When I put this site together I started with the assumption that there are other Gaians out there. Some who already identify as such but have no community. Others who feel a connection to the Earth or feel it is sacred but have not found a philosophy that supports that. Some, perhaps, who are part of a religious tradition that is open to their views—Unitarian Universalist, New Age, Wiccan—even if it is not exactly the right fit. Others who gave up on organized religion and are trying to navigate their own way, sacrificing the beauty, community, and sacred time that comes with religious practice.
The goal is to find these other Gaians and start building a community. Not just virtually—though that’s the first step. But over time, the hope is that we can build Gaian communities locally. And as we gather a few individuals in one place, the goal will be to start enacting good works locally—to help people, to pull them away from the destructive consumer culture, and to bring them into the Gaian community.
The only way Gaia (and we) can be saved is if we recognize that Gaianism must be a missionary philosophy. We must spread an understanding that Gaia is alive, we are part of and depend on Gaia utterly, and therefore it is our duty to heal Gaia (and stop the continuing abuse of Gaia). Creating opportunities for others to understand this, get involved in a supportive community, and get out of the sickening traps that the consumer culture has bound us in (whether obesity and physical illness, deep levels of debt, social isolation, drug or entertainment addictions, or what have you) and replace these with true bonds of friendship, real life skills, and a deeper connection to the larger planetary being that we’re part of.
Yes, that’s ambitious, but Gaians have something going for them. They understand how Earth works. There’s no climate change denial clouding their judgment. No false idol of infinite growth confusing our perspective. There is no baggage from forming a religion two thousand years ago when women were perceived as inferior, where homosexuality was taboo, where prejudice against “the other” was normal.
In the short-term, the focus of this effort is to identify and build a virtual community of those Gaians who are interested in gathering. In organizing. One easy step will be to set up online meetings, which I hope to start doing soon.
I am also setting out a series of articles that reflects on living the Gaian faith, as well as some short overviews of what all religious philosophies require: cosmology, theodicy, ethics, rites of passage, etc. These will come in a short form on the website, but will be expanded in book form over time.
So, if you are a Gaian, or curious to learn more, email me at erik@gaianway.org.
