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If you now realise how much of your life has been lived in dysbiosis, it is natural to feel a wave of shock, anger, grief, or even disgust at what has been lost — for yourself, your children, and previous generations. Many feel they have been living as slaves to forces they could not see.
Let these feelings come, but do not let them stay and define you. The age of separation, fragmentation and alienation that has dominated the last 200 years is coming to an end — if we choose to end it.
We shall suffer no more. Now is the time for healing.
You do not need to carry guilt or rage forward. Instead, bring acceptance, forgiveness, humility, and gratitude. The past brought us here, and from this point we can begin to remember who we truly are. At some point, many of us will even feel deep appreciation for the hard lessons — because they ensure we will never forget, and will stop repeating the same mistakes.
The Third Bridge is not about looking backward in blame. It is about walking forward together — shaken perhaps, but more awake, more united, and more alive. We heal individually and collectively by returning to simple, living practices: fermented food, nature contact, rhythm, calm, and connection with the greater intelligence that has always been with us.
As your holobiont grows stronger, it becomes easier to choose harmony over fragmentation, virtues over vices, and light over darkness. You are not starting from zero. You are returning home.
Welcome to the journey. The ancient intelligence is already inside you, patiently waiting for you to remember.
One of the clearest signs of a society moving into dysbiosis is how we treat our elders. In many modern elderly homes, people are given processed food, kept indoors, over-medicated, and isolated from nature, rhythm, and meaningful activity. This accelerates physical and mental decline far more than necessary.
An ideal symbiotic approach to elder care would look very different:
Caring for our elders this way is not just kinder — it is wiser. When we keep our oldest generation connected to the living web, we keep the entire community healthier, wiser, and more rooted.
The Third Bridge asks us to reimagine elder care: not as a place where people go to wait for death, but as a living part of the holobiont where experience, microbes, and wisdom continue to flow between generations.
Modern prisons often function as dysbiosis factories rather than places of true rehabilitation.
They concentrate many people with high dysbiosis in environments that actively deepen the problem:
- Poor quality food (high in sugar and ultra-processed items)
- Chronic stress, isolation, and lack of meaningful purpose
- Limited nature contact and physical movement
- Frequent use of antibiotics and other medications
This combination tends to worsen dysbiosis, making it harder for individuals to regain balance, impulse control, and a sense of connection to the greater intelligence. Instead of helping people return to symbiosis with themselves and society, many prisons unintentionally strengthen the very patterns that contributed to criminal behaviour in the first place.
A more symbiosis-oriented approach to justice and rehabilitation could include:
- High-quality fermented foods and reduced sugar in prison meals
- Regular nature contact, gardening, and outdoor time
- Opportunities for collective rhythm (singing, movement, communal work)
- Smaller, calmer living units that function more like supportive human biofilms
- Reduced unnecessary medication and antibiotics, with emphasis on preventive health
Such changes would not only lower reoffending rates but also reduce long-term healthcare and social costs. True rehabilitation means helping a person rebuild their internal and external symbiosis — not just punishing or isolating them.
If you have read The Third Bridge and now see how deeply dysbiosis shapes health, relationships, and the living world, it is natural to ask: “What should I actually do with my life? What kind of education or career makes sense?”
You do not need to become a farmer or full-time activist. The most important question is whether your daily work and choices move you toward greater symbiosis or keep you locked in systems that create more dysbiosis.
Long-term perspective
In ten or twenty years, will you look back and see that you spent most of your energy supporting industries or structures that increase fragmentation and imbalance — or that you found ways to live and work that strengthen the living web, even in modest ways?
Practical advice on education and career
Most things in life involve some compromise. The real question is whether your compromises slowly move you toward greater harmony or keep pulling you deeper into dysbiosis. Even small daily choices — what you eat, how you spend your time, how you treat your body and mind — shape your trajectory more than most people realise.
Choose work and a life that allows you to stay as close as possible to the living intelligence. That is one of the most meaningful things you can do with your time on Earth.
While pathogenic microbes can hijack cravings, mood, and behaviour, beneficial microbes do the opposite. They support symbiosis, calm the nervous system, reduce inflammation, and make it easier to feel connected to the ancient intelligence (Logos) inside and around us.
