Horrific experiences with news stories

[Kotalam]

"If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed." - Mark Twain

You are totally right. Maybe that IS the point, there is no escape. You are damned if you do, damned if you don't. I think just flat out avoidance is fleeing from the conflict and ultimately ignoring a necessary catalyst. If I still have such an emotional reaction to the news, I think that signals there is still lots of work to be done in this area personally. There is only the quivering mass as Alan Watts called it. Our struggle to free ourselves from anxiety and fear only further entrench us in that same awful substance. I think translation this from a conceptual framework into an integrated experiential notion is where I get stuck.

Is anyone here familiar with the book Dispelling Wetiko? It seems very much connected to this for me. Here is a link to it if you are curious...Dispelling Wetiko: Breaking the Curse of Evil by Paul Levy (sorry linking isn't working for me). Similar also to Eckhart Tolle's conception of a pain body.