{"id":1243,"date":"2011-07-29T05:57:33","date_gmt":"2011-07-29T11:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/paganswithdisabilities\/?p=1243"},"modified":"2016-05-31T11:55:12","modified_gmt":"2016-05-31T16:55:12","slug":"the-science-and-religion-of-gaia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paganswithdisabilities\/2011\/07\/the-science-and-religion-of-gaia\/","title":{"rendered":"The Science and Religion of Gaia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Earth\"
\nIMAGE: The planet Earth as viewed from space. Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Ode to Gaia
\nby E. W. Richardson<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I woke to soft mists over the river,
\nA chilled, liquid, world where dew falls as rain
\nFrom the trees in muted musical notes
\nAnd the air is faintly luminescent\u2026
\nA surreal place of contrasts and shadows
\nIn pastel hues applied with a soft brush.<\/p>\n

I kneel beside last night\u2019s campfire and brush
\nAway ash, which settles on the river\u2026
\nA fine, white, snow swirling in dark shadows
\nOf mist and water\u2026a breeze brings more rain,
\nDrops hissing on coals, red and luminescent
\nAs birds announce the sunrise with bright notes.<\/p>\n

Upon my pad, a monarch reads my notes.
\nLater in the day, I will hear the brush
\nOf its wings in my mind, luminescent
\nBeats, which bubble in memory\u2019s river.
\nAnother breeze and more dew falls as rain,
\nSome glimmering pale gold in the shadows.<\/p>\n

Slowly, the mists flow into the shadows,
\nThere to sleep \u2018till crickets play the first notes
\nOf tomorrow\u2026dew is no longer rain,
\nEach drop a glowing gem at the first brush
\nOf the sun, which also turns the river
\nInto gold, molten and luminescent.<\/p>\n

No better word would do\u2026luminescent\u2026
\nGlittering light dances where once shadows
\nAnd mists were pastels over the river\u2026
\nAnd the music! Nature\u2019s symphonic notes!
\nThe birds, the river and the whisk-whisk brush
\nOf leaves form harmonies as soft, warm rain.<\/p>\n

Sadness fills me and tears fall as rain.
\nThese days are fragile things, luminescent
\nOnce-was-could be\u2019s\u2026for man chooses to brush
\nSuch beauty aside\u2026he prefers shadows,
\nHis music consists of discordant notes
\nOf waste which pollutes earth, air and river.<\/p>\n

Beautiful the river! How sweet the rain!
\nI\u2019ll record these notes in luminescent
\nScript and soft shadows, with my soul the brush! <\/p>\n

Much like the idea of the big bang, Greek poet Hesiod\u2019s in \u201cTheogony\u201d<\/a> presents the story of Gaia creating herself out of Chaos, a primordial black void.<\/p>\n

In June, British chemist and prolific author, James Lovelock, was honored at the Observer Ethical Awards<\/a> for lifetime achievement. (Guardian U.K. article)<\/a> The award recognizes his role in developing the Gaia hypothesis which he named after the Greek goddess. It is a model which became the basis of climate science.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat 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.<\/p>\n

More precisely: that about one billion years after it\u2019s 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.\u201d \u201cGaia Hypothesis\u201d<\/a> by Stephen Miller UCD Energy Research Group<\/a><\/p>\n

At the same time Lovelock and Margulis were working on their theory, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart (Otter G\u2019Zell at the time) delivered a sermon to the Church of All Worlds congregation. The sermon reintroduced in a modern way the religion of Gaia. \u201cTHEAGENESIS: The Birth of the Goddess\u201d<\/a> detailed his vision of Earth as the living embodiment of a Goddess.<\/p>\n

The difference between the science and religion of Gaia is that one states the planets biota is not purposefully self-regulating or conscious and the other does.<\/p>\n

\u201cCAW believes that the nature of our universe and planet is a manifestation of Divine being. As such the nature of human being is an expression of Divine being. In recognition of this we greet and honor one another with the phrase \u2018Thou art God\u2019 or \u2018Thou art Goddess\u2019.\u201d \u201cWhat is the Church of All Worlds?\u201d<\/a> by Iacchus, CAW Priest (retired)<\/p>\n

To commune with Gaia is simply to be aware of where you are. Breath deep and you inhale the exhalation of the people and animals around you. The air of distant forests and evaporating water from rivers and oceans. To commune with Gaia is to stand in a swirl of dragonflies and watch as the sunset flashes off their wings or to bite into your food and really taste it. Taste it not just on your tongue as you swallow but feel the different sensations and tastes that arise as it moves across the different taste buds. Let the aroma rise through your whole body. To commune with Gaia is to squish your toes in the dew covered grass or mud of a riverbank. To gaze at the night sky and dance with her as she dances through the stars.<\/p>\n

For more information about James Lovelock:<\/p>\n

James Lovelock\u2019s Website<\/a><\/p>\n

Extensive list of books<\/a> by or co-authored by James Lovelock<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IMAGE: The planet Earth as viewed from space. Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Ode to Gaia by E. W. Richardson I woke to soft mists over the river, A chilled, liquid, world where dew falls as rain From the trees in muted musical notes And the air is faintly luminescent\u2026 A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[132,134,196,218,357,363,444,445,484,531,576,628,735,748,761,829,872,930,3253,1033,1102],"class_list":["post-1243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-biology","tag-biosphere","tag-caw","tag-church-of-all-worlds","tag-earth","tag-ecology","tag-gaia","tag-gaia-theory","tag-greek-poetry","tag-hesiod","tag-james-lovelock","tag-living-planet","tag-neo-paganism","tag-oberon-zell-ravenheart","tag-ode-to-gaia","tag-paganism","tag-poetry","tag-religion","tag-science","tag-stephen-miller","tag-theogany"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Science and Religion of Gaia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"IMAGE: The planet Earth as viewed from space. 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