Gaia

Our living Earth possesses an innate intelligence. It is the same intelligence that digests food, converts food and oxygen into energy, circulates blood, and translates sensory input into nerve impulses. These impulses are decoded by the brain and form an image of the outer reality. The same intelligence gives rise to instinctive responses of any organism to a threat or challenge. These primordial responses are similar to human emotions of anger, fear and pleasure.

And yet, the difference between instinct and emotion is this: An instinctive response is the body’s response to external stimuli. An emotion is the body’s response to a thought. The body’s intelligence cannot tell the difference between an actual situation and a thought. You may be lying comfortably in bed, yet a fearful thought such as “I am in danger” would set your heart racing faster, muscles contract, breathing becomes rapid. This buildup of energy has nowhere to go, since the danger is just a thought. Part of this energy is circled back into the mind, creating more anxious thought and the rest turns toxic and interferes with the harmonious function of the body.