Gaia

Samhain · Guardian Joined: 18 Oct 2008 Posts: 188

The Gaia Theory can sound very complex at first, however what it proposes is that simply the Earth is a living being in her own right.
That the largest life form known to us is infact The Earth

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Samhain · Guardian Joined: 18 Oct 2008 Posts: 188

Gaia is the greek goddess of the earth, although in this case, the world is not seen as a goddess, but rather a concious living life form its its own right see below where I have marked it in bold where it is explaining this

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gaia philosophy (named after Gaia, the Greek goddess of the Earth) is a broadly inclusive term for related concepts that living organisms on a planet will affect the nature of their environment ? to make it more suitable for life. This set of theories holds that all organisms on a planet regulate the biosphere to the benefit of the whole. The Gaia concept draws a connection between the survivability of a species, (hence its evolutionary course) and their usefulness to the survival of other species.

While there were a number of precursors to Gaia theory, the first scientific form of this idea

was proposed as the Gaia Hypothesis by James Lovelock, a UK chemist, in 1970. The Gaia hypothesis deals with the concept of homeostasis, and claim the resident life forms of a host planet coupled with their environment have acted and act as a single, self-regulating system. The system includes the near-surface rocks, the soil, and the atmosphere. While controversial at first, various forms of this idea

became accepted to some degree by many within the scientific community

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Samhain · Guardian Joined: 18 Oct 2008 Posts: 188

FROM gaiacooperative.org
What is the hypothesis of Gaia ? Stated simply, the idea

is that we may have discovered a living being bigger, more ancient, and more complex than anything from our wildest dreams. That being, called Gaia, is the Earth.
More precisely: that about one billion years after its formation, our planet was occupied by a meta-life form which began an ongoing process of transforming this planet into its own substance.
All the life forms of the planet are part of Gaia. In a way analogous to the myriad different cell colonies which make up our organs and bodies, the life forms of earth in their diversity coevolve and contribute interactively to produce and sustain the optimal conditions for the growth and prosperity not of themselves, but of the larger whole, Gaia. That the very makeup of the atmosphere, seas, and terrestrial crust is the result of radical interventions carried out by Gaia through the evolving diversity of living creatures.

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Samhain · Guardian Joined: 18 Oct 2008 Posts: 188

Or put more simply The Earth and everything living and natural on her is all part of Gaia and Gaia is a living being in her own right.

This theory is so accessible to everyone, whether you are an enviromentalist because of your spirituality or one because you think scientifically it just makes sense, The theaory of gaia can speak to you.

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