The Gaia hypothesis, named after the ancient Greek goddess of Earth, posits that Earth and its biological systems behave as a self-regulating complex system. James Lovelock formulated the Gaia hypothesis while working for NASA in the 1960s.
The perception of Gaia as a living being (goddess and mother), Jude Currivan suggests in this book, is how ancient Greeks and many indigenous peoples have viewed the Earth.
The Story of Gaia takes this belief a step further and creates a unitive narrative in which all human systems, including cities and technology, have evolved to serve the planet and its lifeforms. We are Gaia’s reflective organs, as Lovelock suggested, interrelated and indispensable.
“The Story of Gaia extends the definition of what’s usually been called life,” Currivan points out. “Inclusive of organic entities, it expands the meaning of ‘living’ and being alone to the multi-dimensional consciousness and multiple agencies, entities, and sentience embodied in our planetary home and our entire Universe.”