The Psychology Of Being “Black-Pilled,” The Social Media Armchair Conspiracy Theorist, And The Fires In LA

By Bernhard Guenther, January 16, 2025

Laura and I have discussed the rising sentiment of being “black-pilled” in our podcasts “How Your Inner Work Fuels A Collective Awakening” (2024) and “The Blackpilled Matrix Mind Trap and the Antidote” (2023).

I’ve also discussed this negative conspiracy mindset with David Whitehead twice over the past two years: “The Black-Pilled Delusion—Truth Warrior Podcast” and “Cultists In The Truth/Freedom Movement.”

In light of current and recent events, I’ve observed that many more people in the so-called “truth movement” fall prey to being black-pilled.

On the psychological level, black-pilling is an (unconscious) trauma response and also a symptom of depression and suppressed emotional pain.

It’s also PTSD from the last five years, resulting in over-paranoia and seeing psy-ops everywhere. I have compassion for that because it is a projection of their suffering. I can see myself in them, too, since I had my moments of black-pilledness.

However, so much negativity [also based on black-and-white thinking and psychological splitting (over-simplified ideas of “good” and “evil” projected externally)] sucks one’s soul over time, and one becomes a feeding ground for entities that install these paranoid thought forms in a constant feedback loop, looking for a boogeyman to blame.

Disembodied and dissociated, they will only see what their level of consciousness can see: darkness and negativity in blame/victim consciousness and externalizing evil without ever sincerely facing their own darkness within.

The wetiko-infused psyche and shadow of the black-pilled mind will also pull more of the same out of the “magician’s hat” for them to justify their negative projections. As a result, they give their creative power and energy away and feed what they fear. Like Don Quixote chasing illusory windmills, he mistook for the “enemy.”

In other words, they will see precisely only what they want to see, manifested through egregore hive mind thought-form entities (the “truther” version of NPCs.) It’s an endless loop stuck at a lower level of consciousness

In a tragic, ironic, metaphysical twist, they create the thing they claim to expose and fight against and imprison themselves out of their own minds.

As Don Juan Matus said, in “The Active Side of Infinity:”

“Through the mind, the predators (occult hostile forces) inject into the lives of human beings whatever is convenient for them.”

Living in that externalized state – especially constantly glued to the internet in a disembodied state – they are more vulnerable to manipulation.

At the same time, they believe [lie to themselves] that they are “awake”, “free”, and “sovereign.” – a devastating form of self-delusion, more damaging [to the soul development] than people who are asleep and don’t claim to be awake.

Once you realize, on an embodied level, that everything you see and experience and everyone else sees/ experiences is a projection based on your/their level of consciousness, the “game” changes. This realization is the first step to true empowerment and freedom for yourself and humanity.

Listen to these two podcasts for context and how your level of consciousness affects the world and your perceptions:

• How Your Inner Work Fuels A Collective Awakening
• How to Raise Your Level Of Consciousness

Since the term “black pilled” has become more popular, I’ve seen people project meaning into it based on what they assume it is. Everyone can have their definitions as they please. However, to avoid any misunderstandings, here’s my take on what being black-pilled is and what it is not (more in the podcasts mentioned above):

Being Black-Pilled

What it is not:

• Questioning official narratives
• Pointing out corruption and lies
• Considering that certain narratives or events are negative psy-ops or staged events for a nefarious agenda
• Having disagreements

What it is:

• Overly negatively oriented: pessimistic, angry, cynical, sarcastic, hopeless, depressed, nihilistic (can also be unconscious)
• Lack of healthy optimism and positivity
• Seeing every event as a psyop and conspiracy
• Believing that evil/darkness will win (listen to this podcast to understand what “evil” is and why it can’t exist as an absolute, separate from “God”)
• Seeing every weather anomaly and disaster (wildfires, hurricanes, earthquakes) as “man-made geoengineering”
• Black-and-white thinking and psychological splitting (Inability for nuance, seeing certain people and events only as all bad)
• Predominantly projecting doom and gloom and negativity into the future (fear porn)
• Being predominantly in anxiety, fear, and disembodied (stuck in the head)
• Getting stuck in victim/blame consciousness [below 200, taking David Hawkins’ map of consciousness as a reference.]
• Being in a negative, depressed state of mind because of information overload
• Glued to the internet/social media and overly focused on conspiracies
• Calling people prematurely shills, controlled-op, or agents just because you disagree with them, or based on psychological splitting, shadow projection, or the “guilt by association” fallacy