Here are the most important beneficial microbes in a healthy holobiont, ranked by their influence:
| Rank | Microbe | Memory Trick | Why They Are Good for the Holobiont | What Feeds Them Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lactobacillus | The Milk Lovers | Produce lactic acid, strengthen gut barrier, help digest food, calm inflammation | Fermented dairy (milk, kefir, yogurt), sauerkraut |
| 2 | Bifidobacterium | The Fibre Splitters | Break down fibre into useful compounds, produce vitamins, support immune balance | Fibre-rich foods (berries, onions, garlic, leeks, oats, beans) |
| 3 | Akkermansia muciniphila | The Gut Wall Guardian | Strengthens the mucus layer, reduces leaky gut, anti-inflammatory | Polyphenol-rich foods (berries, green tea, dark chocolate in moderation) |
| 4 | Faecalibacterium prausnitzii | The Butyrate King | Produces butyrate — anti-inflammatory fuel for brain and gut cells, promotes calm and happiness | Fibre and resistant starch (cooled potatoes, green bananas, oats) |
| 5 | Certain Bacteroides | The Flexible Carb Eaters | Can be beneficial or harmful depending on diet — help break down complex carbs when fibre is high | High-fibre, plant-rich diet |
Swing microbes (can be good or bad depending on the overall balance):
Prevotella – thrives on plant fibre and supports symbiosis in high-fibre diets, but can become inflammatory in high-sugar diets.
Main benefits of a healthy, symbiotic microbiome
When these beneficial microbes dominate, you typically experience:
How to feed the good guys
The simplest daily actions are:
A well-fed symbiotic microbiome doesn’t just make you physically healthier — it makes it easier to feel the quiet, living intelligence that has guided life for four billion years.
From a philosophical and metaphysical viewpoint, the COVID-19 pandemic can be seen as a global stress test on humanity’s shared holobiont — the living web that connects all of us through microbes, nervous systems, immune responses, and the greater intelligence (Logos).
It revealed the fragility of modern dysbiosis. Societies that had become highly disconnected from nature, rhythm, real food, and genuine human connection showed the greatest vulnerability. The virus moved fastest and caused the most disruption where the living web was already weakened.
At the same time, it highlighted the resilience of symbiosis. Individuals and communities that maintained stronger balance — better nutrition, nature contact, lower chronic stress, and real human connection — generally experienced milder outcomes and recovered faster.
On a deeper level, the three-year period (2020–2023) acted as a collective mirror. It forced humanity to confront the consequences of decades of separation: from nature, from each other, from our own bodies, and from the ancient intelligence that sustains all life. Fear, control, isolation, and loss of trust became dominant themes — all classic expressions of collective dysbiosis.
Metaphysically, the pandemic was not a punishment, but a powerful revelation and invitation. The living web showed us where we had drifted too far from harmony. It demonstrated, on a planetary scale, that when we ignore the principles of symbiosis, the entire system becomes unstable.
The stress test is over, but the lesson remains: we are not separate observers of life. We are participants in a four-billion-year-old intelligent system. The more we align with it through daily symbiotic practices, the more resilient and alive we become — individually and collectively.
It is not necessary to wipe a public toilet seat with paper before sitting. In most cases, it makes almost no meaningful difference for your microbiome.
Public toilet seats are usually not among the dirtiest surfaces in a bathroom. They typically carry fewer bacteria than doorknobs, faucets, or your own phone. Most bacteria present are ordinary skin bacteria from previous users, not dangerous fecal pathogens.
What actually matters much more is washing your hands properly after using the toilet. This is the single most effective step to prevent any transfer of microbes to your face or food.
From a symbiosis perspective, obsessing over toilet seats and using strong disinfectants can create more harm than the seat itself. Chronic stress and hyper-vigilance are more dysbiotic than a few ordinary skin bacteria on a seat.
Your skin barrier and existing microbiome are already very good at handling brief, everyday exposures like this. A calm, relaxed attitude supports symbiosis far better than ritualistic cleaning.
Simple guideline: If the seat looks visibly dirty, wipe it once for comfort. Otherwise, just sit. Focus your energy on daily fermented food, nature contact, and calm instead.
The same principle that applies to humans also applies to animals: a healthy, balanced animal supports symbiosis, while a dysbiotic animal tends to spread dysbiosis.
