GAIA

This theme area covers a wide range of topics connected to our relationship with the living earth. By taking an earth-centred philosophical approach, we open to the possibility of widening and deepening our gaze in communion with the earth’s unfolding – embracing the imaginal worlds of religious philosopher Henry Corbin, and depth psychologists Carl Jung and James Hillman. In this sense, this theme area has strong foundations in discourses including transpersonal/depth psychology, spirituality, religious philosophy, cultural history, holistic science (Goethean enquiry) and esoteric wisdom. Most importantly, this theme area opens the possibility to encounter Gaia through ways of knowing that are as open and expansive as possible – focussing particularly on the heart as an organ of perception and gateway onto the sacred. In relation to this theme area, Gaia is understood as a living presence, bringer of life, and the earthly aspect of the anima mundi – the limitless and primordial intelligence that gives birth to all that exists. Overall, the theme provides an umbrella for exploring and deepening our relationship with the earth and the more-than-human world.