Carl did a great job on percussion and he, along with the other players really put in a lot of hours learning the songs.  The musicians really came thru for this and I’m veru grateful.

I’m hoping to get some good photos from some of you who were there taking them   You can send them or post them so we can get copies – and we’ll post them on Psychanaut.com

You know I would gladly perform at benefits all the time to help the innocent voiceless victims of this disaster, but I surely couldn’t have done it alone.   It was quite a different kind of gig for us – thanks to all of you for your support of the Wildlife Rescue in the Gulf.  Together we made a difference! 

Keeping centered and focused in times of stress and busy-ness is so important!  We have new songs in the works plus new recordings, and will all this outpouring, meditation and taking time to slow down is  the lifeline that allows us to renew our strength and creativity.  I’ve been enjoying the Holosync brainwave entrainment recordings more lately. 

And, gardening time is in full swing – harvesting strawberries, raspberries, marionberries and blueberries in a delicious celebration of Earth’s bounty – yum!  Plus continuing our long-term goal of reducing the use of petroleum products (including plastic) in our lives.  Having been involved in environmental and wildlife causes for so many decades (wow, so long!) I’ve discovered once again that things I’ve taken for granted as common knowledge are not so common.  Everyone has their own life experience and habits, and we’re all so different, it’s easy to make assumptions.  It’s challenging to get out of our comfort zone, but also exciting!   So I thought I’d reprint this suggestion that someone forwarded to me today:

“Some ways to refuse to go along with the corporate agenda: garden, support local farmers markets or coops, choose nonprofits like Paul Newman’s for other food, deposit our money in credit unions,, re-use worn things, share with neighbors, go to the library, seek entertainment through local productions….”

Which brings up  Cozmic Pizza in Eugene’s local Benefit for Rescue of Wildlife/Birds in the BP Gulf Oil Disaster.  Please mark your calendars and tell everyone you know!!! We really want to be able to make an impact and help out. 

100% of proceeds will be donated to Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, a group that is leading wildlife cleanup and rehabilitation efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, and Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary,
an avian care group in Florida.

I believe that the kids at Valley School selected the recipients from a list we’d compiled of groups that are actually working right now, cleaning birds and turtles, housing them, and relocating those well enough to do so.

The raffle winners will get a ton of cool stuff and gift certificates from lots of local businesses.  We’ve had a great outpouring of donations and well-wishes.  It should be a crazy fun time for all!

July 29th Thursday night at Cosmic Pizza, Psychanaut will be playing, there will be performances by belly dancers (and we’re working on having dancers to some of our songs too, thanks to the fabulous Barbie Gregg),  And another performer or band will be added to the lineup soon.  Luckily, Susana Romatz is organizing the event,  and I’ve heard that there are wonderful goodies being donated from local stores for lucky people to win in a raffle. 

It just feels so great to be able to join together with other caring, talented people in working together to help out.  I’m looking forward to meeting more wonderful people as we network together to make a great show!

Please mark your calendars early and PLEASE bring as many people as you can.  We’ll have a lot of fun while helping our precious wildlife in this time of dire need.  Rockin the Rescue!

Knowing that we chose to be here on earth at this time, and we knew that we would have to EVOLVE, grow, and bloom to meet the challenges. We CHOSE it, so we must have the ability to go thru it. We must confront absolute evil without anger or hate, but with only LOVE.

I think it’s just starting to sink in.

In the past, political and environmental activists have generally come from justifiable anger at injustice, cruelty, greed, and environmental destruction.  Generally, working in the political theatre was somewhat ego centered, left-brain activity.  Meanwhile people involved in consciousness rightly felt that it was only by becoming healthy, empowered people –making personal change – that we could ever expect real change in society.  But these people then tended to withdraw from political energies, remaining disengaged, and focused in right-brain activities.  Rarely have we been able to fully blend our two natures.

