{"id":429,"date":"2010-06-21T04:02:00","date_gmt":"2010-06-21T04:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scarletjinn.com\/blog\/?p=429"},"modified":"2010-06-21T04:02:00","modified_gmt":"2010-06-21T04:02:00","slug":"what-can-we-do-about-the-gulf-oil-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scarletjinn.com\/?p=429","title":{"rendered":"What Can We Do About The Gulf Oil Disaster?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is an update of part of a previous post \u2013 but people keep asking me, so I\u2019m posting just and updating it today.  If you want to read the rest, it\u2019s 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\u2019s a work in progress.<\/p>\n

PS – (If you\u2019re just here to find out what\u2019s happening with the music, mixes and shows, this post has basically nothing about that. Sorry.)<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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You ask me what we can DO?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

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1.<\/strong> I\u2019d say this: Consciousness always comes first.<\/strong> 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\u2019s a lifelong path\u2026I was asked today, \u201chow can I Practice Love, Compassion & Self Awareness<\/strong> at a time like this?\u201d  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.<\/p>\n

Psychanaut is currently re-working a song I wrote some time ago called \u201cIn Bed With The Bad Boys\u201d.  Using the allegory of a drunken binge, it\u2019s about how we allowed ourselves to be seduced because of our own unconsciousness.  We are all partially responsible.  And once we see that \u2013 really see it \u2013 we can make the changes and \u201cget the bad boys out of \u201cour bed.  Basically, we must stop feeding the destructive corporate forces.<\/p>\n

Part of the practice of Love, Compassion & Self Awareness is to be present<\/em>, and let yourself really feel<\/em>.  Somehow, we must rise to this occasion.  Evolution happens in time of crisis \u2013 and this is the biggest ecological crisis humankind has ever seen.  Are you ready to become\u2026MORE?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to be hostile.  You\u2019ve 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\u2019s 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\u2019s defenders don\u2019t want to live in an oil pit.  They are people manipulated by fear and hostility \u2013 and most won\u2019t even recognize this until it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2026all with LOVE and compassion instead of mirroring their hatred.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cOur task must be to free ourselves\u2014 by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.\u201d\u2014Albert Einstein<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Take a moment to cherish the wildlife that share this planet with us.  Feel their pain, feel their joy.  Don\u2019t take them for granted; more than a third of our bird species are endangered due to humankind\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

Often people say to me that they don\u2019t think one person can change anything, but that\u2019s an illusion of disempowerment.  Nothing is more powerful.  Small changes grow into larger changes, both in your inner growth and altering our outer reality.<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

2.<\/strong> Second: Make personal changes<\/strong> – Starve The Beast.<\/strong> Shopping is political and you vote every time you spend a dollar.<\/p>\n

Most of you know this already, but I keep meeting people that simply haven\u2019t 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\u2019ve been practicing careful purchasing for ages, this might seem unreal \u2013 but if you\u2019re not reading labels, how would you know?  It\u2019s not like the ads scream at you \u201cmade with inferior and toxic oil\/coal based ingredients!\u201d<\/p>\n

But most of you have heard it all before so I won\u2019t go into a long list of things you can do\u2026just a couple of them. \ud83d\ude42 Avoid buying products made with petroleum wherever possible. If you\u2019ve never looked at the ingredients in the stuff you buy, you\u2019ll be shocked that petro chemicals are in many commercial items \u2013 it\u2019s there because its a cheap byproduct of the oil industry, not because it\u2019s the best option.  Choose to support companies who make better quality items, and your own health will benefit as well. <\/strong>And drive less \u2013 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.<\/p>\n

Avoid petroleum based packaging whenever you can.  Plastics are made from petroleum.  What we\u2019re trying to do is Starve The Beast \u2013 one dollar at a time.  Don\u2019t beat yourself up about the plastic stuff you already have, and don\u2019t <\/em>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.<\/em> Being conscious of ingredients and packaging will become an easy habit for you, and your educated decisions made a big difference.  Here\u2019s a site with great ideas for going plastic free:http:\/\/fakeplasticfish.com\/plasticfreeguide\/<\/a><\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> Take action.<\/strong> 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. <\/strong>In my case, I\u2019m donating performing music at any and every benefit I know of that\u2019s raising funds for restoration of wildlife in the Gulf.  And we\u2019ll continue putting more consciousness songs out on the web for free \u2013 because consciousness is our only way out of the mess of unconsciousness we\u2019re currently in.   I\u2019m also fairly good a research, and I am doing volunteer research for spillfighters.com<\/a> a group dedicated to promoting microbes to help consume the oil.   I\u2019m 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 \u2013 volunteer them.  Do it NOW.<\/p>\n

Notice I put \u201ctake action\u201d last.  That\u2019s because your action must come from a loving, conscious place.  Even when we\u2019re up against true evil, we must come from Love, not anger.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 \u2013 it\u2019s quick and easy to get involved via the web: sign petitions, write your \u201crepresentatives\u201d (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.<\/strong><\/em> 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\/<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/wendy-diamond\/gulf-of-mexico-oil-crisis_b_604357.html<\/a><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

OK, that\u2019s all the ranting  for now.  Watch for the next song posting soon.<\/p>\n

love, Scarlet<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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