Factors that contribute to being “black-pilled”:

• Lack of consistent psycho-spiritual self-work
• Having no psychological self-awareness (for example, how your unconscious shadow and projections can pollute your views and perceptions)
• Over-focused on 3D conspiracies, having no awareness of the hyperdimensional matrix and how non-physical occult forces and wetiko manipulate them through their minds with thought injections, tagging into their blind spots, shadow, and dis-embodied state of being – the spiritual war on unseen levels
• Having no “spiritual vision” in the context of the evolution of consciousness, karmic cycles, and the bigger picture of the interplay of dark and light in the duality of the creation over lifetimes but seeing everything in superficial black-and-white linear 3D tunnel vision
• Believing the matrix is only something or someone “out there” – a particular group, organization, or secret society
• Missing the spiritual teaching function of “evil”
• Externalizing everything and seeing others and the outside world as “separate”
• Externalizing all evil as they feed the hyperdimensional divide-and-conquer agenda
• Lack and reluctance to face the darkness and evil within oneself

How not to get black-pilled:

• Engaging in shadow work and becoming aware of your projections and triggers (learn and study what shadow work is and how to do it)
• Facing your shadow within instead of only externalizing all evil
• Processing any negative emotions without projecting them on others, escaping, or suppressing them
• Getting into the body somatically since unconscious negative emotions manifest as tension and keep us head-centric, dissociated, and create/attract negative thoughts, keeping you in a negative state of mind in a self-defeating loop
• Limit on-screen time
• Be discerning what media you consume
• Surround yourself with uplifting music and beautiful art
• Be in nature daily, walk on the earth barefoot
• Read and study high-level spiritual teachings (Contemplate and meditate on what you read)
• Have a spiritual practice, work with prayer
• Read and study transpersonal psychology and the basics of human psychology to learn about yourself and heal yourself [Know Thyself!]
• Engage in inner child healing (mother/father wound)
• Get into the joy of the inner child and playful nature
• Focus on your life’s purpose, find your bliss (Hero’s Journey)
• Focus on productive, creative solutions
• Develop healthy optimism and see the silver lining in challenging situations
• Remember that all there is are lessons for your and everyone’s soul evolution
• Create more than you consume
• Don’t be attached to your views and opinions
• Let go of pride, develop humility
• Recognize that your mind will never understand or grasp the Ultimate TruthHonor and embrace the mystery of Life
• Lastly, don’t take yourself so seriously

For positive inspiration, listen to our podcast “How To Thrive In 2025: A PsychoSpiritual Guide.”

The Social Media Armchair Conspiracy Theorist

The rise of social media and information overload combined with the rising black-pill mindset over the past five years and the ever-diminishing attention span has given birth to a new breed of armchair conspiracy theorists. Here is my definition of the typical modus operandi of the social media armchair conspiracy theorist:

Making premature conclusions based on assumptions without concrete proof or just by repeating/reposting conspiracy memes other people post [without verifying for yourself first], kinda like the “truther” version of NPC. I’ve done that myself, too, at times, so I’m not taking myself out of the equation.

Here are two examples based on the recent fires in LA (Pacific Palisades):

There is a picture going around of a burned area in the Pacific Palisades with standing trees next to burned-down houses. Many truthers share that image as “proof” that DWEs (“direct energy weapons”) were in play, targeting the houses directly and avoiding the trees.

But that is not proof. It’s an assumption and a premature conclusion. For example, it is scientifically known that many trees remain unaffected in burned communities because they contain a lot of water and don’t burn down that easily. This is nothing new.

Also, in the US, especially in California, most houses are built entirely on wood, paper, and drywall, like a tinder box. It burns down to the ground within minutes. This is unlike in Europe, where most homes are built on concrete, stone, and brick.

When I pointed that out, people said: “But there is proof that DEWs exist!!”

Okay, that’s cool. But that’s a straw man argument since I never said DEWs don’t exist or denied their possible use. I have written about DEWs and geoengineering over the years. However, you can’t make an informed judgment from a picture alone or take it as “proof” that DEWs have been used in this case. It’s not proof. It’s an assumption.

Using arguments like “that doesn’t look natural”, “that can’t be natural,” or my “instincts”, “intuition,” and “feelings” tell me it was DEW are not proof either. They are just baseless opinions, which can be mistaken as “intuition” and “feelings,” most often infused with unconscious bias.

