What religion were you raised with and how does that affect your view of spiritual ecology?
What are your opinions on the Gaia hypothesis? Do you agree or disagree?
Do you believe we live in a hyper masculine culture? If so how do you see it changing?
When I was little, I went to both Methodist and Baptist churches with my parents. Currently, I would not align myself
with any particular named religion, but I would still consider myself a
spiritual person. I see nature, in particular the ocean, sky, and land to be
incredibly spiritual, and I do not consider just God or any faith in Him or any
particular pieces of literature as the only forms of religion.
I find the Gaia hypothesis to be fascinating; the fact that the Earth as a whole is essentially a living organism, is incredible. That being said, I'm not a hundred percent on board with the concept as a whole. I am a scientist. I know it isn't like this for all science minded people, but I have a hard time believing in things I can't touch, see, or have hardcore evidence for. In the Gaia Hypothesis paper, it lists three facts that I can look at scientifically, the age of the Earth, the composition of the atmosphere, and the climate and chemical properties of Earth have always been ideal for life. All of these things I can prove to myself. And yet, it IS highly unlikely that the conditions of Earth have been so ideal all of this time and that it even came to be in the first place. From primordial soup to what we are today...it's astonishing! But I still see it all very scientifically. The definition of 'alive' doesn't even include viruses, which in my opinion, are more 'alive' than the Earth. By scientific terms, the Earth is not alive, but I can see, spiritually, how it is alive. The wind, the waves, tectonic motion etc, all seem to be so very alive. I think I need to try and get out of my own scientific minded way on this one and think about it some more.
I wouldn't say that we live in a 'hyper masculine culture,' although, I do think that men still have more opportunities than women. We have come so far towards equality in this country, but others, such as Middle Eastern cultures and others, women still lag behind men. I think part of this is past precedent and some is cultural and religious. Look how long it took women in this country and other western nations to get to where they are today, and these nations and cultures are 'younger' than some of the cultures where women are still lagging behind. In time, I would like to think that gender will not limit anyone in any way.
I completely agree with you about living in a hyper masculine culture, I too would like to think that eventually gender will not set any limitations for anyone, and I would hope that it happens in our generation's lifetime. I know what you mean to think as a scientist because I study marine science but that to me makes me connect even more with nature and think of Earth as a living organism. Maybe viruses for the Earth are things like pollution or destruction of its habitats. Not all living organisms are prone to the same viruses, just a thought!
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