Gaia Theory has been embraced by a number of people, especially those passionate about sustainability, the environment, and earth based spirituality. I first encountered the idea in college in the early 1990s. I began as a chemistry major with a minor in environmental studies, but in the environmental studies courses I quickly learned about the global problems which we had created by using pesticides like DDT. I switched my major within days of reading Silent
Spring by
Rachel Carson.
Over the years I've explored Gaia and my relationship to her in many ways. I worked in National Parks, National Forests, and National Wildlife Refuges as a service to the Goddess. I picked up millions of cigarette buts, talked to countless tourists, and spent as much time in Nature as possible. In this blog as well as in study circle I'll share various excerpts from my life, but for now I want to focus on the concept of Inner Ecology.
Gaia is a super-organism, all the living and non-living aspects of the planet Earth together comprise Gaia. There are many many scales upon which to examine the interconnectedness of all life. A few years ago I realized I was very unhealthy, physically. I was having a string of problems which all seemed to stem from my gut. Through a 2-3 year process I worked to find some sort of healing. I read many books, visited many doctors, and reconfigured my diet several different times. What finally allowed me to transform the situation was recognizing that my intestines are an ecosystem.
An entire world of microscopic organisms inhabit the intestines of every human. Over time I came to appreciate that the tiny little critters in there were not good nor bad, but grossly out of balance. Every ecosystem has a dynamic variation, homeostasis doesn't mean that everything stays exactly the same, but rather that the variations stay within a certain range known as dynamic equilibrium.
The dynamic equilibrium in my guts was way out of whack due to a number of life style choices. It seemed impossible to know for sure what I could eat or drink to improve the situation. So I learned to engage in dialogue with my body by using
kinesiology. For a period of about a year I trusted the wisdom of my body and didn't put anything into it without first asking. In learning to create a dialogue with my body I discovered a new perspective on the beings living within my body. There are millions of millions of organisms who call your body home. How often do you think about them? Do you notice when your being a good neighbor/host?
Along the way, with the help of a really good Chiropractor (Dr. Ned in Ft. Myers, FL) I found a number of probiotic products that I could take to help re-establish the balance. Then August of 2008, I discovered my best friend,
Kombucha. I was walking through a natural food store in Boulder Creek, California and I was looking through the cold beverages for something, other than water, with little to no suger. I saw a bottle of Synergy brand Kombucha and recalled that a friend of mine a few years ago had sworn by it as a probiotic. I touched it and quietly asked my body if I could drink it. I swear to you that I heard what sounded like a chorus of a thousand voices gleefully cheering "YES!".
I bought a bottle and drank it under a Giant Sequoia tree. Before I'd even finished the bottle I was feeling GREAT! I found myself craving it after that and bought it a couple of times in August and September of 2008, but only while traveling for business because they didn't carry it in my local stores. In my heart I wished for a way to drink it daily. Then on the Autumn Equinox my beautiful neighbor, the acupuncturist, was chatting with my husband at a Mabon party we were having and she mentioned that she'd gotten a kombucha culture. My husband hollered at me and said, isn't that the stuff you're so crazy about? Eureka!
For the past year I've been brewing my own Kombucha at home. Our family of 4 drinks about 5 gallons a week... but probably I'm drinking 4 gallons by myself! When I go out of town I have to find a source and I've schlepped around countless cities trying to find the stuff.
Anyway, I'm probably digressing from the original point. Kombucha is microcolony of about 2 billion organisms that now live inside my intestine. They like living in me and I LOVE having them. With their help I have a very healthy digestive system, lots of energy, and a healthy immune system. My allergies have almost completely disappeared, and I can now eat things in moderation which were absolute no-nos before. All hail Kombucha! :-)
My reason for sharing this is this:
Awakening to Gaia Consciousness is not only about being part of a larger organism, but also about recognizing and appreciating the smaller organisms which comprise your body. You are not alone in your body... this brings a whole new dimension to the Wiccan Rede: An it harm none, do what thou wilt.
At Terrapin Hollow we embrace concepts of Permaculture. We strive to live in balance with the Earth. One way to consider the degree of balance and connection with Earth is to notice and honor the four elements: earth, wind, fire, and water. All life requires some form of all four, in fact, you could argue that there is nothing but these four elements and that all of creation is some mixture of the four.
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