Ponting out that is also not gaslighting, which seems to be the new overused word by some truthers when you question their assumptions. They mistake this as the “truth,” as if their perceptions are entirely objective.

I have lived in this area for 16 years (in Topanga Canyon between Malibu and Palisades). While I can’t imagine going back anywhere in California (for personal, political, and economic reasons), I had a great time living in the beautiful Canyon and am grateful for this land.

We had wildfires almost yearly, especially with the strong Santa Ana winds during the dry season. It’s not abnormal. You don’t need a crystal ball to predict it. A wildfire came straight to my house once in 2015 (see video below), and I had to fight it off with a garden hose. It was so fast and hot that it gave me much respect for the force of a wildfire.

The firemen just arrived on time. Big helicopters and planes dumped water over my house and the canyon. I got soaked and screamed with joy! These guys are heroes.

 

Other times, a wildfire approached my home. I had to evacuate several times while living in Topanga. I put all my necessary belongings into my car, each time uncertain if I would have a home to return to. I have been without power and internet for several days every year (also due to rain and mudslides).

I know a few people who lost everything in those fires. It comes with living “in paradise”—in nature, in the California sun and weather, and five minutes from the beach.

Now I see already armchair conspiracy theorists claiming that this fire is artificially initiated by “direct energy weapons” for “Agenda 2030”, smart cities, etc. On the other side of the coin are leftist environmentalists claiming it’s all due to “man-made climate change.”

No, not all weather anomalies or wildfires are caused by humans, either directly through some clandestine “weather manipulation” technology or indirectly through “man-made climate change.”

I’m not implying these technologies don’t exist, but sometimes, bigger forces of nature are at work (the same goes for hurricanes and earthquakes) that have no apparent “human cause” and are incomprehensible to the human monkey mind, which always looks for someone and something to blame.

There have always been fires, even before there were big cities or technology. Since the 1800s, hundreds of fires have occurred in that area. It’s part of the land’s history.

“The unique interplay of topography, fuel load, and wind has made the Santa Monica Mountains home to some of the most spectacular and horrific fires in the history of our nation. The Hume Fire of 1956, the Wright Fire of 1970, and the Piuma Fire of 1985 are the past names of the same “beast” that appeared on November 2, 1993.

There have been literally hundreds of fires in the Santa Monica’s throughout history, and many share similar routes to the ocean, through the same canyon corridors of the Santa Monica Mountains. Residents and fire fighters who experienced the Hume, the Wright, or the Piuma Fire claim that the speed and fury with which the Topanga Fire blew to the coast is unparalleled.” [Source]

The other armchair conspiracy theory is the cancellation of fire insurance before the fires, which some truthers see as a grand conspiracy that they knew the fire was coming.

Insurance companies are getting out of the game because it’s becoming increasingly net-loss. That’s a common-sense explanation. But that explanation doesn’t satisfy the armchair conspiracy theorist. Something more sinister must be going on! Here, we can see the negative bias—black-pill territory.

Does this mean negligence, arson, or other fishy activities made the fires worse or even initiated them? Of course, there were, but not all of them are grand conspiracies for smart cities. Does that mean there is no agenda? I didn’t say that either.

Sometimes, these fires are caused by human stupidity, like throwing a cigarette into a dry bush or making a campfire in the canyon. Sometimes, it’s arson by a deranged person. Sometimes, it’s just nature—lightning hitting a tree, and the wind does the rest.

The cause of the fire you see in the video from 2015 near my house was due to a transformer that exploded on a power line in the canyon and started the fire.

That’s where nuance comes in and not falling into black-and-white thinking. Sometimes, the best attitude is “I don’t know” instead of claiming to know exactly what is going on.

The Dark Half of the Truth and Divine Will

Things are way more complicated and beyond the mind to grasp, especially when you consider the unseen evolutionary forces, natural forces, and collective and personal karmic cycles in the context of the evolution of consciousness and Divine Will.

But resting in not knowing is extremely difficult for the armchair conspiracy theorist or anyone for that matter (I know it’s been for me), especially a black-piled one who immediately has a negative bias of needing to blame some boogeyman.

Attaching to a concrete idea of what “is going on” gives us psychological comfort to be “in the know” based on whoever the blame is projected on. It calms the ego in its illusion of being “in control,” when, in fact, no one is in control, not even the “evil-doers,” the globalists, the Illuminati, or whoever people think “controls the world.” Only God is “in control” beyond the mind’s comprehension.

