Avatar, Gaia, & the Unified Field
I saw “Avatar” for the second time last night, and I have to say – with all sincerity – that I clearly heard the voice of Gaia in it. My guess is that this will sound instantly obvious to some of you, and others might wonder (to pull a quote the movie), “What have you been smoking out there?”
There are countless voices that pronounce the ego loudly to the world, that tell us the convincing and familiar story of our separateness, that define success in terms of material acquisition, that urge us to produce so we can consume, produce and consume, produce… consume… These messages are so pervasive in modern society that they’ve almost become undetectable, like the ever-present feeling of air passing through our nostrils.
Who speaks for that which is greater than ourselves, for that great mystery of our common origin? Who speaks for (dare I say it?) the Unified Field of One? The reggae prophet Vaughn Benjamin of “Midnite” does. [I got the phrase from one of his songs, called "Won" - one of my favorite songs of all time. And he most likely got the phrase from Einstein, who applied his genius for much of his life to the creation of a Unified Field Theory.] I feel that “Avatar” is another expression of this elemental, essential message for we who have become deeply and tragically convinced of our existential separateness from nature and from each other. This sense of separateness, this failure to recognize our interdependence on other life-forms with whom we share this planet has had drastic consequences both for ourselves and for our fellow inhabitants of this planet. We have entered an era that scientists ominously call “6 X” – the sixth major period of mass extinctions in our planet’s history. If this doesn’t serve as a wake-up call, if this doesn’t jolt us out of habitual patterns of global myopia and provincial complacency, what will?
I know I wasn’t the only one who heard the ancient wisdom of the plant teachers, shamans, and of Gaia Herself in “Avatar.” [Here's an interesting article entitled "Aya Avatar: Drink the Jungle Juice," about the link between the movie and the shamanic elixir, ayahuasca.] Friends who have taken the time to sit, clear their heads of habitual thoughts, and listen to Spirit have shared with me that they felt similarly. Nor was I the only one who yearned to remain in Pandora once the credits rolled. It’s hard living in a world where the priorities seem so topsy-turvy, where creating profit is prioritized so highly, where the earth is viewed as an intert resource to be plundered, where animals are seldom treated with dignity (save a privileged few), where techno-infatuation supplants real human interaction (Facebook instead of face-time, for example). I’ll stop myself here, because I have something much more important to share than my personal sensitivities and challenges.
Perhaps you’re thinking that “Avatar” (which has already pulled in more than $1.1 billion worldwide) is itself an expression of the very profit-imperative that I’ve just criticized. This is true… on the surface. And I feel that this is part of the brilliance of the movie. Like “The Matrix,” the paradigm-shattering film that used the mainstream media to deliver a revolutionary message of consciousness-expansion, “Avatar” functions as a Trojan Horse. It’s wrapped in a big, glossy, pretty package, and gives every appearance of being a big chunk of entertainment (Pocahontas redux, as some have quipped). However, it’s packed full of messages, awareness, and archetypes that are both timeless and are also entirely relevant to this precise moment in time. “Avatar” encourages us to look upon Pandora – and by extension, upon the earth – as a living entity interconnected by all of the organisms and all the elements of our biosphere. Have we become too jaded to hear these messages with open hearts? I trust that we have not. “Avatar” also helps us look upon animals that are killed to be eaten with dignity, to truly see them and to acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice that they’re forced to make. Can we emerge from the fog created by the inhumane, profit-driven slaughterhouse industry and let this basic truth touch our hearts? [Check out animated short, "The Meatrix," if you haven't see it yet.] I believe that we can. Continuing the parallel with Pandora, “Avatar” suggests that every step that we take on our precious and only earth glows. Am I stretching the parallel too far to suggest that this may be actually true? Emerging scientific evidence substantiates this. It has been shown by mycologist, author, and planetary activist Paul Stamets that the forest floor is interconnected by a vast network of mycelium through which there is multi-directional flow of nutrients and information. He calls this “the earth’s natural internet,” and each impression upon this network – each footstep upon the forest floor – is sensed and registered by it. And so, as on Pandora, every step upon healthy soil here on earth does actually glow, in a very unique way that can be detected with subtle instruments and awareness. [It seems likely that this research about mycelial networks was sourced by James Cameron as has was envisioning the interconnected organic nature of Pandora.]
I don’t feel that it’s possible to overstate the importance of the messages that lie just beneath the surface of this film. And once we attune to and receive these messages, whether though “Avatar,” or as a result of a long walk through the hills, or sitting and listening to birdsong, or however we happen to connect with Spirit (each in our own unique way), I feel that the way we live our lives is naturally affected and enriched by this. However this message lands for us and assimilates into our lives – this message of connection with, and dependance upon, something greater than our separate little selves – what matters is that this essential message does land, somehow, and that it’s received, all the way into the fertile cores of our beings. What happens next is up to each of us.
With love for the earth, and all its inhabitants,
Shalom
PS – In this video, below, Paul Stamets, gives an amazing, lucid, compelling presentation at TED about how mushrooms can help save the world. I highly recommend checking it out.
