Polaris: The Gulf Oil Spill: Invitation for Change
Channeled by Karen Murphy
28 Jun 2010
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We wish to comment on the recent oil spill occurring in the Gulf of Mexico. At the risk of sounding overly simplistic or obvious, the fallout and end result of this spill is anticipated to be both more far-reaching than presently imagined and unclear as to scope for many years to come. Both the magnitude of this spill and the ongoing responses and effects are presently underestimated by the majority of the scientific community. This is, in a way, understandable, as the event is unprecedented in human history — previous spills did not occur in heavily populated areas, and the Gulf is a central oceanic pivot point, essentially affecting a vastly larger section of the planet’s total oceans than the area of the Gulf itself. But this underestimation is also naïve and reflects a misperception regarding the ocean’s existence as a single, united entity.
In other words, what affects one part of the ocean on one part of the planet ultimately has an effect on the rest of the ocean and as a result, the entire planet. This is a concept that will be coming to light over the next 50 years or so as effects of the spill are parsed, measured, and recorded.
One result of the spill, therefore, at least in the not-too-distant future, will likely be scientific acknowledgement that there is really only a single ecosystem on the planet; that all life is connected, intertwined, and interdependent.
Effects of the spill
While that interconnectedness is well and good and will reflect growing change in the understanding of human effect upon the planet, there are other effects closer at hand and perhaps less desirable.
1. Biodiversity decreases. Species like pelicans, cetaceans, fishes, kelp, algaes, and numerous single-celled organisms are being affected in obvious ways. Any time large numbers of a single species are wiped out by disaster or disease, it increases the chances for that species to dwindle to extinction. Most of the affects won’t be immediate, however, as dramatic as the available footage of oil-soaked birds and dolphins may be. Instead, the danger for the future lies in the availability of an untainted food source through the planet’s oceans. We anticipate a number of species moving toward extinction over the next several years, especially as the snowball affect of tainted food sources increases.
2. Political coverup. For many people in positions of power, mass-scale events like this precipitate the need to keep oneself safe from harm. Every man for himself. Because of that very common and very human response, we see that choices have been made and likely will continue to be made in order to create protection for those who might otherwise be excoriated by an angry public demanding a right to know why their oceans have been tainted for generations to come. This desire to protect runs deep and has itself a snowball effect, creating a veil of secrecy to prevent fingers of blame from being accurately pointed.
The far-reaching effects of this are deeper than they appear on the surface and portray a mindset we find becoming prevalent in first-world culture. As global culture begins to move into a more relationship-oriented phase, ways of interrelating that have been a part of culture and experience for the past thousand years, manifesting in different ways, become more dear to those who are heavily invested in it. Whenever there is significant change, there are those who resist. There are those who feel fear. The fear and resistance becomes a holding on to what is known, and this often manifests in extreme ways. We have spoken before about the evolution of a “police state” in North America, becoming so without resistance or even anyone really noticing, because the evolution of such a state always begins with the interests of the majority at heart. What is important to protect here? A sense of security. Of belonging. New ways challenge this, especially because what is ahead in the future is still largely unknown. Better to protect what is already known.
To this end, covert groups have long been established in order to attempt to protect the familiar. Again, this is done without underlying sinister intent but instead a desire to protect the known. The outcome, however, is much the same: there are secrets, lies, and manipulations.
3. Changing attitudes toward natural resources. Some of you might think this is long in coming! Seeing proof of any significant change will continue to tax your patience, then, but we see this event – and some others that are similar and yet to come – as the beginning of what will be a shift in attitudes toward the exploitation of the planet’s resources. Big change occurs slowly, however, and for many, there is a theoretical shift in ideology, often manifesting as actual anger toward those who don’t share their ideas, that doesn’t translate into a shift in practice as well. A true shift – one in practice as well as theory – likely won’t occur for most people until resource depletion is at such a level that as a group you are forced to look for other avenues. The key here is true creativity, and we haven’t yet seen a need for that. While there are people thinking about non-petroleum energy replacements, and that thought is helpful to a degree, it is still simply a substitute (one thing for another) that doesn’t result in any true behavior change. SUV tanks still require filling. A trip to the grocery store still yields a case of plastic water bottles filled with expensive filtered tap water. A switch on the wall still turns a light on. Factories still churn out tens of thousands of identical mass-produced items. Cars still choke city streets.
