Moving into the heart of gaia

Note: This article was originally written about 20 years ago. It has been published in many different places and versions since.

Free of birth or destruction, of time or space, of form or condition, is the Void. From the eternal Void, Gaia danced forth and rolled Herself into a spinning ball. She molded mountains along Her spine, valleys in the hollows of Her flesh. A rhythm of hills and stretching plains followed Her contours. From Her warm moisture She bore a flow of gentle rain that fed Her surface and brought life. Wriggling creatures spawned in tidal pools, while tiny green shoots pushed upward through Her pores. She filled oceans and ponds and set rivers flowing through deep furrows. Gaia watched Her plants and animals grow. In time she brought forth from her womb six women and six men . . .

– Charlene Spretnak, Lost Goddesses of Early Greece: A Collection of pre-Hellenic myths, Beacon Press, 1981

As far back as Paleolithic times ancient peoples fashioned clay and stone images of the Great Mother, images with voluptuous breasts and thighs and the protruding belly of a woman who has given birth many times. Her face is often featureless and her head tiny, but her body is full and soft, the essence of fertility and nurturance. The familiar figure of the Willendorf Goddess, carved of bone around 30,000 BCE, was long believed to be the most ancient work of sacred art. Then in 1972, the Acheulian Goddess was discovered in the modern-day Golan Heights region. Fashioned from chipped stone, she was found between geological strata which dated from 800,000 BCE to 232,000 BCE!

Over the course of time the Great Mother was honored and worshipped by virtually every culture. As human beings became more sophisticated, the Great Mother Goddess became more complex. She was innocent maiden, loving mother, and wise crone. She was raging warrior and powerful destroyer. She gave life and took it away and often incorporated both male and female energies. She inspired both love and fear. She was a source of comfort and solace, retribution and destruction. She was given many names in many times and places: Isis, Nut, Maat, Inanna , Astarte, Lilith, Ishtar, Morrigan, Hecate, Freya, Shakti, Kali, Oya, Hestia, Spider Woman, Demeter, Kore, Hera, Kerridwin . . . and with the advent of Christianity she was incorporated into the various Madonnas, the Magdeline, and even the mother of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Heaven.

Gaia is the name the ancient Greeks called the Mother Goddess who gave birth to all creation. Worshipped as “the Deep-Breasted One, Oldest of the Old”, they dedicated the Erechtheion, a temple on the Acropolis in Athens next to the Parthenon to her. Today Gaia, the Earth aspect of the Great Goddess, is reemerging in human consciousness, in large part thanks to the scientific inquiry of James Lovelock, Lynn Margolis, and colleagues. It must be noted, however, that indigenous peoples past and present, see the Earth as alive, inspirited, and possessing a form of consciousness, which is discussed later in this section. It is only fairly recently in the grand scheme of things that we have abandonned the knowledge of Earth as alive and venerable in favor of Earth as inanimate resources for our use (and abuse).

Gaia Theory

In the 1960s and 1970s, James Lovelock was researching the possibility of life on Mars for NASA. At the time, the assumption was that the requirements for life on Mars would be the same as for life on Earth so experiments were designed to test Martian soils “for chemicals whose presence would indicate life at work. . .”. After a while, Lovelock questioned his basic assumption. “How can we be sure that the Martian way of life, if any, will reveal itself to tests based on Earth’s life style?” he asked. To say nothing of more difficult questions like, What is life, and how should it be recognized?

“I expected to discover somewhere in the scientific literature a comprehensive definition of life as a physical process, on which one could base the design of life-detection experiments,” he recalled, “. . . but in the whole vast encyclopedia of facts the crux of the matter, life itself, was almost totally ignored.” Designing a universal “life-detection experiment” was a lot more complicated than Lovelock had thought. Different branches of science described life differently, rather like those blind men describing an elephant after touching only one part of the animal. Eventually he became intrigued by a colleague’s notion of “life detection by atmospheric analysis” and they began working together. “Our results convinced us that the only feasible explanation of the Earth’s highly improbably atmosphere was that it was being manipulated on a day-to-day basis . . . and the manipulator was life itself.”