Does that mean conspiracies, nefarious agendas, and evil don’t exist? Of course, they do. I’ve written about it for the past 25 years.

Does that mean since “God is in control,” that we just become passive and ignore evil? Not at all. That would be spiritual bypassing. God is not separate from you, nor will he save or do the work for you.

Welcome to the paradox of the dualistic mind in the play of creation.

I have written about this in more depth on my website over the years, and I’ve also been going through this process as a dedicated “conspiracy theorist” since 1998 when I started questioning everything we’ve been told and taught.

Ironically, as it has become cool and more socially acceptable to be a “conspiracy theorist,” I can see (and have seen it in myself) the mind trap when getting stuck on that level of externalizing everything and how it hinders a true awakening. Balance is key. The balance between inner and outer work and never losing our inner compass and forgetting what the journey is all about, to begin with.

If we want to awaken and help the world awaken, we need to ensure our “mirror” is clean. In the words of Satprem:

“Night after night, in his sleep or with his eyes wide open, the seeker uncovers very strange worlds; One after another, he unearths all the birthplaces of human perversion, human wars, human concentration camps, where everything we live here is being prepared; he catches in their dens all the sordid forces that move the petty and cruel men.

The more Light he possesses, the more darkness he uncovers. Night after night, he tracks down the surreptitious rot that undermines Life, for how can anything change as long as that gangrene is there?

Now, the dark half of the truth has become illuminated. Every stumbling or error kindles a flame of pain and seems to produce a breach of light below.

Every weakness summons up a corresponding force, as if the energy of the fall were the very energy of the ascent; every imperfection is a step toward a greater fulfillment.

There are no sins, no errors, but only countless mishaps that compel us to attend to the full extent of our kingdom and to embrace everything in order to heal and fulfill everything.

Through a tiny crack in our armor, a love and compassion for the world have entered in, which none of the radiant purities can ever understand. Purity is impregnable, self-contained, sealed off like a fortress; some fissure is needed for the Truth to come in!

Furthermore, the seeker no longer thinks in terms of good and evil, but in terms of exact and inexact. When a sailor needs to take his ship’s bearing, he does not use his love of the sea to do so, but a sextant, and he makes quite sure that the mirror is clean.

If our mirror is not clean, we can never see the reality of things or people, because everywhere we will meet only the reflection of our own desires or fears, the echo of our own turmoil, not only in this world but in all the other worlds, in waking, in sleep, and in death.

In order to see, we need to stop being in the center of the picture. The seeker will therefore need to discriminate between those elements that blur his vision and those that clarify it; such will be the essence of his “morality.”

There is a truth of Love behind evil. The nearer one draws to the infernal circles, the more one uncovers the great need in the depths of Evil and begins to understand that nothing can be healed without a corresponding intensity.

A flame is kindled within, more and more powerful and warm beneath the suffocating pressure – there is just Her, nothing but Her – as if Love alone could confront the Night and persuade it of its luminous half.

As if all that Shadow had been necessary so that Love might be born. In truth, the heart of every shadow, of every evil harbors the inverse mystery.

And as each of us bears or harbors a special difficulty, at once the contradiction and the sign of our destiny, it may be that, similarly, the immense “faults” of the earth – her sins and sufferings and the thousand gaping wounds of a pauper – are the very sign of her destiny, and that someday she will incarnate perfect Love and Joy because she will have suffered all and understood all.

As we progress, the superconscious line recedes upward and the subconscious line downward.

Everything widens, everything is illuminated, but everything also closes in and converges around a sharp point of darkness, increasingly acute, crucial and pressing, as if we had turned for years and years – for lifetimes – around the same Problem without ever having truly touched it.

Then, suddenly, it is right there, at the bottom of the hole, wriggling beneath the Light – all the evil of the world within one point.

The time of the Secret is drawing near. For the law of descent is not a law of oppression, sin, or fall, any more than it is a law of rentance or heavenward escape, but truly a Golden Law, an unfathomable Premeditation that draws us simultaneously upward and downward into the depths of the subconscient and inconscient, to that central point,that knot of life and death, shadow and light, where the Secret awaits us. The nearer we draw to the Summit, the more we touch the Depths.”

– Satprem, The Adventure of Consciousness (read more HERE.)