Gaia theory has found such powerful purchase in the human world because it reminds us of something many of us intuitively know to be true (and which every four-year-old child understands): that the world is alive, intelligent, aware, communicative, and filled with soul; that we are not alone; that we are part of something much larger than ourselves; that we are companioned by millions upon millions of related life-forms; and that the dead, mechanical world we have been taught about in school does not exist . . . and never has.
If we should recapture the response of the heart to what is presented to the senses, go below the surface of sensory inputs to what is held inside them, touch again the “metaphysical background” that expresses them, we would begin to experience, once more, the world as it really is: alive, aware, interactive, communicative, filled with soul, and very, very intelligent—and we, only one tiny part of that vast scenario.
To hear with thoughtful attention. To hold something close, to attend to it, to be astonished by it, to devote your life to its mysteries, to name it precisely, to wonder how it comes to be. To stay awake to it. To move closer to the wild and twittering night. To let it cover you and keep you safe. To me, listening is starting to sound a lot like love.
Deep Earth Dreaming 