I am moving ahead energetically with the script for The Gaia Perspective the third in my Symbiosis Trilogy behind Symbiotic Earth and Regenerating Life. I am also interviewing a few more people. On November 5th, I had a fabulous interview with Margaret Wheatley, whose books Leadership and the New Science and Who Do We Choose to Be were inspired by and inspiring to Fritjof Capra.
To visit Margaret Wheatley in Provo, Utah, Sheila and I took an incredible car trip through Utah from Zion to Bryce Canyon and the Escalante plateau.
I took more pictures and wonderful video than even I expected I would! I’m sure some of it will end up in The Gaia Perspective.
We visited Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. These colorful rocks used to be conifer trees. Minerals have replaced and replicated the cell structure of the wood. During a flood around 150 million years ago, the trees got trapped under the mud without much oxygen, so they didn’t decay in the usual way. Gradually over a long time and through a series of chemical processes mineral-rich water seeped into the wood and the organic molecules (like glucose) were replaced by inorganic minerals like silica or iron. The colors of the agates give an indication of their origin – iron oxides produce orange, red, and yellow. White manganese oxides produce blues and purples. Sounds like alchemy to me.
One experience I had is bound to make it into the film. After interviewing Margaret Wheatley and talking about “crossing the line” between science and spirituality, Sheila and I took a hike up the mountain behind her house. As we were on our hike, I spotted a ground bird on the left of the trail within about five feet of us. It was a ruffed grouse. As an experienced birder I know that ruffed grouse are very hard to spot, and that when startled they burst up in a flurry and startle you — long before you can get a good look. But this one… my first thought was that it was injured. But it wasn’t. It led us down the path and keep looking back to make sure we were following. It was uncanny.
I pulled out my camera and started to take pictures. Then a couple hikers and their dog went by. We figured that would surely chase the grouse away. The dog tugged on its leach, and the grouse scampered away into the underbrush and was gone.
We continued down the trail and then it was back. The grouse came out of the brambles and began leading us, once again, down the trail. After a while, he left us and we carried on up the trail.
What was the grouse telling us? Most likely it was just telling us to “stay on the path.”
As we flew into Las Vegas, this was the view from my window.
John Feldman, December 4, 2025