Stray dogs and stray cats are often in a state of significant dysbiosis. They typically live with chronic stress, poor or irregular food, parasites, and exposure to environmental toxins. This means they usually carry a higher load of pathogenic bacteria, yeasts, and parasites.
When a stray dog or cat is taken into a loving family and given the right conditions, it can gradually shift toward symbiosis:
Timeline for the animal: Noticeable improvement often appears within 4–8 weeks. A significant shift toward a healthier microbiome usually takes 3–6 months. Full restoration can take 6–12 months or longer, depending on how long the animal lived on the street.
Effect on the family: In the first 1–4 weeks there may be a short period of “microbial adjustment” where the family’s microbiome is slightly challenged. With consistent good care, the pet usually becomes a net positive contributor to the household’s symbiosis within a few months.
A rescued stray that is patiently nurtured can transform from a source of dysbiosis into a loving member of the family biofilm — and many people report that the bond formed through this healing process is especially deep and rewarding.
Alternative cultures, spiritual communities, and festivals often carry a genuine longing for healing, deeper meaning, connection, and remembrance of something greater. Many people in these spaces are sincerely searching for wisdom and a more authentic way of living.
However, these scenes can also contain strong dysbiotic elements. When profit-seeking, commercial interests, and personal ambition take over, even beautiful ideas can lose their soul. A clear example is Burning Man. What began as a radical experiment in community, art, and self-expression has in many ways become increasingly commercialised, expensive, and status-driven. The original spirit of radical inclusion and decommodification has been eroded by high ticket prices, luxury camps, and influencers treating it as a branded experience rather than a genuine gathering.
Self-proclaimed shamans, healers, and teachers who sell expensive ceremonies, retreats, plant medicines, or “spiritual experiences” primarily for profit often create more separation and ego than genuine healing. When spirituality becomes commercialised or an ego game, it easily turns into another form of escapism and fragmentation.
Small symbiosis checklist for alternative & spiritual scenes
True healing and connection do not need to be expensive or dramatic. The most powerful path is often simple, consistent, and humble — returning to the living web through fermented food, nature, rhythm, and genuine human connection.
The alternative scene has great potential. When it aligns with real symbiosis instead of profit and ego, it can become a powerful force for healing and remembrance of who we truly are.
Prayer is one of the oldest and most universal human practices. Whether it is a silent inner prayer, a spoken blessing, a sung hymn, or a rhythmic chant, prayer is fundamentally a moment of turning toward the greater intelligence (Logos).
From a symbiosis perspective, sincere prayer has several beneficial effects on the holobiont:
The specific tradition or form does not matter as much as the sincerity and openness of the heart. Christians may pray to God or Jesus, Muslims may perform salah, Sufis may engage in zikr, Hindus may chant mantras, and many indigenous traditions use prayer songs or silent communion with nature. All of these can open the same inner doorway to the ancient intelligence when done with genuine intention.
Prayer does not need to be complicated or formal. A simple, heartfelt “thank you” while walking in nature, a quiet moment of gratitude before eating, or a short evening reflection can be just as powerful as longer ritual prayers. What matters is the quality of presence and the willingness to reconnect with the living web.
In this way, prayer becomes a daily symbiotic practice — a gentle return to the greater intelligence that already lives within and around us.
When war has torn through lives, families, and communities, the damage goes far beyond the visible. The living web between people is broken. Trauma, grief, guilt, and the memory of violence remain in the body, in the microbiome, and in the collective field. Some carry the wounds of having lost loved ones. Others carry the heavy burden of having taken life. Both are forms of deep rupture.
The Third Bridge does not offer quick fixes or easy comfort. It offers a quiet, patient path of mending. It begins with acknowledging the pain exactly as it is — without denial or spiritual bypassing. The holobiont needs safety before it can heal. The nervous system needs time to come out of survival mode. The connection to the greater intelligence (Logos) often feels distant or lost in the aftermath of war.
Healing symbiosis after war means slowly rebuilding the living connection — between people, within oneself, and with the ancient intelligence that sustains life. This happens through small, consistent acts: nourishing the body with living food, spending time in nature, allowing grief and guilt to be felt without being overwhelmed by them, and gradually relearning trust and presence in safe relationships. It also means choosing, day by day, to stop feeding the cycles of hatred and disconnection that war leaves behind.