I’ve been talking with several of the beautiful people I know, some who are sharing some terrible news smuggled out by workers in the gulf (in spite of the news blackout).  it is so intense! We grieve for our ocean family.  We are all working to do our part to save those we can – against insurmountable odds.  The destruction continues, yet we do not give up.   There are rumors of countless dolphin and whale bodies being destroyed, such as one shared with me today here http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1299754242#!/note.php?note_id=409412428913&id=1808676681&ref=mf

And we are all doing our part to help transform our society from the sick one it is today, to a beautiful life-honoring one that it must become.  Meditators and Wiccans are volunteering right beside environmental activists.   And at last, everyone seems to be of one mind.  It reminds me of the Quakers who turned their spiritual beliefs into action in the Underground Railroad.  How could they stay so mild mannered in the face of such injustice and cruelty?  Most people would either look away or be enraged. 

Like today, most people choose to either look away or be enraged.

Yet, all of us are finding an evolutionary leap happening in us.. its weird and strange and powerful.  It feels like "a quickening" – being increasingly stronger and empowered, and staying in LOVE.  As one of my friends said, "as advanced souls, we grow wings." That is exactly what it feels like. 

I have found myself more engaged than ever, yet also having a heightened sense of awareness.  All my senses seem to be more active – colors are more vivid, sounds more intense.  Music is flowing thru my mind even more than usual.  It feels almost psychedelic in its intensity.  Many of my friends report something similar.

This is an update of part of a previous post – but people keep asking me, so I’m posting just and updating it today.  If you want to read the rest, it’s in the posting entitled BP Gulf Oil Disaster.  I apologize for the length of this post; I hope to revisit this again and make it more succinct.  It’s a work in progress.

PS – (If you’re just here to find out what’s happening with the music, mixes and shows, this post has basically nothing about that. Sorry.)

***

You ask me what we can DO?

1. I’d say this: Consciousness always comes first. Your own centered stillness is your strength.  Your quiet Universal mind is what will keep you whole during times of tremendous upheaval.  It sounds easy, yet it’s a lifelong path…I was asked today, “how can I Practice Love, Compassion & Self Awareness at a time like this?”  We feel angry, outraged, and grieved  by the criminal Corporate crimes that brought about this BP disaster.  We want to DO something, and we must.  But we must do it with the right spirit.  We must come from Love, not hate.

Psychanaut is currently re-working a song I wrote some time ago called “In Bed With The Bad Boys”.  Using the allegory of a drunken binge, it’s about how we allowed ourselves to be seduced because of our own unconsciousness.  We are all partially responsible.  And once we see that – really see it – we can make the changes and “get the bad boys out of “our bed.  Basically, we must stop feeding the destructive corporate forces.

Part of the practice of Love, Compassion & Self Awareness is to be present, and let yourself really feel.  Somehow, we must rise to this occasion.  Evolution happens in time of crisis – and this is the biggest ecological crisis humankind has ever seen.  Are you ready to become…MORE?

It’s easy to be hostile.  You’ve seen the blogs and the comments: unconscious people still defending BP, still wanting drilling, even though a precious ecosystem has been destroyed, and  we do not know how much of our total oceans and wildlife will continue to be destroyed.  You can hear their hostility in their writings as they parrot talking points from FOX news.  It’s tragic.  And the saddest part is that these are unconscious people, actually working against their own self interest.  We all want and need clean air, breathable air, pure water.  Even BP’s defenders don’t want to live in an oil pit.  They are people manipulated by fear and hostility – and most won’t even recognize this until it’s too late.  That is why it is tragic, and that is why we must have compassion upon them even as we actively work to move beyond oil.

The complicated part of this is to help clean up, bring oil drilling to an end, stop multinational corporations from running the US Government and much of the world…all with LOVE and compassion instead of mirroring their hatred.

It may be easiest to focus your compassion upon the innocent animals and birds, or the thousands of families who have lost their livelihoods and quite likely will have toabandon their homes due to toxic residue.

“Our task must be to free ourselves— by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”—Albert Einstein

Take a moment to cherish the wildlife that share this planet with us.  Feel their pain, feel their joy.  Don’t take them for granted; more than a third of our bird species are endangered due to humankind’s behavior.  Many of the animals and birds in the Gulf are already in danger of becoming extinct.  Some may have already disappeared forever into the toxic oil and dispersant.

So, take some small personal action first.  Cherish even the smallest of our earth relatives.  Make your own yard or neighborhood a better habitat  for our fellow creatures – every creature, every bird and squirrel is precious, and our beautiful Blue Pearl is fragile.  Plant trees, fruits, and create habitat for the species that share your space.