Lovelock then made the leap, which is still considered controversial among many scientists, that because the Earth acts like a living organism then it must in fact be a living organism. “The entire range of living matter on Earth, from whales to viruses, and from oaks to algae,” he explained, “could be regarded as constituting a single living entity, capable of manipulating the Earth’s atmosphere to suit its overall needs and endowed with the faculties and powers far beyond those if its constituent parts”. Lovelock’s contemporary, the novelist William Golding, suggested that he call the living Earth, Gaia and with the help of colleagues, including Dian Hitchcock, Carl Sagan, and especially Lynn Margulis, Lovelock’s inquiry evolved into the Gaia Hypothesis, now considered a theory. (Quotes from Gaia: A new look at life on Earth, Oxford University Press, 1979). In a later book, Gaia, The Practical Science of Planetary Medicine (Oxford University Press, 1991, revised 2000), Lovelock wrote, “As understanding of Gaia grew, however, we realized that it was not life or the biosphere that did the regulating but the whole system. . . . Thus the climate, the composition of rocks, the air, and the oceans, are not just given by biology; they are also the consequences of the presence of life. Through the ceaseless activity of living organisms, conditions on the planet have been kept favorable for life’s occupancy for the past 3.8 billion years. Any species that adversely affects the environment, making it less favorable for its progeny, will ultimately be cast out . . .”.

Lovelock wasn’t the first person to see the Earth as a living organism. In the mid-1700s, James Hutton, a Scottish physician, farmer, and philosopher often referred to the Earth as “a living world”. Austrian geologist and natural philosopher, Edward Suess, coined the term “biosphere” in 1875, and in his book, The Face of the Earth, he wrote, “If we imagine an observer to approach our planet from outer space . . .”. Vladimir Vernadsky, a Russian scientist born in 1863, is considered the creator of biogeochemistry and the founding father of the contemporary concept of the Biosphere, which he referred to as “the living organism”. His vision of the biosphere was one of wholeness, effecting all fields of both the natural and social sciences.

In the early days, Lovelock didn’t think of the Gaia Hypothesis as a spiritual concept, but readers of his book thought otherwise: “Although I thought the [Gaia Hypothesis] was mainly science . . . two-thirds of the letters [I’ve received] are about the meaning of Gaia in the context of religious faith.” He discusses religion in a later book, The Ages of Gaia. “When I first saw Gaia in my mind”, he explains, “I felt as an astronaut must have done as he stood on the Moon, gazing back at our home, the Earth. . . . Thinking of the Earth as alive makes it seem, on happy days, in the right places, as if the whole planet were celebrating a sacred ceremony.” Lovelock also makes a connection between Gaia, the Earth Goddess of the ancients, and the Virgin Mary of modern Christians. “What if Mary is another name for Gaia?” he wonders. “Then her capacity for virgin birth is not miracle or parthenogenetic aberration, it is the role of Gaia since life began. . . . She is of this Universe and, conceivably, a part of God. On Earth she is the source of life everlasting and is alive now; she gave birth to humankind and we are a part of her. That is why, for me, Gaia is a religious as well as a scientific concept, and in both spheres it is manageable.”

My personal introduction to the Gaia Hypothesis was in November 1985. It was my second visit to the Chinook Learning Center, an intentional community and educational center on Whidbey Island in Washington State founded by former residents of Findhorn. My first visit a year earlier had been absolutely magical and I had high expectations.Catalyst, the journal I published until the early 1990s, was in its second year. Its focus was “investing in social change” and “creating an economy for the living Earth” and it looked at small-scale, community based alternatives to business-as-usual. I was participating Chinook’s conference, “For the Life of the Earth”, to learn about new projects and to share ideas.