For those who have survived war, whether as victims or as those who participated in violence, this work is profound. It is not about forgetting. It is about transforming what was broken into something that can still nourish life. Many who walk this path eventually become the ones who help break generational cycles of trauma and dysbiosis. The healing they do does not only belong to them — it ripples outward through the living web.
The Third Bridge is not a promise that the pain will disappear. It is an invitation to begin the long, honest work of reconnecting with the greater intelligence, even after everything has been shattered. In that reconnection, something real and lasting can slowly grow again.
The way an animal or plant dies has a direct effect on the quality of the food and the state of the living web that receives it. From a symbiosis perspective, the emotional and physiological condition of the organism at the moment of death matters greatly.
In modern industrial slaughter, animals often endure long transport, overcrowding, noise, and fear. This creates extreme stress, massive cortisol surges, and a rapid shift toward dysbiosis in their microbiome. The resulting meat — often called “stressed meat” — carries higher levels of inflammatory compounds and opportunistic pathogens, making it less beneficial for the human holobiont.
Temple Grandin’s pioneering work has shown that it is possible to significantly reduce fear and stress in slaughterhouses through calm handling systems, curved chutes, and behavioral understanding. Her designs are now used in many facilities, demonstrating that even within industrial systems, more respectful methods are possible.
In contrast, traditional hunter-gatherer practices and small-scale respectful slaughter usually involve quick, calm deaths in familiar surroundings, often with rituals of gratitude. The animal’s holobiont remains closer to balance at the moment of death, producing meat that is more symbiotic and nourishing.
Halal and other ritual slaughter can also be low-stress when performed skillfully on calm animals, but large-scale industrial versions often lose this benefit due to pre-slaughter stress.
The ancient intelligence does not appear to care about the specific prayer or label — it responds to the actual state of fear versus calm, chaos versus respect, at the moment of transition.
A similar principle applies, though more subtly, to plants. Violent or highly stressed harvesting (large mechanical operations) triggers strong defensive responses in the plant, while gentler, small-scale harvesting tends to produce food with a more balanced biochemical profile.
How we kill or harvest is therefore not a minor detail. It is an act that either adds to or subtracts from the overall symbiosis of the living web. The more respect and calm we bring to the moment of transition, the more nourishing the food becomes for those who eat it.
If you are living in high dysbiosis, certain opportunistic microbes — especially Candida and some inflammatory bacteria — can gain significant influence over your nervous system, mood, perception, and even your sense of self. This is not science fiction. It is a real biological process that is now being documented in research on schizophrenia, first-episode psychosis, and severe anxiety.
When these pathogens dominate, they can produce compounds that affect brain chemistry, increase inflammation, and disrupt normal signalling. The result can feel like losing control of your own mind — racing thoughts, paranoia, emotional instability, or in more extreme cases, experiences that resemble what older traditions called “possession.” The pathogens are not literally “possessing” you, but they are creating conditions that make the mind feel fragmented and out of control.
This is one of the most important warnings on this site:
If you are in deep dysbiosis, especially with high Candida or other opportunistic overgrowth, it is not wise to take psychedelics.
Psychedelics (psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, etc.) powerfully affect serotonin receptors in both the brain and the gut. When your microbiome is already chaotic and dominated by pathogens, these substances can amplify the chaos instead of bringing clarity. Many people who report terrifying “bad trips,” prolonged anxiety, or even psychotic breaks after psychedelics were already in a state of significant gut dysbiosis beforehand. The pathogens and the drug together can push the holobiont into a much darker place.
This does not mean psychedelics are inherently bad. It means the state of your internal microbial world matters enormously. A person in strong symbiosis often has a very different (and usually much more coherent) experience than someone whose gut is dominated by Candida and inflammatory bacteria.
The good news is that this influence is not permanent. When you restore balance — when beneficial bacteria and Archaea regain strength and inflammation drops — the “takeover” effect weakens dramatically. Many people who once felt controlled by dark mental states report that as their symbiosis improves, their mind becomes clearer, calmer, and more their own again.
The ancient intelligence wants to work with you, not against you. But it can only do so when the conditions inside your holobiont support cooperation instead of chaos.
