what the higher and nobler aspects of yourself want you to be doing with your life? Self Esteem, in its essence, arises as we become increasingly able to express the best in ourselves. The cost of indulging too much in conspiracy theories is the lost opportunity of doing more productive things with our time and energy. Those “more productive things” may well be the very things we need to be doing to build our Self Esteem.