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Basel
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Gaia Media Foundation
The Gaia Media Foundation is a registered non-profit organization, established in Basel on 23rd of July 1993.
We communicate information for a holistic and up to date understanding of our existence, and the potential of human consciousness. We equally respect the knowledge and the experience of ancient cultures, spiritual traditions, and of modern science, without committing ourself to a particular view or direction. We advocate the firm belief that the ability and desire to achieve transcendence is inherent in man, and that expanded states of consciousness shed light upon the knowledge of the laws of life, of nature, and the universe. An awareness corresponding to universal laws not only guarantees humanity the surviving, but also allows us a symbiotic and hedonistic existence on Gaia, our home planet.
We are dependent on widespread and benevolent support for maintaining our present activities and our future projects. We kindly invite you to make a Donation or to become a Sponsor.
A Brief History of Gaia
The Earth is about 4,6 billion years old. For an easier understanding, let’s cut this time-span down to 46 years. The early years of Gaia's existence are clouded in the mists of history. It wasn't until the age of 42 that the earth started to bloom. After about 44 years, dinosaurs inhabited the planet. Some eight months ago the first mammals evolved, and during this last week the first hominids entered the scene. Modern man has existed for only about four hours; some sixty minutes ago he took up agriculture, and a minute ago the industrial revolution began. During these very last sixty seconds man has managed to turn Gaia into a garbage dump, to exterminate thousands of plant and animal species, to kill an uncountable number of his own kind, to loot the planet's resources, to pollute soil, air and water and to leave radiating waste for future generations.
Within the next few seconds, all of us will decide whether we are going to make life on Gaia impossible, or develop a consciousness that allows us a future existence on our homeplanet.
The Gaia Theory
Nowadays when speaking of our planet earth, many are familiar with the term "Geo", as in Geology or Geography. Geo is a modern derivation of the name of the ancient Greeks' earth goddess "Gaia". William Golding (1911-1993), the Nobel Prize winning author of Lord of the Flies, reintroduced the ancient term "Gaia" into modern usage through his literature. Golding had first become acquainted with Gaia through his neighbor in the small English village of Devonshire - physician, cybernetician and climatologist James Lovelock. In 1970, Lovelock, along with biologist Lynn Margulis, developed the "Gaia Hypothesis". This hypothesis suggests that Earth and its atmosphere is a self-regulating system in which conditions suitable for life are maintained by processes involving reciprocal feedback between both living things and the non-living part of the planet. Our planet is more complex and more capable of survival than assumed till now. It would be wrong, however, to interpret these findings to mean that if we continue to go on as we have so far. Gaia - Spaceship Earth - would live on though, without its human passengers.
The situation of mankind and our home planet is a challenge of a complexity unknown to date, within an ever faster-changing framework of conditions and developments; especially a challenge to our mind and common sense, and ultimately to our consciousness.
Activities
The Gaia Media News
As a website and as a free monthly electronic newsletter,
"gaiamedianews" presents news, links, media, and events around the
topics Gaia, Life, Nature, Culture, Psychedelics, Evolution. Bad news
reaches us regularly through all kinds of media. We investigate, select, and communicate pleasant reports, positive developments, and
trendsetting insights, for a sane balance and a helpful understanding
of the past and the present, and for a better world..
The Spirit of Basel
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The qualities of places are traditionally conceived of in terms of the genius loci, the spirit of the place. In this context, the word "spirit" has two connected meanings: a feeling, atmosphere or character; and an invisible entity or being, with its own soul and personality.
Rupert Sheldrake
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The town of Basel has a legendary humanistic tradition - be it the mind of Erasmus, the activities of Paracelcus or the discoveries of Albert Hofmann. In this historic setting, we organize lectures, seminars, and symposiums, around the aims and topics of the foundation.
Our guests so far have been: Ralph Abraham, Guenter Amendt, Wolfgang Bauer, Markus Berger, Mathias Broeckers, Govert Derix, Marlene Dobkin de Rios, Luisa Francia, Martin Frischknecht, Jochen Gartz, Steven Harrison, Kay Hoffman, Albert Hofmann, Michael Hutchison, Gerd König, John C. Lilly, Ralph Metzner, Claudia Mueller Ebeling, Jeremy Narby, Nana Nauwald, Patrizia Ochsner, Christian Raetsch, Fabio Ramirez, Manuel Schoch, Ann & Alexander T. Shulgin, Wolf-Dieter Storl, Renato Strassmann, Maggie Tapert, Roberto Venosa.
On the occasion of the 100th birthday of Albert Hofmann we organized a first international Symposium: "LSD – Problem Child and Wonder Drug" from 13 to 15 January 2006 at the Congress Center Basel www.LSD.info
The Board of Directors
Dieter A. Hagenbach
Founder and President, Founder and former director of Sphinx Bookshop and Sphinx Publishing, Basel, former Literary Agent
Dr. Albert Hofmann
Chemist, discoverer of LSD
Michael Gasser
Bio-chemist, former director of Gaia Bazar and Gaia Lounge
Lucius Werthmüller
Co-Founder, president of the Basel Psi-Association, project manager of the Basel Psi-Days
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