My dad was a conspiracy theorist

My dad was a conspiracy theorist.

If my dad was alive today, he would be labelled as a conspiracy theorist, he would have been told “he just googled it” and to trust the science, to stop questioning, to stop asking and to be silent.

I recently decluttered our family library and I found mountains of books, research, academic papers, notes and medical journals he read and was surprised by so many of the so called “out there” predictions that had come true. It also reminded me, that he spent most of his time when he wasn’t running his multiple businesses, or hanging out with his family he was researching, talking to people and improving himself – constantly.

This time in history has brought him to my memory much more often than the past 12 years, and I often wonder what the reaction and general public opinion of him would have been. Was he polarising? Yes. Was the difficult to ignore? Absolutely? Was he stubborn AF? Definitely. But he knew when not to talk, and the value of discretion.

On musing this article, I think what sets my dad apart from the traditional label of Conspiracy Theorist is this: he didn’t push his research down people’s throats. His conversations always started with questions, never with information and was always about finding common ground. If social media had been booming when he was alive, I doubt he would have been typing in capital letters on a Facebook post.

But he did invite confronting conversation, debate and deep questioning. Much to my mum’s distress, he encouraged us to debate and discuss confronting topics at the dinner table. We also had fun games where you had to answer a question with a question and keep the conversation going until you couldn’t anymore.

If any of you knew my dad, the one thing you know is that he could never be silenced. Perhaps that’s why I’m writing this now, and giving my voice to some of his words and stories.  I understand it’s a difficult time… to know what to believe, to express your opinion, to ask questions, to find out what’s true.

But it is our time.

It’s not my dad’s time.

Ours.

So here’s a bit of my dads legacy I’m inspired to share to invite us to a new level – of kindness, of the ability to decipher bullshit and to make your own choices.

After all, it’s our human right to have free will, isn’t it?

Our basic human rights are not up for negotiation, yet history is repeating itself and we are seeing huge infringements everywhere. I invite you to look at your own countries bill of rights and as yourself: Am I living freely? Do I feel empowered by this bill? Or do I know more is possible?

But our rights are very different to our ability to thrive. Research, studies, and our own basic instincts show that what allows us to thrive is: Having our basic human needs met, social connection, leisure time, rest and idleness, and play.

Ask yourself: What am I currently doing in these areas that allows me to thrive? And if your answers are lacking, then let’s start adding! What can you add to your life today in these areas that would allow you to thrive with ease? Remember, this is not about spending more money, or adding more to your to-do list, but reconnecting with you you are and allowing yourself to thrive in your own life.

When we lose our curiosity, our brains have decided something is so and not dangerous. If you are still asking questions, you are aware of a danger. This is a valid response and a basic instinct that has kept our species alive forever.

The ability to question is encouraged in children, yet why as adults do we think it makes us appear to be dumb? One of the greatest things my parents taught me is that the one asking questions, is the one who is in control and gets to choose the direction.

This one is a bit polarising I know, and please know, this is not an attack on your personal experience. This is in no way your fault (unless you happened to be one of the key decision-makers in the industrial revloution in a previous life). School is not made to teach you what you need to know to thrive at life, it’s designed to teach you to be able to do a task for 8 hours a day and take care of you while your parents worked.

So if there’s information you crave, start looking for it. What would put your anxiety at rest if you knew the answers? What topics deeply interest you? What information would make you feel empowered if you were to walk into a room with? Info-dumping is a neurodiverse love language, consider this a bit of nerdy self-care.

If we are truly to have diversity, we need to welcome the different points of view others have. This starts with the willingness to see what everyone else thinks not as vital and important but simply as interesting. Gary Douglas would say “Treat everything as an interesting point of view.”

If you would like to start using this Access Consciousness® tool in your everyday life, simply say it in your head every time something irks you, gets under your skin or your met with polarising information:

One of the true cruelties I see is how little people have been empowered to trust their own knowing. It’s time we nurture, trust and grow this power until it’s undeniable. You know, you know when you are being lied to, you know when the truth is being kept from you, you know when something is correct.

You can start to build this trust in little choices. Follow a new route your intuition takes you through traffic. Start asking yourself: What do I know here? Take the space to be quiet and let yourself sift through your thoughts. Your knowing is there, it’s just waiting for you to get quiet enough to hear it.

Quick spoiler alert: Just because you know, doesn’t mean you have to share. Sharing and knowing are two different choices.

I’d like this to be encouraging, and eye-opening in the way a new perspective often is. It’s not my attention to belittle anyone’s experience and I hope I’ve left politics well and truly out of this piece.

Please know, your experience is valid, Your doubts are more well-founded than you may have let yourself believe and your knowing is not broken. This article is not a polarising cry to take drastic action. Instead I’d like to invite you to take an even more rebellious one: Believe yourself, know what you know. And be however you want with that – as long as it’s natural to you.

If you want to be loud, be loud.

If you want to go softly, go.

If you want to know quietly, know.

If you want to talk, start asking.

If you want to cry, let it go.

If you want to have a break, rest.

And if you want to create a legacy, make your own choices.

Only you get to live your life.

Only you get to choose what’s best for you.

This is our time, what do you desire to be today?