All the Earth is Sacred

In classical Greek mythology, the Earth-Goddess Gaia brought forth all life on planet Earth. All the different species of fungi, plants, animals, insects, and fish were her children, yet also a part of her body. Gaia breathed life into them all, and all were equally important. An interrelated web of life, each species dependent on all others. From her, all life proceeded and to her, all must return. She was the womb and the tomb of life.

This vision of co-evolution recognizes nature itself as the source and nurturer of all existence, the central hub of the wheel on which all the individual strands of life depend. Without her all-encompassing nurture life would not be possible at all.

This ancient story is echoed in mythologies around the world. It stems from a time long ago when mankind still had awe for the forces of nature. But as time went by, we placed ourselves at the center of a new cosmology, in which we feature as the pinnacle of creation whose task it is to take dominion over the earth, and everything that there creepeth…

Two-thousand years on we have nearly reached the end of the road.  Our legacy is a world of destruction, rape, and pillage in which other species are considered primarily for their economic value and everything is for sale. We no longer respect any Gods at all, neither ancient Earth Goddesses, nor stern patriarchal ones – we only believe in money, and our own omnipotence by means of technologies which we have created.

In this modern era, we want to play Gods ourselves. The biotech lab is the temple, where the co-creative act is taken to the molecular level. While self-importance and profits are swelling, respect for nature is diminishing. Now that we can create lifeforms according to our fancy (with the object of maximum profitability as the guiding light), we simply ‘disregard’ what has taken millions of years to evolve. And as we relish in our pride as masters of the universe, we barely notice and do not care that nature is in a desperate state, that the climate has gone haywire and that species are vanishing from our world at a massive rate, going extinct; one strand of the web after another breaking, and falling apart…

So where in the world can we go from here?

There are no easy answers. But if there is to be any hope for life on earth, for the future of our children and children’s children, this has to stop. We must wake up to our destructive ways and realize that we too are but children of the earth, and that we are killing our mother, and thereby ourselves.

The time has come to do some collective soul searching. What does it mean to be human and what is our role in this web of life?  Shouldn’t we be more than just ‘takers’ – should we not be care-takers?

There is a shift afoot and this shift starts with each one of us as individuals and the way we choose to envision the world.  Inner change is the catalyst for outer change. BE the change you want to see in the world.

These pages explore the human mind and its connection not only to the collective human mind, but to the Gaian mind, in which we are embedded.

(This website is an evolving project that is constantly growing and changing. Check back often for new articles and pages.)

Eco-Psychology