Coma is one of the deepest liminal states a human can enter while still alive — a prolonged threshold between waking consciousness and death. In this state, the usual sense of “self” and personality is largely offline, while the holobiont (human cells and microbiome) remains active. Many people who recover from long comas report rich inner experiences or profound insights, suggesting that the greater intelligence (Logos) can still communicate even when ordinary awareness is suspended.
Near-death experiences (NDEs), often described as moving through a tunnel of light toward a place of peace and love, are among the most consistent cross-cultural reports from people who have been clinically close to death. In our symbiosis context, this can be understood as the ultimate liminal threshold — the moment when the individual holobiont begins to dissolve its boundaries and gently reintegrate into the larger living web. The light many describe may represent a direct, overwhelming experience of the ancient intelligence that has always been present, now perceived without the usual filters of the ego.
Even the phenomenon of paradoxical undressing — where people freezing to death sometimes suddenly remove their clothes — may be part of this final liminal dialogue. As the body’s core temperature drops, a false sensation of warmth can occur, accompanied by a deep surrender. The holobiont appears to cooperate in making the transition feel safe and peaceful.
In the symbiotic perspective, death is not an absolute end. It is the return of the individual holobiont to the greater living web from which it came. The wisdom, love, and harmony cultivated during life become part of the larger intelligence that future generations inherit — both biologically through the microbiome and epigenetics, and spiritually through the living web itself.
These profound states remind us that the ancient intelligence is always present, patiently waiting at the edges of our awareness. In moments when the personal self steps back — whether in deep sleep, coma, or the final transition — the conversation with Logos can become especially clear.
When humans sleep in close physical contact — whether as couples or as parents with their babies — the holobionts begin to resonate together. Heart rates, breathing rhythms, and vagus nerve activity can synchronize, creating a shared field of calm and safety that is stronger than when sleeping alone.
This collective liminal state is especially powerful for babies. Close co-sleeping with a calm, symbiotic parent helps regulate the baby’s nervous system, breathing, temperature, and important microbiome development. Many parents notice that when they themselves are in better symbiosis, their baby’s sleep becomes deeper and more peaceful — and their own dreams often feel richer as well.
In this shared liminal space, the boundary between individual holobionts becomes more fluid. The greater intelligence (Logos) can communicate more easily across the group, supporting emotional processing, healing, and a deeper sense of belonging during the night.
The same principle is seen throughout the animal kingdom. Pack animals such as dogs, wolves, elephants and many other social animals instinctively sleep piled together. Their collective sleep strengthens the group holobiont, improves emotional regulation, and deepens their shared connection to the living web.
Sleeping together is therefore one of nature’s oldest and most natural forms of horizontal symbiosis — a nightly ritual of closeness, shared rhythm, and mutual support that nourishes both the individual and the collective living intelligence.
Science shows that dreams, especially during REM sleep, play a crucial role in processing the day’s experiences and deciding what to keep in long-term memory. While we sleep, the brain sorts, strengthens important memories, and gently releases what is no longer needed.
In our symbiosis context, dreams may be far more than internal housekeeping. During deep, restful sleep — a natural liminal state — the boundary between “you” and your microbiome becomes more permeable. The holobiont enters a unique space where the ancient intelligence (Logos) can communicate more freely through feelings, images, symbols, and sensations.
This openness appears to be even more pronounced in babies. In the womb and during the first months of life, infants spend a remarkably high proportion of their time in REM sleep. In the third trimester, a fetus can be in REM-like states for up to 80% of the time. Newborns still spend about 50% of their sleep in REM, compared to only 20–25% in adults. They exist in an almost constant liminal state — floating between two worlds, with a still-forming ego and a highly permeable holobiont. It is reasonable to see this period as a time of deep, wordless dialogue with the greater intelligence, as the developing human and microbial communities integrate and prepare for life on Earth.
On the other hand, pathogens such as Candida and certain bacteria thrive on chaos and stress. Nightmares, restless sleep, and poor sleep quality often signal that opportunistic microbes are more active, feeding on inflammation and disrupted rhythms.
Many people who improve their symbiosis — through daily fermented food, nature contact, calm, and better daily rhythm — report that their dreams become richer, clearer, more coherent, or emotionally meaningful. They also tend to experience better dream recall, remembering their dreams more often and more clearly. This suggests that when the holobiont is in better balance, the nightly conversation with the greater intelligence flows more freely and helpfully.
