I was sent this recently. It was written by an engineer from Venmyn, a big South African mining consulting company.
Are Geologists Goofy Enough? By Fiona Harper
At Venmyn, when our esteemed, eccentric colleagues come up with mad-cap mining methods or weird deposits, we have the tendency to shrug and exclaim just a goofy geologist. Well, maybe I have lived too long in Knysna, where tree-hugging and boom-smoking are normal, but my own goofy tendencies are alive and well. I have been casually reading laymans versions of the latest research in that queen of the sciences, physics, as well as in medicine and biology. Each of these has seen some significant re-adjustments in their views of the world, even if they are not fully accepted theories.
The inadequacy of the theory of relativity to fully explain observable and theoretical events has been recognised. The latest string theory and identification of eleven dimensions has certainly expanded our concepts of the material universe. The recognition that the smallest building block of the universe is a particle of energy and that everything is built from this same energy in different configurations, has massive ramifications.
Basically the weirdos and gurus have been saying for two thousand years that we are all one and physics is starting to wonder if they may not have a point. Medicine has seen that the body cannot be adequately understood in terms of a purely bio-chemical system but that mind exists throughout every cell in the body and that soul and spirit have powerful, unpredictable influences.
In biology, Rupert Sheldrake has similarly caused a stir. Starting his career in developmental biology at Cambridge University, he is dubbed as one of the worlds most innovative biologists and is best known for his theory of morphic fields and morphic resonance, which leads to a vision of a living, developing universe with its own inherent memory. The world of the sciences has slowly softened as the possibility has been entertained that the physical world may not be rigid or fully predictable, but actually a dance with an element of soul. This softening however has not been too evident in the geosciences, which essentially view the earth as an ancient, inanimate planet, being destroyed or created in monstrously powerful, sometimes infinitely small increments or in globe shattering events.
Ancient peoples however, worshipped Gaia mother earth. They saw the planet in the context of the cosmos and revered it as a living organism with heart and spirit. They built sacred sites in specific locations and carved mysterious glyphs on the massive tablets of stone. If you have ever stood quietly, as I have recently in England, in a stone circle and felt the tug of some mysterious pull, then you will understand why they went to the trouble.
I have a book on my bookshelf written by Hamish Miller called Its Not Too Late. Hamish Miller is an engineer educated in Edinburgh. Engineers are generally comfortingly not goofy and the Scots are renowned for their forthright, no-nonsense approach to life. Hamish started dowsing around these ancient sites, out of curiosity, and found that the glyphs carved in the stones were symbolic representations of the energy patterns of the surrounding landscape. Furthermore, he mapped these patterns with time and has discovered that they change and are responsive to such events as lunar eclipses. What he has demonstrated is that the earth is a responsive entity within a time scale that man can observe.
Recently, I completed a prospectivity report on an epithermal gold deposit in a pristine, mountainous country in north east Europe. Imagine the setting snow capped mountains, bird song in crisp air, crystal clear, snow-melt streams, mossy forests and deer. Would the gold be worth the loss of this treasure? Would Gaia, if she exists, be pleased that the geological fraternity had simply handed over her secrets to others to utilise without taking too much responsibility for the outcome? Are we open enough like some of the other sciences, to take off our scientist hats for a moment, to recognise the soul, the dance of Gaia? Are we prepared to gain her secrets without recognising and accepting the role of priest and custodian?
So my question remains… are geologists actually goofy enough, really goofy enough to see the planet as a soulful entity to which they owe the respect of carrying her secrets in a responsible and almost reverent manner and passing them on, not as accurate scientists but as keepers of the planetary treasure?
Should you have any comments regarding this newsletter please direct them to: [email protected]