Viruses compete with humans for survival in the arena of evolution. A virus survives by evolving new infection mechanisms, while a human survives viral attacks by evolving new immunities.

Corona: something suggesting a crown, such as colored circle often seen around and close to a luminous body

Viruses are agile and mutate to survive. Humans are agile, too, when they are in the right frame of mind. “Fight-or-Flight” is a state body, brain, and mind that reduces immunity by stealing resources from secondary-survival systems — like digestion, creativity, and the immune system — and diverting it to primary-survival systems like fighting or fleeing. A virus has the evolutionary wisdom to “know” that fear in its host is a survival advantage!

The right frame of mind for agile immunity is:

thriving.

Thriving is a result of engaging salutogenic, wellness-producing mechanisms in the body. Salutogenic mechanisms defeat pathogenic mechanisms. While some humans can attain thriving salutogenic states at will, we haven’t evolved far enough — as a species — to attain wellness and thriving as a baseline state.

Not yet. But there is a way…

Knowledge is the first step to taking conscious control of salutogenic mechanisms and evolving into thriving.

On February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization announced an official name for the disease that is causing the current coronavirus outbreak. Coronaviruses are named for the crown-like spikes on their surface. “Corona” means “crown” and is derived from the Greek κορώνη (corone) for “wreath” which was once awarded to champions of the Ancient Olympics.  The wreath is an ancient symbol of triumph and glory in sport; a precious prize and award for success.

Immunity allows a human to thrive in life.

The name of this disease is “coronavirus disease 2019,” abbreviated as COVID-19.

• ‘CO’ stands for ‘corona’

• ‘VI’ stands for ‘virus’

• ‘D’ stands for disease.

There are many types of human coronaviruses.  COVID-19 is a new disease, caused by a novel coronavirus. Coronaviruses in humans were first identified in the mid-1960s. The seven common coronaviruses that infect people are: (1) 229E (2) NL63 (3) OC43 (4) HKU1 (5) Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS-CoV (6) Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS-CoV and, now, (7) COVID-19, or SARS-CoV-2.

The current coronavirus is one in a series of at-one-time new & novel viruses that mutate and evolve into variants. Life itself is always evolving and thrives on competition and even chaos. In the big picture, the winners must adapt and evolve most efficiently.

You were born to win. Evolution has imparted all the survival advantages to our species. If that weren’t true, we would not be here naming viruses, announcing pandemics, and solving global issues. The way to win in life is to adapt to challenges. In the 2020’s, the adaptation must transcend and include survival. New adaptive mechanisms must move us toward thriving. The coronavirus is an infectious disease to which the human species will adapt and form immunity, or else we won’t survive. Your life has similar challenges: fighting off stagnation and the lack of adaptability.

To the victor, goes the crown. A champion’s wreath.

Salutogenic mechanisms help us transcend and include the “immune responses” to new threats.

What if we can evolve our ability to willfully induce salutogenic responses? What if we can apply those mechanisms to physical health and to thriving in life? What if the lessons for developing an immunity to disease can be applied to our lives?

The typical, modern-day response to a virus is to develop a vaccine by using rational and scientific means. This process is slow and expensive. But there are also higher-order, adaptive mechanisms. Science has also demonstrated the ability for a species to transmit knowledge, including adaptive survival mechanisms.

Intuition, insight, and anti-fragility are natural, but dormant, capacities that can be developed in humans. But we rarely attain these capacities because we haven’t evolved past the dominance of the lower-brain “fight-or-flight” mechanisms. The same mechanisms that once kept us alive are holding us back and eating us alive with stress and anxiety.

We must do more than just defend ourselves. We must learn to thrive.

The 2020’s will not be easy. The Hero’s Journey is never easy. But that which doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.

If we are to wear a crown of victory, we must willfully use our most advanced knowledge to evolve. We must evolve and unlock the inner organic technologies that give us both (1) ultimate immunity and ability to thrive in challenging environments (2) the insight, innovation and adaptability in the face of rapid change and new threats.  

PraxisAletheia: The Metamodern Mystery School is the Hero’s Journey that leads to thriving and anti-fragility.  We are now in our 3rd week of the Class of 2021 and will be opening enrollment for 2022 very soon.