EARTHFUTURE.COM by Guy Dauncey

In August, John Holdren, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, warned that at the current pace of climate change, a catastrophic sea level rise of up to four metres is possible by 2100.
In October, scientists at Britain’s Hadley Centre for Climate Change warned that, if we don’t make urgent cuts to our emissions, a third of our planet’s land will be desert by the end of the century.
And in November, a study published in Science warned that the world’s fish and seafood populations will collapse by 2048, if our current trends of habitat destruction and overfishing continue.
Rest assured, there’s plenty more where that comes from. I received a phone call recently from a middle-aged man who told me he had been reading about global climate change and crying for three nights, unable to sleep. If this is happening to you too, it may not be a sign of imminent mental breakdown. It is more likely a sign that you are very sane indeed, and showing a healthy emotional response to this mind-boggling situation.
What can we do? We must certainly take practical actions such as cycling more, buying less carbon-based stuff and writing to our MPs and MLAs (see www.onedayvancouver.ca). It’s also important to remain positive. Who knows when a surprise development will come out of nowhere, making success seem more possible?
We can also seek guidance at a deeper level.
It has been my experience during my 58 years of living that if I sincerely ask for guidance from a presence or source of wisdom that I respect, whether as an act of prayer or meditation, provided my intentions are pure and seeking a way to serve, not to take, positive results will follow. I take this “Law of Guidance” to be one of the laws of the universe, along with gravity, thermodynamics and the law of attraction (check out The Secret at www.thesecret.tv/home.html).
If we use the law of attraction, we can draw to ourselves whatever we choose, although it might be a selfish choice and involve releasing more carbon. If we use the law of guidance, however, the response will guide us onto a path of greater fulfillment and service.
I base my understanding of this on the reality that all is interconnected, and that the universe is evolving towards greater wholeness and unity. (This is not yet taught in physics classes or Biology 101.) When we open our spirit to alignment with this purpose, we receive clues, ideas or invitations that offer us new ideas and show us things that we can do to make a difference. It doesn’t matter whether you ask for this guidance from within your own unconscious mind or from God or The Great Spirit. It does not need to be religious. All is One.
So here is a prayer at a time of crisis:
Dear Great Presence, here I am. Please guide me and show how I may serve, that I may contribute my skills, my love and my commitment to the turning of our planet towards greater sustainability, cooperation and love.
When you’re done, don’t sit at home and wait. Get out there and be spontaneous. Talk to people. Follow your impulses. Walk into that café, bookshop or meeting. Have fun. Something will appear, whether from the universe or from your own mind. All great projects and initiatives start with the tiniest seed that comes, as it were, out of nowhere. This is one of the sources of guidance that can help us chart a successful path through this crisis and into the Solar Age. It will also help you sleep more soundly.
PS: When I wrote last month that if we shrink the universe’s evolution down to a single year, humans do not appear till the last 18 days, I was (oops!) slightly wrong. Albert Dexter and Matthew Salkeld, who are both sharper with their calculators than I am, point out that “seven million years ago” represents 0.18 days, not 18, so we don’t appear until 7:40pm on December 31. The Industrial Revolution – and our current global crisis – starts in the last ¼ second of the year.

Guy Dauncey is president of the BC Sustainable Energy Association (www.bcsea.org), and author of Stormy Weather: 101 Solutions to Global Climate Change. (www.earthfuture.com)