But where you are headed – true acknowledgment of the interconnectedness of all beings and life on the planet – is a part of this path as well. That IS at the other end of this road. And many of you feel a glimmer of that. The glimmer is useful. Go with it. Keep that flame alight, as it will ignite a larger flame, even as necessity (resource depletion) comes at you from the other side.
Why did the oil spill occur?
When large-scale, world-changing events such as this occur, it is natural for people to begin to ask Why. Why this? Why now?
The short answer is, It was time.
One many levels, it was only a matter of time before such a disastrous event occurred. The mechanics of deep-sea oil drilling are less precise than one might imagine. There are variables with ocean pressures and the behavior of metals within a changing environment that have not been strongly considered. In addition, the planet is a living being. What lies underneath the surface is a changing environment as well, and efforts to capture the essence of this living being with measurable and quantifiable science are imprecise.
In addition, there was a need for change, and a need for a large touchpoint event to begin to precipitate this change. Change is inevitable, and is a significant part of physical plane experience (despite efforts to deny it). Globally, collectively, the human species — as well as all beings on the planet — chose this event, or one enough like it that would create similar effects. Big, dramatic events that people can point to and say to themselves and one another, “THAT is when changes began to happen,” give people something to measure themselves and their experiences against. They act as a touchpoint that everyone can agree was a changing event for many. September 11, 2001. July 4, 1776. The Haiti Earthquake. The Christmas Tsunami. The Black Plague. Princess Di.
What do we see as the future from this event? The outcome? Again, we see the effects as being far-reaching. You may never know everything about the effects, because they are pervasive in ways that are difficult to measure. We mentioned a decrease in biodiversity. Species die out. The affects the fishing industry. The livelihood of individual fishermen. Families move and relocate. When fish die, interrelated species are affected. The ocean is a living organism, an entity. The shores of all the planet’s oceans are affected, not just in the Gulf. The people perched precariously at the shores of all the planet’s oceans, billions of them, are affected as well. Food sources change. Livelihoods fluctuate. Other food sources are focused on, exploited. Cellular change within the human structure is affected because of the evolution of food. Social structure changes as a result of food source change, of physical relocation, and of the cellular physiological change. Food has energy that affects thought. You’ve heard, “You are what you eat”? And so you are. You take on the energy of what it is you consume. As a group, if you are accustomed to consuming fish and then you change that to, for instance, a grain, there is a change in thought patterns. In behavior patterns. In physiological response to the environment. In disease. In social response to changes in disease. Do you see how one thing affects another? As beings, you are so closely tied to what is around you. It can be said that you are a product of your environment. You also CREATE your environment. It goes hand in hand.
What you can do to help
There is, naturally, a feeling of helplessness when faced with such a far-reaching, world-changing event. It is natural, then, to wish to do something. Take action.
There is no wrong action.
Each of you will feel pulled to do something that is a natural part of Who You Are in this moment. For some, it will be activism. There is anger with that helplessness. Fine! So use it. Write letters. Take part in focus groups. Help plan change. For others, it will be service. There are people affected, many of them. And animals. Use your gifts and talents to support them directly in some fashion. Other people will be focused on healing. Combine energies with others doing this work and focus on allowing the event to unfold as it best supports the greater good. Connect with Gaia. Connect with ocean energies. Give compassion to those affected and to those responsible. You are all One, after all.
Whatever you feel pulled to do will be of assistance in some way. Trust that you have this inner knowledge and allow yourself to be guided into what feels best for you and what supports you on a soul level. Feel your connection with others doing the same thing. Feel the power of what you are creating in this way. Feel the potential of what is yet to come.
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