I arrived a bit late for the first gathering on Friday evening and Thomas Berry, author, priest, and cultural historian, had just started speaking. His eyes twinkled with good humor and he was full of energy and passion as he spoke of the importance of integrating ecology and spirit into politics, economics . . . and everything else. His wasn’t simply an intellectual understanding of the topic. I could tell he felt the magic of the Earth in every cell of his body. It wasn’t just what he said, it was how he said it. I was entranced.

One of the topics he discussed was the Gaia Hypothesis. My heart immediately embraced the idea. As Thomas spoke, the pieces fell into place. He put words on what I’d known intuitively all my life. Tears came to my eyes, hope grew in my heart, and my mind reeled with the implications. I thought about the role love plays in the healing process, how it works miracles, speeding recovery from illness and nourishing the spirits of people and animals alike. “Healing the Earth” was a common phrase, but it seemed so arrogant. How could we possibly heal the Earth? But, if the Earth is alive then love is an important part of the healing process. And if love is part of the healing process then we can make a difference. What we do and how we do it matters. We may be David acting against a powerful Goliath, but we have Gaia, a living being, on our side! Nothing has been the same for me since.

While Lovelock sees the Earth as alive, he has never taken it to the level of Earth having consciousness, “ . . . I often describe the planetary ecosystem, Gaia, as alive, because it behaves like a living organism . . . I am well aware that the term itself is metaphorical and that the Earth is not alive in the same way as you or me . . .”. He likens the Earth to a tree, “a tree that exists, never moving except to sway in the wind, yet endlessly conversing with the sunlight and the soil.” And yet, is it so far-fetched to believe that trees have inherent consciousness of some sort? Not like human consciousness, of course, but consciousness nonetheless. Think of the numerous experiments described by Thompkins and Bird in The Secret Life of Plants that demonstrate that not only do plants communicate among themselves, they appear to be able to read minds and have memory. “Evidence now supports the vision of the poet and the philosopher,” they wrote, “that plants are living, breathing, communicating creatures, endowed with personality and the attributes of soul. It is only we, in our blindness, who have insisted on considering them automata.”

The science of ecology tells us that everything is connected and yet the destruction of the environment and the exploitation of scarce resources continues unabated. We say we are a logical, practical people but we seem incapable of making the connection between what we are doing to the Earth on a daily basis and the increasingly uncertain future of humanity. As a scientific framework the Gaia Hypothesis opens new doors to understanding how the Earth “works”. The question begs, however: Can this new understanding of Gaia, of Earth, lead to a more compassionate, respectful, holistic way of living?

There is more to life than is apparent to our physical senses. We know for instance, that what appear to be solid objects are in fact composed of impossibly tiny particles of energy that are always in motion. We live in a complex, multi-dimensional world and the more we learn the more amazing and magical it seems. I like the way William Bloom (interviewed in Spirit of Change, Nov/Dec 2001) puts it: “The more that science unveils, the more fantastic and exquisite the mysteries of life become. The perfect harmonics of Newtonian physics, the mystical qualities of sub-atomic particles, and the galactic stretches of the imagination required to grasp modern astronomy: all these demonstrate that the discoveries of contemporary science can also be understood – and perhaps best be understood – as an unfolding revelation of Spirit. . . . [E]verything which we know tangibly and physically to be in existence is, in fact, the manifestation of a more subtle and invisible energy existence [which] vibrates at a higher frequency energy level”. To put it another way, spirit manifests as life through form. To me, Gaia is the life force that flows through all of us, that connects us to and makes us one with trees, rivers, mountains, bees, ants, moose. . . everything. Gaia is the process of creation and manifestation — and we are participants whether we are aware of it or not.

There are many ways to open to Gaia, but two stand out for me. One is the quest for meaning in our lives, a quest that has inspired human beings for thousands of years. Indeed, the crude images of the Great Mother shaped by ancient peoples thousands of years ago are a timeless reminder that seeking the meaning and purpose of life is integral to human nature. The other path involves what environmental educator Mitchell Thomashow calls “ecological identity work”. Expanding our identify beyond the human to the place we live (and the plants, animals, and landscapes that share it with us) and beyond that to include the Earth as a whole, changes everything. To paraphrase Thomashow, it provides the language and context that connects our life choices with our ecological worldview. It serves as a guide that coordinates meaning and it helps us make the transition into a new way of seeing ourselves in the world. It provides a moral anchor and a map for the difficult decisions that lie ahead, a way to reiterate what’s important, and a means for interpreting the experiences of nature.