Often people say to me that they don’t think one person can change anything, but that’s an illusion of disempowerment.  Nothing is more powerful.  Small changes grow into larger changes, both in your inner growth and altering our outer reality.

2. Second: Make personal changes – Starve The Beast. Shopping is political and you vote every time you spend a dollar.

Most of you know this already, but I keep meeting people that simply haven’t thought about this before.  Just last week I spoke with some people who were amazed at the idea of petroleum products in cosmetics.  For those of us who’ve been practicing careful purchasing for ages, this might seem unreal – but if you’re not reading labels, how would you know?  It’s not like the ads scream at you “made with inferior and toxic oil/coal based ingredients!”

But most of you have heard it all before so I won’t go into a long list of things you can do…just a couple of them. Avoid buying products made with petroleum wherever possible. If you’ve never looked at the ingredients in the stuff you buy, you’ll be shocked that petro chemicals are in many commercial items – it’s there because its a cheap byproduct of the oil industry, not because it’s the best option.  Choose to support companies who make better quality items, and your own health will benefit as well. And drive less – the less the better.  Yes, we need a light rail and electric cars, but until we manifest that, drive as little as possible and demand a green energy plan for our country NOW.   Each little change makes a difference.

Avoid petroleum based packaging whenever you can.  Plastics are made from petroleum.  What we’re trying to do is Starve The Beast – one dollar at a time.  Don’t beat yourself up about the plastic stuff you already have, and don’t throw it away.  Keep it and use it until it literally falls apart.  But from today forward, choose other options whenever you can.   Petroleum is everywhere, as oil shills delight in telling us.  They mean to disempower us by making us feel as though it’s useless to try and avoid them.  They are wrong. Being conscious of ingredients and packaging will become an easy habit for you, and your educated decisions made a big difference.  Here’s a site with great ideas for going plastic free:http://fakeplasticfish.com/plasticfreeguide/

3. Take action. Volunteer and/or donate to groups that are working to clean the wildlife, rebuild the marshes, and remove the oil.  Work for alternative clean energy.  Use whatever talent you have to help. In my case, I’m donating performing music at any and every benefit I know of that’s raising funds for restoration of wildlife in the Gulf.  And we’ll continue putting more consciousness songs out on the web for free – because consciousness is our only way out of the mess of unconsciousness we’re currently in.   I’m also fairly good a research, and I am doing volunteer research for spillfighters.com a group dedicated to promoting microbes to help consume the oil.   I’m donating money to multiple environmental groups, ongoing, to support the wildlife rescue efforts.  I’m actively posting news about the Gulf Disaster on facebook and twitter, and sharing information with other caring people.  These are things I can actually DO, NOW.  Whatever your skills are – volunteer them.  Do it NOW.

Notice I put “take action” last.  That’s because your action must come from a loving, conscious place.  Even when we’re up against true evil, we must come from Love, not anger.

Make your action come from your highest motivation.  Learn everything you can about important things that can transform our society, such as clean energy.  Learn what other nations are doing, and what is possible NOW.  Find out why the US is so far behind and speak out.  Get active – it’s quick and easy to get involved via the web: sign petitions, write your “representatives” (even though many of them are corporatists, write anyway).  Pass around videos that move you.  Motivate others.  Have meetings.   Comment on news stories to get the word out that there are better options.  Remember, stay conscious in LOVE.  Actions alone, or actions from a place of anger just feed the negativity of the corporate monster. But these little actions combined with love and personal changes WILL WORK.  To volunteer or donate, here are a couple of pages with groups listed:http://www.tonic.com/article/how-you-can-volunteer-to-clean-up-the-gulf-coast-oil-spill/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendy-diamond/gulf-of-mexico-oil-crisis_b_604357.html

***

OK, that’s all the ranting  for now.  Watch for the next song posting soon.

love, Scarlet

To find a meetup in YOUR area: http://www.meetup.com/HuffPostGreen/

Here are some great suggestions from HuffingtonPost:

•The National Wildlife Federation has set up mobile giving services to support their work in the Gulf Coast. Donors can send a text message with the code "WILDLIFE" to 20222 to automatically give a $10 donation to help wildlife affected by the oil spill.

