An RC Class on the COVID Vaccinations
Last night I taught an RC class on the COVID vaccinations. Going into it, I knew there were at least two people who were openly “anti-vaxxers” as well as people who would be “going with the flow” and getting a vaccination. Here’s a rough version of what I said:
We have a one-point program in RC—to use RC to seek the recovery of our own occluded intelligence and innate humanness and assist others to do the same. We define intelligence as the ability to create a brand-new, flexible response to each new present situation. Undischarged distress experiences interfere with this ability. Do we all agree with the one-point program? (The group responded with “yes.”)
Good. I want all of us to be thinking freshly as much as we possibly can. And I want us to be applying the discharge process and the one-point program to significant and controversial issues such as this one. Is everyone in? [Does everyone agree?] (The group responded “yes.”)
Okay, let’s apply our process and the one-point program to the question of whether or not to get a COVID vaccination.
I’ve heard rigid non-thinking coming from all sides. For example, “I’m going to get vaccinated because I always do what the doctor says,” or, “I’m not going to get vaccinated because I never have. I’m against all vaccinations, and I always will be.” We need to look at the experiences and concerns that are underneath our various positions. We can consider the following questions:
- What are our early memories of being vaccinated or of seeing other people vaccinated?
- What are our early experiences with the medical profession?
- What has been the medical mistreatment of our people historically?
- What are our concerns about how we might react to the vaccines?
- What are our concerns about the long-term consequences of the vaccines, or of not knowing what the long-term consequences might be?
- When, including early in our lives, have we felt controlled and not allowed to use our own mind to make decisions?
Even if we are clear for ourselves about being vaccinated for COVID, it is still good to discharge on the topic so that we can be a resource for friends and family members who are struggling to think and decide about it. We can avoid coming across [presenting ourselves] as someone who has figured it all out, knows what is right, and tells people what to do.
As for me, I noticed that I wanted to get vaccinated so that things could go back to “normal,” to the way they had been. But I actually don’t want things to go back to the way they were. The world was filled with oppression and mistreatment prior to COVID-19. So I need to discharge on this to think well and not be guided by distressed motivations.
Finally, we need to think not only about what might be good for us personally but also about what would be good for the community in which we live. We are all part of something bigger than our individual selves. None of us lives in complete isolation from other humans.
After I talked, each class member had a seven-minute discharge turn in front of the group, with me going first. The following are examples of what people worked on:
- Having had rabies shots, and headaches and other ailments afterward
- Wanting to see an elderly family member, and feeling that getting vaccinated was a prerequisite
- Appreciating the medical professionals for their generosity and caring in trying to make the world safe, both in the past and now
- Fears that would still be there after taking the vaccine
- Not having had a negative reaction to any previous vaccinations and having an “anything goes” attitude now
- Integrating the information about the COVID vaccines, both positive and of concern
I hope more people will share their experience of counseling on this decision.
Stamford, Connecticut, USA
Reprinted from the e-mail discussion list for RC teachers
(Present Time 203, April 2021)