Dr. Dena G. Churchill

A virus is an infectious agent that replicates in the cells of a living susceptible host. This definition encompasses a plethora of pernicious agents from the HINI flu virus to the viruses in our technology that attack the unsuspecting target. I hope to create awareness and knowledge that may offer some defense from these invading parasites.

In this article I am sharing what I have learned, first hand, about internet computer scams as there maybe another that may benefit from my experience. It is perhaps not the philosophical rant that I am usually inspired to write but I have paid thousands for this wisdom…so it is mine to share.

Parasites and Viruses are such nasty words…wait! allow me to call them learning opportunities as they do challenge us to understand the world from a different angle. In any challenge we can choose to be a victim or valor, and it is not what happens to us but what we do with it that defines our perspective.

Internet fraud can come in many forms.

1. The investment fraud has been made popular recently with the latest Ponzi schemes of our newsworthy wealthy investors. I thought I was contributing to an off shore oil company, sending cash investments that promised great rewards but not only have there been no returns on the investment, but the initial investment capital had disappeared along with the companies contact numbers and e-mails.

2. Fraudulent representation of a person, service, product or charity. A ‘pastor’ ordering $5000 worth of service or product on a stolen credit card asking to send cash for a delivery service is one example, or another example is offering to sell a vehicle for $10,000 but requesting money be sent to a trust account. Even donations to an apparent church charity in which a receipt is never granted are within the scope of our infecting agents.

3. Dating sites are places to find a host with a weakened immune system. The “Love Bug’s” bite hurts. Men and women sharing love words, money, webcams, indecent photos and identities are the pillars for a large underground business.

4. Traditional computer spammers and hackers have evolved. The advice I used to receive was not to open an attachment from any one I did not know. But now these spammers can attach to an e-mail address, manipulate a message and infiltrate the contact list of an address you do recognize! Spammers typically offer any number of illegitimate websites where you can purchase products with amazing deals if ,of course, you send cash in a money order or wire.

5. Have you had a virus in your computer and magically a solution of anti-viral program arrives to your inbox or as a pop-up screen? It is not a coincidence…those that planted the virus are now trying to sell you the software to handle it.

6. There are a host of other miscellaneous items that include “work-at-home” schemes, lottery winners and inheritance granting that could fill up a few pages. The wikipedia- internet fraud site at the end of this article offers many other examples and FBI reporting links for your information.

My first thought, after catching a few of these flu bugs, was to understand how I could be so naive and trusting. My second thought is to try to understand what motivates a person to behave in a fraudulent way, to deliberately seek to take advantage of another? Are they alone or part of a larger conglomerate? Maybe it is an illusion of sharing the target’s wealth? In the case of third world country scammer, this may be a truth and scamming must be a good source of income. Perhaps the fraudster sees the host as obtuse and thinks, “well if they are stupid enough to believe me then I should take their money”? Is it greed or selfish desire for more money or is the motivation to feed a family or impress a boss? I call it motivation because I do feel it is a behaviour driven by a force or fear outside themselves. A virus needs a host in order to survive but a host needs a virus to gain strength and wisdom. If only fraudsters could be granted the tools to survive on their own and experience the inspiration and true power that is birthed from a womb of fair exchange, this would change the world.

If wisdom is as Confucius states experience and reflection, then I am growing wise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_fraud provides information and external reporting links.

It is the space between the extra and the ordinary that fulfills our existance, that shifts our perspective and allows for growth. I shall define a few other borders in a tale of extremes that may give you a greater perspective- the border between order and chaos, the border between the real and the imagined, the border between sane and insane. Life is the journey along the borders where inspiration is birthed between two destinations of here and there. The inspirational moments occur when the world is quiet for you to hear yourself think, your inner voice. The quieting that gives you the final push to expand maybe triggered by an event, a poem, an idea, a piece of music, a person or a crisis. The greater the message or inspiration the quieter the world must become. Expect the greatest insights paired with the greatest challenge. Look for them and embrace them for in these moments are the joys of life.

Our dreams, fantasies and desires are the extra from our ordinary. The media, movie stars and famous musicians all try to capture this extra from the average. The ordinary is common and then the extra becomes common so the place of growth and expansion is at the border.

What shall I find on the border? Behind you stands the guards laden with guilt and resentment of the past. This protective calvary of “what if” and “if only” statements. “What if it could have been different”; “if only they had not acted that way”. In this mindset, someone has made a mistake….you, another person or God has screwed up the plan. Then ahead of you lays your fears that guard the future. Fear statement ring loud- “I am scared to say this and follow my heart for fear of hurting myself or others. I can hardly admit this to myself, let alone tell someone else and move forward. I don’t deserve this.”

There are no mistakes and finding the courage to cross the guarded border is the liberation you seek. The turmoil and resistance in your mind is reflected in your body and your environment. This is the point at the edge of the cliff when you are about to jump, develop a incurable virus or cancer, or another life ‘crisis’ that forces one to move inward to find their spirit. Understanding of this journey melts victimization in the current event. A global health crisis, a country’s political unrest, destruction of a city, a death in the family, emotional upheaval in the individual are examples of these borders to which I refer.

After my seminar recently a man says to me, “If I accept this way of thinking, manipulating my mind to see the opportunity in the obstacle, then shit, I can no longer play victim in these circumstances. What kind of mind altering drug is this?” A friend replies, “yes, this happened to me too, next time take the blue pill it is easier on the head and keeps you away from the border.”

It is just when you think your life is over that there is a major shift in awareness and a new level of thinking and behaving. In essence, life is over as you know it and allowing the extra to emerge is the joy de vie. A bird hatching, a snake shedding its skin, a baby birthing are borders of crossing, complete with the pains and shell breaking enthusiasm associated with the rites of passage.

As a birthing mother I remember thinking at a point I was about to die in childbirth but in this same moment a baby is born. As I am preparing to cancel my teaching seminar, the most inspirational person arrives. At times when I have felt life is not worth living, I am granted the most profound insights. Thank you God for the borders for in these moments I am alive.