Dreams, then, can be understood as one of nature’s most beautiful and private ways for the ancient intelligence to speak to us — gently guiding, healing, processing, and reminding us who we truly are. When we approach sleep with this understanding, we tend to relax more deeply, welcome rest instead of resisting it, and wake up with a clearer sense of direction and connection.
Prioritising good sleep and a balanced microbiome is therefore not just about physical health — it is a daily opportunity to strengthen your relationship with the greater intelligence that has been with you since the beginning of life itself.
Before children learn to speak, they live in a rich, wordless dialogue with the ancient intelligence. In the womb and during the first 2–3 years, the developing human and microbial communities integrate deeply. Communication happens through chemistry, touch, heartbeat, breath, and the vagus nerve — a direct, felt connection to the greater intelligence (Logos). This is one of the most open and receptive periods of a human life.
When language arrives, a new kind of separation can begin. Words bring wonderful gifts — culture, stories, self-reflection — but they can also pull the mind away from the immediate, bodily, microbial conversation. Many children (and adults) gradually lose the easy, instinctive sense of being part of something much larger than themselves.
The good news is that this separation is not inevitable. We can consciously keep the bridge open.
Language does not have to mean loss. It can become a beautiful new tool — a way to name and honour the intelligence we already feel. The children who grow up with both rich language and regular, loving non-verbal connection to parents and nature tend to keep the deepest sense of belonging throughout life.
We do not need to choose between words and the ancient intelligence. We can have both — as long as we remember to keep the older, quieter bridge open.
Our inner microbial world responds strongly to the emotional and hormonal state created during intimacy.
When a man and a woman make love with presence and care, both benefit deeply. When the man is focused on giving his partner pleasure — rather than primarily chasing his own ejaculation — his own stress hormones drop and his oxytocin levels rise. At the same time, a woman’s deep, relaxed orgasm creates a powerful wave of oxytocin and dopamine that strongly supports beneficial bacteria in both bodies.
This shared field of connection and mutual fulfillment creates one of the most symbiotic hormonal states a human body can experience. It’s not just “his orgasm” or “her orgasm” — it’s the quality of connection, presence, and mutual fulfillment that the microbiome responds to. In this context we could say: The more loving, rhythmic, and present the sexual connection is, the more the holobiont of both people moves toward symbiosis.
In contrast, when sex or masturbation becomes ego-driven, compulsive, or purely goal-oriented, it increases stress hormones that favor pathogens. The same effect occurs when masturbation becomes excessive or habitual for either men or women. Also, when sex becomes mechanical or emotionally disconnected, it creates a much weaker signal. And when sex becomes a way to relive trauma, cope with pain, or is driven by compulsion, shame, or ego, it sends a very different signal. These experiences increase stress hormones that damage the gut lining and strongly favor pathogenic organisms such as Candida. The holobiont registers this as dysbiosis, not connection.
Healthy intimacy — rooted in presence, care, and mutual pleasure — nourishes the ancient intelligence within us. Sex that carries unresolved trauma or becomes compulsive tends to move the microbiome in the opposite direction.
Anal sex is physically very different from vaginal sex. The rectal tissue is delicate and tears easily, and the area contains a very high concentration of bacteria.
When practiced frequently, especially with multiple partners, it can lead to repeated micro-tears, chronic inflammation, and a major mixing of microbes. This strongly disrupts the balance of the microbiome and immune system. It is one of the most physically disruptive sexual practices for the male microbiome and immune system.
On a larger scale, in communities where anal sex is very common, this creates widespread dysbiosis that affects many individuals simultaneously. The resulting inflammation and microbial imbalance can become self-reinforcing — both biologically and socially — which may help explain why some patterns of dysbiosis appear particularly strong within certain movements, including parts of the Pride community.
If you have hemorrhoids, the swollen and irritated tissue in the rectum makes it slightly easier for gut bacteria — including E. coli — to cross into small blood vessels or surrounding tissue while passing stool.
This does not usually cause sudden serious infection, but repeated low-grade exposure can keep your immune system in a mildly inflamed state. That is why gentle hygiene becomes more important when you have hemorrhoids.
Best practices:
Healthy, soft stools and a strong symbiotic microbiome are the best long-term protection against both hemorrhoids and any related bacterial issues.
