GAIA
(Gaea) was Mother Earth in Ancient Crete and Greece (the Greek common noun for "land" is ge or
ga). Her Roman name was Terra, she was Apia and Ghe
in the Near East. Some of her alternate names are also:
Ge and Ma.
Mythology: In the beginning there was only formless
chaos: light and dark. Then chaos settled into form,
and that form was Gaia. Gaia, the Earth was the firstborn
from Chaos, the great void of emptiness within the universe.
She gave birth to Uranus (the Sky), Pontus (the Sea)
and Ourea (Mountains).
Gaia was honored on the Isle of Crete 5,000 years ago
by the Minoan civilization. This civilization valued
education, art, science, recreation, and the environment.
They believed that the Earth is directly connected to
its existence and daily life. The current theories of
the Gaia concept stem from this ancient view that the
Earth is a living entity. Gaiam (pronounced "guy-um"),
is a fusion of the words "Gaia" and "I
am" and represents awareness and support of the
inter connectivity of ourselves with the Earth and all
living things. At Gaiam, we believe that all of the
Earth's living matter, air, oceans and land form an
interconnected system that can be seen as a single entity.
Earth
Mother
In
Greek mythology we can track the cycle that archeology
has now confirmed: the movement from the matriarchal
to the patriarchal - from Mother Earth goddess Gaia,
who embodies fertility and protects life, to a dominant
male sky god who embodies vast power over the earth.
As aggressive Achaeans invaded what would become Greece,
their male-dominated religions fused with the existing
female religions. The Hellenic invasion of Crete destroyed
the peace-loving, goddess and Earth worshiping culture
of the Minoan-Mycenaean. Gaia was supplemented and replaced
by male sky gods in a patriarchal rise, when the immortal
kingdom of Zeus was established on Mt. Olympus about
1400 BC. (The earliest buildings, even during the Mycenaean
period on Crete, were still dedicated to Gaia).
The suppression of Gaia in Crete was part of the cycle
moving away from a female culture to a male dominated
society that started in fourth millennium B.C. This
trend was further strengthened by the continued suppression
of the sacred feminine during last two thousand years.
The cycle is now reversing.
The Dali Lama
His
Holiness The Dali Lama writes...
Excerpt from the foreward to "Dharma Gaia",
Parallax Press, Earth Day, 1990, "Our Mother, is
telling us to behave. All around, signs of nature's
limitations abound. Moreover, the environmental crises
currently underway, involves all of humanity, making
national boundaries of secondary importance.
It is important that we forgive the destruction of the
past and recognize that it was produced in ignorance.
If we develope good and considerate qualities within
our own minds, our activities will naturally cease to
threaten the continued survival of life on Earth. By
protecting the natural environment and working to forever
halt the degradation of our planet we will also show
respect for Earth's human descendents - our future generations
- as well as for the natural right to life of all Earth's
living things. If we care for nature, it can be rich,
bountiful, and inexhaustibly sustainable."
*Consultation
with a health care professional should occur before applying
adjustments or treatments to the body, consuming medications
or nutritional supplements and before dieting, fasting
or exercising. None of these activities are herein presented
as substitutes for competent medical treatment.