There are many books available designed to help us reconnect with nature — and our human nature as well. Some are intellectual and theoretical, others are experiential, and still others read more like stories. Personally, I love books (I’m a writer, after all) and while I know it takes more than a book to change someone, I also know that a good book read at the right time can touch us and make a difference. Sometimes the right words — like Thomas Berry describing the Gaia Hypothesis all those years ago — help us articulate a feeling or confirm an intuition.

But our minds and intellects can take us only so far. To understand Gaia, to let her into our lives, we must fall in love with the Earth. It’s that simple. We must love the Earth with the same passion and concern and fierceness that we love our children, our parents, our lovers, our mates. As anyone who has ever fallen in love knows, logic and reason have little to do with it. Sometimes we resist, but it happens anyway. Sometimes the object of our love seems totally wrong to others, but it doesn’t matter. We love regardless. And the love we feel for our children — well that knows no bounds. It is totally unconditional. The worst pain a parent can feel is the loss of a child. I haven’t felt it myself, but I know it to be true. This is the way we must love the Earth because this is the kind of love that changes everything.

When we love someone we want the best for them. We make mistakes, yes, but once we realize what we’ve done, we try to do better next time. When we love someone, we don’t deliberately set out to destroy or undermine them or jeopardize their chances at life. When they are hurt we yearn to hold and comfort them, and we know that our love makes a difference. Sometimes love is all there is, and it’s enough. The best way to fall in love with the Earth is to experience her. There’s nothing like the magic of nature to generate love in our hearts.

So here’s what I suggest: Regardless of where you live, go outside and find nature. It’s there even in the city — a park, a tree, a vacant lot, the sky, the wind, snow or rain on your face. You get the idea. Breathe deeply and think about the life force in nature and the life force in you. Breathe it in and imagine it filling every cell of your body. Exhale completely. Repeat several times. Imagine your heart opening to the elements, to the air, the wind, the soil, the clouds. If you’re fortunate enough to be in a beautiful place, open your eyes and breathe in the beauty. If not, close your eyes and imagine a beautiful place you’ve been and breathe it in. Take a walk in a natural setting. Pay attention to the little things — stones, fallen leaves, twigs, a bird looking for winter berries, the breeze blowing the clouds overhead, the play of light and shadow. Notice how perfect everything is, how things fit together, how they relate. Don’t do anything, just be. You could think of it as a walking awareness meditation.

Every day, find things that connect you to the Earth and bring them into your awareness. Then take a moment to allow the life energy to fill you. What might these things be? On a basic level, of course, every breath we take connects us to the Earth. So does the food we eat, the water we drink and bathe in (and flush down the toilet). The leather in our shoes, the cotton or wool or silk of our clothes, the paper we take notes on . . . The point is to increase our awareness, to remind ourselves often of how we depend on the Earth, how we couldn’t survive without her. Remember: We live IN Gaia. We eat, sleep, read, take the bus, drive our cars, and dispose of our trash IN Gaia.

The implications of Gaia are immense and touch every aspect of human behavior, from science to politics, from economics and trade to education and social services. Nothing is exempt. This is reality, not an abstract way of seeing the planet. We’re coming full circle. In the beginning, gods and goddesses reigned and myth and stories explained the meaning of life and guided human behavior. As our knowledge of nature and the human body expanded, life was reduced to its material parts and the magic, the undefinable essence of being alive, was discounted and even feared. Science became the new god and the goddess was banished. Gaia helps us integrate the stories of the ancients with the stories of modern science into a cohesive whole and restores wonder and magic and mystery to our lives. The path to the Gaia Hypothesis may have been scientific inquiry, but the path to Gaia is through the heart.

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