Gaia theory?

[humbug]

do you or do you not believe in the Gaia theory.
for those of you who do not know what it warat one point in history (not sure when). Scientists had acctually created a theory and did investigations as to weather or not the earth was an acctual living thing. and just as the cells in our body are living, we where as the cells in the "body" of the earth. discuss your thoughts on this fasinating theory.

i think that it is an intreging thought and could very well be fact. however there is no way to prove or disprove it.

[Scarlettvixen]

i am a believer in the Gaia theory as its the only one that makes sense to me lol

when people speak of their deity - i think of Gaia
i dont worship her as such, tho i do ask for favours
i think of myself as one of her children and i try and be a thoughtful and helpful child to my mother

[humbug]

no but what i mean is that the earth in itself is physically a living breathing thing. and that we are cells not children. for instance are you aware of each and every cell in your body, of corse not but you are made up of many small organisms. and scientists at one point belived that the earth was made up of many cells, us

[Xentor]

Perhaps in a small variation on Gaya theory, I believe every planet to be a living entity, that needs every consisting part to stay alive. Indeed, like we need our organs, they need fluids and solids from other organs and consist of cells, that need other cells but also molucules, which need other molecules but also their atoms, which need other atoms but also nuclei and protons, that need each other but also the nucleic acids, and so on and so forth.

Going back up, our planet needs the moon, the other planets, the asteroids and the sun. The sun in turn needs its planets but also the other solar systems. They need our sun, each other, but also the star system (galaxy). And that one needs its solar and gas systems, the dark matter, the singularity, the random radiation and all kinds of other things we haven't discovered yet.

I think of our planet as a proton of the cell we call the solar system. Its nucleus would be the sun.

I think of our solar system as an atom in a molecule called the galaxy. The galaxy lives in a cell called the local group. That itself might live in an organ called the Hubble-spere. And a lot of those might make up an entity, called universe.

I tend to call that highest recognisable entity "god", but that may be just me.

Going back down, just like a body needs its organs to work together to be productive, so does our planet. Everything that happens on our planet is part of one system, of which the various movements are intricately woven together, so that one will always influence the others. The system will not only ensures we stay alive, it also forces us to stay alive, or the system might collapse.

Following that line of thought: if we humans keep continuing destroying our planet, it will stop us, like we would stop cancer or a virus. And it will find a way to survive.

(Edited to correct spelling)

[Journeyman]

I believe that the Gaia hypothesis is a valuable map, just as I think that most myth is - regardless of objective "truth."

It's a way of looking at things which can help us to grow.

jm

[PegUnicorn]

Yes I do actually. That is my whole belief system or most of it.

[humbug]

that is so cool PegUnicorn, i heard about it from a book i read and i found it so interesting. i spent the whole rest of the day broading over it

[Myrddyn Emrys]

I would say I believe more in the Gaia "Universe" Theory. Not just the planet is a living thing, but ALL of creation being one living entity.


Myrddyn Emrys

[Initiate Steamcircle]

Dang, Myrddyn, I almost thought I believed in the Gaia theory, when you come up with something else to make me ponder. I won't sleep for months! lol I do in some ways believe in the Gaia theory

[Myrddyn Emrys]

Originally posted by Initiate Steamcircle

Dang, Myrddyn, I almost thought I believed in the Gaia theory, when you come up with something else to make me ponder. I won't sleep for months! lol I do in some ways believe in the Gaia theory

Dontchya just hate it when someone does that?! :nyah:


Myrddyn Emrys

[TimoDajibael]

I actually agree wtih the Universal Gaia Theory (have since I was a kid) it just makes sense. Except, of course, we all have free will and its our Actions that make us part of the whole, not our existance.

[Myrddyn Emrys]

I actually agree wtih the Universal Gaia Theory (have since I was a kid) it just makes sense. Except, of course, we all have free will and its our Actions that make us part of the whole, not our existance.

I actually feel the two are intertwined. Without our existance as part of the whole, we would not have our free will to choose how we act as part of that whole or not.

Myrddyn Emrys

[mato]

except it should be called the coalticue theory, but hey that's just my opinion. All the world is alive all life comes from some living cell, life does not conform to the spontanious generation theory that has plagued science sense the beginning. And more fun than that we are all part of this living Goddess we call home. Each living being is a cell part of a larger system. With that in mind humanity has become a cancer on the living Goddess and must learn to stop it's bull plop before she gets started with her nifty immune system on us. I'm not saying man doesnt have a place in her, just that we have mutated into a harmful cancerious node.
The real question is what kind of cancer are we... I must go with breast cancer sense we seem intent on devouring all she has to offer. Although colon does pose a tempting second...

[Myrddyn Emrys]

Yes, I agree. I have the distinct feeling that the immune system will kick in and kick us pretty well.

I do see us as individual cells in the greater organism, but I view that organism on a cosmic scale, not just a planetary one.

Myrddyn emrys

[Scarlettvixen]

Yes, I agree. I have the distinct feeling that the immune system will kick in and kick us pretty well. Myrddyn emrys

i feel that is kicked in Myrddyn
AIDS
SARS
West Nile Virus
Increasing Cancer rates
increasing infertility rates

as medical science conquers one thing
mother nature comes up with another

[jelly.belly]

I do believe in the Gaia theory too, with small modifications, and it's kind of like what Myrddyn said...

Scarlett, very good thinking! I hadn't thought about that, but I think you're right!

[Scarlettvixen]

thanks jelly
its just how i feel about things
somedays i feel that mankind is a parasite on the mother
other days i feel she has some function for us
i just hope to figure out what it is in my time in this existance

[Eos of the Eons]

Another component of the Gaia theory is balance. The earth remains in a balance despite changing climates and such.


When first introduced in the early 1970s the Gaia hypothesis attracted the most attention from theologians interested in the possibility that the Earth controlled its environment on purpose (i.e., teleological implications), from those looking for "oneness" in nature, and from those defending polluting industries, for whom the Gaia hypothesis provided a convenient excuse whereby some collective set of natural processes would largely offset any potential damages from human disturbance to earth systems

It was by no means to be used as an OK for polluting!! The pollution would lead to the extinction of man, and then balance would return to the planet. Not a good prospect, and it erases the 'convenient excuse' as meaning that humans will be fine no matter what harm they bring to the world.

The main part is earth as living entity


Gaia principle which purports that for practical purposes it may be useful to consider the earth as if it were a living organism. For the student interested in the scientific debate of the Gaia hypothesis, an excellent treatment is provided in "Scientists on Gaia", edited by Stephen Schneider and Penelope Boston, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1991.

Gaia Hypothesis (http://ess.geology.ufl.edu/ess/Introduction/GAIA_hypothesis.html)

[Lavender]

that is so cool PegUnicorn, i heard about it from a book i read and i found it so interesting. i spent the whole rest of the day broading over it

Was that "Gaia's Body" by Tyler Volk? It was great...surprisingly easy to read. I know a lot of academic types who disagree with this theory but Volk does make a lot of sense.