Homeostasis is a magical word. The coincidental presence of the word "home" within "home-ostasis" should already clue us in to its importance. Homeostasis is vital for the health and healing of all living organisms, as well as to the health and healing of all ecological systems, including our planet, Earth.
A term (milieu intérieur) defined by French Physiologist, Claude Bernard and later coined by American Physiologist, Walter Bradford Cannon, Homeostasis (from Greek hómoios meaning "similar" and stásis, meaning "standing still") can be simply defined as The ability of a system or living organism to adjust its internal environment to maintain a stable equilibrium. A word that was originally used to describe physiological phenomena, the term has been extended to include all living systems in such diverse disciplines as medicine, science, ecology, sociology, philosophy, politics and religion.
Many diseases are a result of disturbance of homeostasis, a condition known as homeostatic imbalance. As it ages, every organism will lose efficiency in its control systems. The inefficiencies gradually result in an unstable internal environment that increases the risk for illness. In addition, homeostatic imbalance is also responsible for the physical changes associated with aging. "Just as we live in a constantly changing world, so do the cells and tissues survive in a constantly changing microenvironment. The 'normal' or 'physiologic' state then is achieved by adaptive responses to the ebb and flow of various stimuli permitting the cells and tissues to adapt and to live in harmony within their microenvironment. Thus, homeostasis is preserved. It is only when the stimuli become more severe, or the response of the organism breaks down, that disease results - a generalization as true for the whole organism as it is for the individual cell." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeostasis)
Homeostasis occurs not only within our bodies, but also in our environment. Pollution is an environmental disease that nature compensates for to ensure its own system's survival. The Earth is a living organism. Medicine people from all over the world have been warning us about the importance of living in harmony with the environment for hundreds of years.
Chemist James Lovelock and Microbiologist Lynn Margulis formulated the Gaia Theory (Principle) proposing that all organic and their inorganic surroundings on Earth are closely integrated to form a single and self-regulating complex system, maintaining the conditions for life on the planet -- The scientific investigation of the Gaia hypothesis focuses on observing how the biosphere and the evolution of life forms contribute to the stability of global temperature, ocean salinity, oxygen in the atmosphere and other factors of habitability in a preferred homeostasis. The Gaia Hypothesis has since been supported by a number of scientific experiments and provided a number of useful predictions, and hence is properly referred to as the Gaia theory. In fact, wider research proved the original hypothesis wrong, in the sense that it is not life alone but the whole Earth system that does the regulating. In 2001, a thousand scientists at the European Geophysical Union meeting signed the Declaration of Amsterdam, starting with the statement "The Earth System behaves as a single, self-regulating system with physical, chemical, biological, and human components." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_hypothesis)
From ancient Hermetic texts we read: "That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above, corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracles of the One Thing." Daoist sages have always counselled on the wisdom of embracing opposites -- the moment we chose one side and block out the other, we upset nature's balance. Therefore the idea of Homeostasis is not new, it has always been with us from the earliest times. But we have chosen to ignore it.
The freak storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and temperature shifts we are currently experiencing are homeostasis at work. The Earth is alive! We must learn to balance our needs with the planet's own need or we will perish in the process. The Earth is hemorrhaging and it is correcting itself. The only way to reverse this catastrophe is by actively living in harmony with the Earth right now -- we've got to stop polluting it today! I understand that we have complex economic and political systems inplace to consider, but how do you bargain with the Earth? I do not think this planet will sit and wait for us to sort our political, economic, diplomatic and bureaucratic differences before it starts correcting the imbalances we are causing to its system.
The pattern of Life exist from the smallest systems within us (cells, molecules, organs) to the vastness of the Universe (planets, star systems, galaxies). We are truely made in the image of God -- one organism, related and interrelated atomically as well as ecologically. Homeostasis is critical for our survival and to the health of our planet, and vice versa. We must therefore respect our planet, as we care for ourselves individually. We are locked in this fate by our very existence. We have no choice but to live in harmony with Earth (our only home) for our own collective survival.
“Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. This is not just a dream, but a necessity.” ( by the Dalai Lama XIV)
"MITAKUYE OYASIN" - "All (are) My Relatives" (Lakota Sioux Prayer)
“Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. This is not just a dream, but a necessity.” ( by the Dalai Lama XIV)
"MITAKUYE OYASIN" - "All (are) My Relatives" (Lakota Sioux Prayer)
