Paul Krafel



Paul Krafel is the author of a book about Gaian Thinking called Seeing Nature: Deliberate Encounters with the Visible World and a movie called The Upward Spiral on similar themes. He is also a teacher and cofounder of Chrysalis Charter School. He has a Web presence at http://krafel.info.

Paul has said that when he sees an environment becoming healthier, greener, he seems to hear Gaia whisper:


 * Begin the work even though you cannot see the path by which this work can lead to your goal. Do not block your power with your current understanding.  Evolution is the process by which the impossible becomes possible through small, accumulating changes.


 * Concentrate on the direction, not the size of the change. Begin the work with actions that seem tinier than necessary but that are small enough to maintain.  The rate of change is slow at first, but do not prematurely judge your efforts.  Change happens through spirals; the work grows upon itself.  As little changes accumulate, they will reinforce one another  and make larger changes possible.  Gradually, balances will shift.  Enermies that block the way will become allies that lead the way.  Where and how this happens cannot be predicted.


 * You do not work alone. Billions of other living things are doing the work.  You are part of an invisible power.  As it grows, the erosive power will fade.  Begin the work.

In Cairns of Hope Paul shares what he's been thinking about and experiencing each season.

Some Thoughts
I thank the wiki-ers for inviting me to contribute to these pages.

We live upon this great Upward Spiral consisting of: the weathered rock portion of the rock cycle, the fresh water portion of the water cycle, the plant-animal flux portion of the oxygen cycle, and life, all being fueled by solar energy. What fascinates me is how life both slows down and recycles these parts of the global cycles so that soil, groundwater, and biomass can accumulate in far greater quantities. In the water cycle, 11 inches of fresh water precipitation on average makes it from the oceans to the land. But then plant life transpires much of this moisture back into the air, recycling it to fall again so that, on average, 27 inches of rain falls on the land. Similarly, plants hold the soil, slowing down the rate at which weathered rock creeps down the slopes. The longer it takes to creep down the slope, the deeper it will become as more weathering adds to the layer. In addition the rock grains will have time to break down into smaller particles with much more surface area, creating more opportunities for chemical reactions.The plants help create more soil which helps nourish more plants. The plants help recycle fresh water which helps fuel more photosynthesis which creates more surface area for interactions and more sugar to fuel life's activities, increasing the food pyramid. All of these interactions create more possibilities in a swirl of feedback spirals that I've come to call the Upward Spiral.

My passion is to go out into the rain and try using the gifts of feet, hands, eyes, and mind to reverse downward spirals of soil erosion so that an upward spiral emerges. I do this for the joy of the work but also to try learning from the land how to recognize and reverse other downward spirals.One of the lessons I've learned is to create a new path before opposing a current path. That is part of the power of the Gaia Hypothesis. It offers us the insight that the world is not a given. That the world we depend upon is a dynamic equilibrium sustained by life and that we can become a creative contributor to help bring more possibilities into existence.

Works



 * Seeing Nature: Deliberate encounters with the visible world, Chelsea Green Publishing Company, White River Junction, 1999


 * Ecological Karma, A graceful summary of Paul's work


 * TEDx Talk, September 2013


 * Paul's YouTube channel, Several short videos as well as the hour-long movie The Upward Spiral