•Oxfam America is working to help affected communities with financial assistance, as well as protect local wetlands and marshes. Make a tax-deductible donation to Oxfam America.

•You can register through OilSpillVolunteers.com to volunteer or join a cleanup organization.

•The BP Volunteer Hotline has set up numbers if you need to report injured wildlife or damage related to the spill. You can also request volunteer information at 866-448-5816.

•The Oiled Wildlife Care Network is providing volunteer information, though help from private citizens is not being requested at this time.

Story continues below

•Global Green plans to spend the coming months working to protect injured wildlife and to lobby Congress to enforce tougher regulations on the oil and coal industries. Volunteer with Global Green or donate to support these efforts.

•The National Audubon Society is asking concerned citizens to donate or volunteer. Sign up to get trained and volunteer to help local birds.

•CrisisCamp set up a conference call for Friday afternoon — follow the notes of this meeting, containing volunteer information with nonprofits and information from government organizations. You can also follow the CrisisCamp oil spill Twitter list for updates.

•Mobile Baykeeper, and affiliate of Waterkeeper Alliance, is dedicating resources to educate potential volunteers on how to help and address the long term environmental change needed in the Gulf region. Make a donation to these efforts.

•The International Bird Rescue Research Center is coordinating a professional rescue team to help birds covered in oil. You can help by reporting wildlife affected by the oil spill to the organization by calling 866-557-1401. You can also make a donation to support their work.

•The Sierra Club is gathering volunteers to help with the cleanup efforts on the Gulf Coast. Sign up online to volunteer and the Sierra Club will help you find the right opportunities for you.

•The Coalition To Restore Coastal Louisiana is also helping to coordinate volunteers. You can register online to volunteer or make a donation.

Political Actions
•Oceana’s goal is to reach 500,000 names on a petition to stop offshore drilling permanently. A tracker on their website displays how many gallons of oil have been spilled in real time. As of May 24, it’s drawing close to eight million.

•Petition sites are packed with letters to politicians that you can sign on to. This one from Care2′s The Petition Site aims to encourage President Obama to reconsider his plan to expand offshore drilling and invest in clean energy resources. A similar petition can be found on TrueMajority.org.

•Join the Facebook group 1 Million Strong Against Offshore Drilling. Check out the action page for more suggestions of how to lend your voice to the anti-drilling movement.

•If you want to do more after writing to your representatives, you can always boycott BP products. The main ones you use? Arco and ampm. If Americans stopped buying gas and products from these places, they’d feel it. Currently, BP has seen very little economic backlash from the spill.

“The Earth does not belong to man; Man belongs to the Earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”—Chief Seattle

You haven’t heard from me on this blog for a while, because I have been consumed with the tragic Oil Gusher in the Gulf and the damage it’s doing.    Millions upon millions of animals and birds, 20 wildlife refuges, and many species already endangered are dying before our eyes.  Other than donating what we can to environmental  groups who are frantically working there even now, I would guess that most of us want to do more.

By now everybody knows that the tragic catastrophe we have warned about for so many years is upon us.  There are an average of 200 oil “spills” per year.  But this time, the devastation is so terrible and frightening that perhaps even the “drill baby drill” crowd is rethinking their folly.

Here in the US, we have missed many opportunities for positive change.  Jimmy Carter put solar panels on the White House and corporatist Ronnie Reagan tore them down.   We refused to move into the 21st Century and continued our addiction to oil, and our money and treasure continues to flow to multinational corporations and the few wealthy CEOs who currently rule the world.

We can do better.  We can be more.  We are an innovative species.  But the unconsciousness and laziness that clouds our judgment is challenging to throw off.  And sadly, there are many regressives among us who fear change and fight with all their might against evolution.  You can hear them chanting “drill baby drill” while our world collapses around us.  Tragic.

Meanwhile my heart is broken.   I have contacted a few groups to volunteer to help in whatever way I can.  I’ve offered our music to fundraisers here in the Lane County area that we will play to raise cash for the various environmental groups that are doing the great work right now (and probably throughout our lifetimes) in the Gulf, cleaning one bird at a time.  If you are organizing something like this, contract us via Psychanaut . And of course, we’ll keep mixing our visionary rock and posting it song by song.