If you have any thoughts, comments, or criticisms, I would love for you to share them in the comments, below.
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Absolutely Shalom. Thank you for taking the time to so eloquently and passionately write all of this. As you know, I too was moved in all of those ways very deeply. I only want to add my disappointment that Avatar partnered with the McDonald’s corporation and fast food chain (who is synonymous with the enemy in this movie) for their merchandizing and video games. This was very disheartening to me. Did they have to do this to make their $500 million back? I don’t think it was necessary. It would have been a very practical, tangible statement for them to deny McDonald’s of this privilege and to instead partner with a truly green company. In effect, they could have created some positive change, more than they have in inspiration through watching the film. I just have a difficult time getting past this and how McDonald’s in turn has this opportunity to use this as a green-washing effect for their company. That being said, I am greatly inspired by the movie’s message itself and the stunning visuals. Ultimately, I am grateful for the massive inspiration this movie has created and the messages (especially to children) of the connection between all life and our inter-dependance with all of nature.
Beautifully written Shalom.
I suspect that our ever-increasing drive to consume is a misguided attempt to fill the void created by our perceived disconnection from Gaia. Like you, I’m super grateful for any reminders that life presents us with to return our attention to our ever-present Mother.
Peace,
Jeff
Thank you so much for connecting all the dots in your eloquent Avatar inspired post. I couldn‘t agree more, and I‘ll add one more mundane, but to me important, point. When is the last time we‘ve seen a blockbuster movie where the military was the “bad guy”?? I thought that was an amazingly bold step by Cameron.
I have many “environmentalist type” friends, being as I fall firmly in that category myself, and one of them came kicking and screaming to see the movie with me the first time, because she was so incensed about the 500-750 million dollar cost of the movie. But when we walked out, she said, “I can now forgive Cameron the bloated cost, because the message is so vitally important, and so deftly delivered.” Not since The Matrix has there been a film so groundbreaking and significant for ANY generation. As usual, we are One, Shalom. Your devoted Fairy Godmother, p.
ooo, right on, Sonja. I forgot about that (McDonald‘s sponsorship/connection) – probably blocked it out of my awareness just because it IS so disturbing. You‘ve made an excellent point. At least the message of inter-connectedness is a strong counter-balance to the message of (non green) corporate connectedness. Clearly, we still have a long ways to go. Thank you for your wakefullness and willingness to speak out about what you see. Aloha, p
Sonja, you make a great point about the McDonald’s endorsements and their obvious attempt at corporate green-washing. It just doesn’t make any sense. There are few companies on the planet that are more destructive to our ecosystem, to human health, and to animal welfare than McDonald’s. How this unfortunate pairing happened perplexes me, and I feel that it does diminish the film and the integrity of its underlying message. I hope that James Cameron and company will reflect more deeply whom they partner with for the sequels, and that they will strive to align themselves that follow Google’s basic edict: “Don’t be evil.”
Jeff, I agree completely. Overcoming this perceived disconnection (emphasis on perceived) from Gaia is medicine for the soul, and is one of the most important things I feel we can do in this modern, tech-driven, so-called Information Age.
Pamela, thanks for the love. Surprisingly, “Iron Man” delivered a strongly anti-military message, which I thoroughly enjoyed, although I felt it lacked the depth of “Avatar.”
If you have the time, be sure to check out the TED video of Paul Stamets’s talk. [He's become one of my new heroes.] It’s truly amazing, the power of mushrooms for bioremediation, healing, and ecological health.
Really well said and written Shalom. You articulated much of what I felt after seeing the movie. I felt a sadness of having to leave the world of Pandora and return to our world when the movie was over. I agree it was the best movie since the Matrix and had a similar message. I am grateful it was made and is doing so well. I agree with Sonja that I have a hard time with the McDonalds sponsorship, which seems to represent much of the greed and disregard for animals that the film depicted. I also felt disappointed to see them having one of the main “good” characters smoking throughout the movie. What is the point of that? I wonder if they received money for that. I don’t feel that it added to the story in any way, I actually found it distracting. Anyway, I don’t want to take away from the beauty of the movie and the message. It was an AMAZING movie, utterly transporting. I look forward to learning more about the mushroom guy too, that sounds fascinating. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings:)
Great responses from all of you. I did not want to take away from the magic of the movie with my concerns about the evil corporate sponsorship. It is a challenge to not be cynical these days, and I wanted to share my appreciation of how Shalom manages to write so eloquently in his blog without a cynical or ‘know it all’ flare that I sense from many other bloggers and journalists. I am guilty of the cynicism in my post for sure (as well as in my previous statement). We were just sent this article from our friend, Serena, written by another local blogger about Avatar, and it ties right in to what we have been discussing here. [I think this author may be Shalom's long lost brother.]
http://www.techgnosis.com/chunks.php?cat=watching&sec=journal&file=chunkfrom-2010-01-06-2204-0.txt