Our modern societies often compel us to believe that Nature is not alive. But that is an illusion. If humanity is to survive the cataclysms that are occurring, each willing human must begin to consciously reconnect with the living intelligence of the planet we live in.
The Earth System behaves as a single, self-regulating system with physical, chemical, biological, and human components.
"The Gaia theory posits that the Earth is a self-regulating complex system involving the biosphere, the atmosphere, the hydrospheres and the pedosphere, tightly coupled as an evolving system. The theory sustains that this system as a whole, called Gaia, seeks a physical and chemical environment optimal for contemporary life.
Gaia evolves through a cybernetic feedback system operated unconsciously by the biota, leading to broad stabilization of the conditions of habitability in a full homeostasis. Many processes in the Earth's surface essential for the conditions of life depend on the interaction of living forms, especially microorganisms, with inorganic elements.
These processes establish a global control system that regulates Earth's surface temperature, atmosphere composition and ocean salinity, powered by the global thermodynamic desequilibrium state of the Earth system.
The existence of a planetary homeostasis influenced by living forms had been observed previously in the field of biogeochemistry, and it is being investigated also in other fields like Earth system science. The originality of the Gaia theory relies on the assessment that such homeostatic balance is actively pursued with the goal of keeping the optimal conditions for life, even when terrestrial or external events menace them."
Overview Article of Gaia Theory (pdf)
Seminal Article about Cybernetics by Norbert Weiner (pdf)
Because our actions do not occur in isolation. Everything we do affects the whole of life within and around us.
If you would like to further develop this experience, take greater responsibility for your impact on the world you participate in, and experience a more meaningful life, please open this book and commit to embodying the principles presented therein.