Jim's Secret Thoughts

I have just watched the Avatar movie and really enjoyed it. In spite of the typical American heavy handed approach to “destroy and take” I believe the writer of the story has presented us with a very clear message.

The native Na’vi of the fictional planet, Pandora, are depicted as having a very close bond with Eywa, their mother of nature, and all life. This bond is demonstrated by a physical connection made either through their tails or pony-tails to other animals or to the earth itself. A spirit-tree which produces floating feather-like flowers, is their connection to Eywa. The flowers are attracted to innocence and an open heart. When a connection to Eywa is required the entire village gathers around the tree, tails connected to the earth, and holding each other they chant and connect in united spirit to Eywa. When they make a bond through their pony-tails to other animals these animals become their servants – a personal close bond is formed for life.

Throughout the movie the na’vi’s bond to nature is emphasized and made central to the plot. The Earth scientists also made the discovery that the trees of Pandora where somehow connected to each other, forming a intricate network of some kind of communication.

The story revolves around the “need” for the Earth humans to harvest a precious crystal power source which just happens to be in great quantities under the home-tree of the na’vi. Either the na’vi move or the military force them out.

What does this teach us? First of all there is the very strong message that the Earth humans have destroyed their own Mother, Gaia. Their planet is no longer green and now they proceed to destroy another planet in their hunger for resources. It is a reflection of the rape and destruction of our remaining rain-forests and other natural habitats. The movie, Avatar, gives us a strong reminder that we cannot continue to rape our planet and kill Mother Earth, for in doing so we will bring our own ultimate doom.

A second lesson to be learned from the Avatar movie is the connectedness everything has to everything. Everything is connected. I’ve said it many times and I believe it to be so. Everything is energy and we are energy and on the energy level we are, everything is, connected. You may refer to this energy connection as a spiritual bond. Even quantum science is beginning to prove this connection and the ancient teachings of the alchemists and mystics all speak of an underlying spirit or power which gives all things life and holds all things together. We are all connected to all things alive and inanimate and because of this if we harm anything we also harm ourselves. If we hate someone because of skin colour or creed we are in fact hating ourselves.

The third lesson to be learned from Avatar is the magnetic attraction of innocence and love, a pure heart and a giving soul. Nature is designed to be a giving force to create and support life in all of its abundance. This includes every need and desire of humankind. I believe that the “natural” disasters which we experience frequently are the result of the imbalance of natural energy flows caused either directly or indirectly by us humans, directly through our scavenging the earth and indirectly through our selfish hatred of our own kind – humans.

The underlying force of Nature is Love. Love is never selfish and always wishes the best for the other. This is Nature as it is meant to be. Love is the source of all life. If we humans have not love then we upset the balance of nature. The laws of attraction tells us this is so. Think of evil and evil will come upon you. Think of good and you will experience good. Fear bad things and that fear will upset the natural balance of love and trust and bad things will result. Avatar reminds us that we each have the power for our own good or our own destruction in our our own hands.

There is one other lesson in the Avatar movie which may have gone largely unnoticed. It is the importance of gratitude. When Neytiri kills some wild creatures in order to save Jake she weeps because the animals did not need to die, but they died because of Jake’s carelessness. Later as Jake was trained in the art and ways of the na’vi he also learned to be grateful even for the prey he just killed for food. He very deliberately thanks the animal and releases its spirit to return to Eywa while it’s body stays to become a part of the na’vi.

How often are you grateful for the smallest blessings? Are you aware of your connection to nature, to your car, your money and your neighbour? Are you sensitive to the fact that whatever you give out will return to you, whether that be hate or love, or selfishness or generosity, rudeness or kindness. Have you been grateful for 2009? Stop and think now and give thanks for all the good that your life has received in 2009. And if you only think of bad things give thanks for that too, perhaps you have missed something.

Be blessed and enjoy your connections in 2010.