I’ve kept this blog somewhat politically neutral, because politics without consciousness is just more ego in the wind.   Superficial political “change” is not enough; we must know ourselves and lose the amnesia that has plagued our species for too long.  Empathy is a higher brain function – it  can’t be legislated or forced.  The same with Love. 

And it strikes me that the most recent song we’ve completed, “Gravity Well”, also applies to this.  IT’s about unconsciousness and the behaviors/addictions that own us when we’re not AWAKE.  The continued use of deadly and filthy oil is exactly that. Much of humanity continues to be asleep and uncreative – accepting the status quo.  

You ask me what we can do? 

1.  I’d say this: inner awareness always comes first. Practice Love, Compassion & Self Awareness.

Part of the practice of Love, Compassion & Self Awareness is to be present, and let yourself feel the love of our Mother Planet.   Imagine you had to leave this planet for space unknown, and memorize what you would miss the most about our beautiful, fragile home.  Become Love.  take a moment to cherish the wildlife that share this planet with us.  Feel their pain, feel their joy.  Don’t take them for granted; more than a third of our birds are endangered due to humankind’s behavior.  Make your yard or neighborhood a better habitat  for our fellow creatures – every creature, every bird and squirrel is precious, and our beautiful Blue Pearl is fragile.  Plant trees, fruits, and create habitat for the species that share your space.

Often people say to me that they don’t think one person can change anything, but that’s an illusion of disempowerment.  Nothing is more powerful.  Small changes grow into larger changes, both in your inner growth and altering our outer reality. 

2.  Second: Make personal changes ; Starve The Beast.  Shopping is political and you vote every time you spend a dollar. 

Most of you know this already, but I keep meeting people that simply haven’t thought about this before.  Just last week I spoke with some people who were amazed at the idea of petroleum products in cosmetics.  For those of us who’ve been practicing careful purchasing, this might seem unreal – but if you’re not reading labels, how would you know?  It’s not like the ads scream at you “made with inferior and toxic oil/coal based ingredients!”

But most of you have heard it all before so I won’t go into a long list of things you can do…just a couple of them. Avoid  buying products made with petroleum.  If you’ve never looked at the ingredients in the stuff you buy, you’ll be shocked that petro chemicals are in many commercial items – it’s there because its a cheap byproduct of the oil industry, not because it’s the best option.  Choose to support companies who make better quality items, and your own health will benefit as well.   And drive less – the less the better.   Each little change makes a difference.

Avoid plastic whenever you can.  What we’re trying to do is Starve The Beast – one dollar at a time.  Don’t beat yourself up about the plastic stuff you already have, and don’t throw it away.  Keep it and use it until it literally falls apart.  But from today forward, choose other options. 

3.  Take action.  Volunteer and/or donate to groups that are working to clean the wildlife, rebuild the marshes, and remove the oil.  Work for alternative clean energy.  Learn everything you can about clean energy, what other nations are doing, and what is possible NOW.  Find out why we are so far behind and speak out.  Get active – it’s easy to get involved via the web: sign petitions, write your “representatives” (even though many of them are corporatists, write anyway).  Pass around videos that move you.  Motivate others.  Have meetings.   Comment on news stories to get the word out that there are better options.   Remember, stay conscious in LOVE.  Actions alone, or actions from a place of anger just feed the negativity of the corporate monster.  But these little actions combined with love and personal changes WILL WORK.  To volunteer or donate, here are a couple of pages with groups listed:http://www.tonic.com/article/how-you-can-volunteer-to-clean-up-the-gulf-coast-oil-spill/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendy-diamond/gulf-of-mexico-oil-crisis_b_604357.html

***

OK.  Back to the music.  Our music is meant to bring joy and raise consciousness, its for wherever you are on your personal journey.  The lyrics can be taken on a variety of levels, and that’s by intention. 

If you know of any fundraising efforts that need music, or if you are a musician or artist that would like to use your skills to help, I’d love to hear from you!  Please be sure to  Contract us via Psychanaut.com