Book excerpt: In The Redwoods of Gaia, author Kathleen Chan, defines the broad scope of metaphysics to include the study of spirituality as well as other dimensions of reality postulated by astrophysicists in their most recent findings. Her terminology is clear, concise, and meaningfully described. The a priori First Cause, she states, is the sentient cosmic intelligence operating throughout the entire universe. It is everywhere, within and without. The giant redwood tree found only in certain fog drenched areas in the United States is but a metaphor for each of us as individuals ever expanding in our intellectual understanding of the nature of reality. Although inhabiting separate bodies, we, in our essence, are connected to one another as members of our species, just as the giant redwood is to its grove. She explains how the developing hominid brain with its neurological complexity afforded evolving hominids the ability for abstract thought, speech, language, and art. Man in his early evolution was much more than a bipedal tool maker. Man had the capacity for executive mental functioning, ethical decision-making, altruism for his fellows, and a deep connection to the intangible cosmic intelligence residing in the universe. She pinpoints the time frame in which this humanization occurred with the genus, Homo, the dawn of Homo sapiens. This is where the gift of an individual sentient soul was given to each member of humanity. The reader may find some of the contents of this work a bit controversial, but hopefully it will help the reader begin his quest for what it means to be human. After all, are we not a species contemplating our own existence? Then, the final question must beto what end or purpose? If we look inward as well as backwards into our time as an evolving species, we may find some intriguing answers.