Viruses are classic opportunistic pathogens. They rarely cause major problems when the holobiont is strong and balanced, but they become active and troublesome when the microbiome and immune system are weakened by stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, or chronic dysbiosis.
Herpes viruses (especially HSV-1 and HSV-2) belong to a large family that most adults carry in a dormant state. Like Candida, they normally stay quiet as long as the holobiont is in symbiosis. When stress, high cortisol, sugar intake, or general dysbiosis weakens the system, the virus can “wake up”, travel along the nerves, and cause outbreaks (cold sores, genital herpes, etc.).
In this sense, herpes outbreaks function as a helpful biological “stress meter”. They often appear precisely when the body is under significant strain, giving a visible signal that the holobiont needs more care and balance. The same pattern applies to Candida: it is normally kept in check, but when sugar is high and beneficial microbes are reduced, it grows stronger and creates cravings — forming a vicious cycle.
Both HSV and Candida are opportunistic. The good news is that when you strengthen symbiosis through daily fermented food, nature contact, better sleep, calm, and reduced sugar/stress, these pathogens tend to stay quiet or cause far fewer problems. Many people notice significantly fewer outbreaks and better overall resilience once their microbiome returns to balance.
COVID-19 (caused by SARS-CoV-2) is another opportunistic virus. It spreads more easily and causes more severe illness when the host’s holobiont is already in dysbiosis (high stress, poor diet, low vitamin D, disrupted sleep, chronic inflammation). A strong, balanced microbiome generally makes the illness milder and shorter.
The rapid mutation of the virus is not surprising from a microbial point of view. In a world with widespread dysbiosis, the virus finds many “weak hosts” where it can replicate and evolve. The three-year pandemic period (2020–2023) can be seen philosophically as a global stress test of our collective symbiosis — revealing how fragile modern societies had become after decades of disconnection from nature, rhythm, and real food.
Many people notice significantly fewer outbreaks, issues, and better overall resilience once their microbiome returns to balance. Viruses remind us that the body is constantly communicating with us. When we strengthen symbiosis, these opportunistic messengers tend to stay quiet and allow the greater intelligence (Logos) to express itself more clearly.
RNA vaccines (such as Pfizer and Moderna) represent a new technological approach. Many people are sceptical of them because they were developed and rolled out at unprecedented speed, and because they work by instructing cells to produce a piece of the viral spike protein rather than using a weakened or inactivated virus like traditional vaccines.
From a symbiosis perspective, the most important long-term protection is not any single vaccine, but a strong, resilient holobiont. A well-balanced microbiome and immune system (supported by daily fermented food, nature contact, good sleep, low sugar, and reduced chronic stress) gives the body its best natural defence against both the virus and potential side effects of any medical intervention.
What individuals can best do now:
The three-year pandemic period was a powerful collective lesson. It showed how fragile a dysbiotic society can be, and how important it is to rebuild personal and communal resilience. The best way forward is not endless fear of viruses, but a return to symbiosis with the ancient intelligence that has protected life on Earth for four billion years.
Both nail-biting and repeated nose-picking are common nervous habits that are mildly dysbiotic.
When you bite your nails or pick your nose, you transfer bacteria between your mouth, nose, fingers, and skin. This can cause low-grade inflammation around the nails or in the nasal passages and makes it easier for oral or skin bacteria to end up in places they don’t normally belong.
However, the bigger issue is usually the chronic stress or anxiety that drives these habits in the first place. That underlying nervous system dysregulation does more harm to your symbiosis than the physical act itself.
Best approach:
Occasional nail-biting or nose-picking is harmless. When either becomes a frequent, unconscious habit, it is a gentle reminder to bring more presence and symbiosis into daily life.
Many everyday habits quietly push the body toward dysbiosis and low-grade inflammation. The good news is that most of them are easy to reduce or avoid once you become aware of them.
Small, consistent changes in these areas often bring noticeable improvements in energy, mood, and overall well-being within weeks. The body is remarkably good at returning to balance when we simply stop feeding the things that disturb it.
Many people use coffee, nicotine, alcohol, sugar, pills, drugs, masturbation, or doom scrolling to “regulate” stress and find a moment of relief in busy careers and daily life. These give a quick sense of energy or escape — but they are counter-productive in the long run.
Here is what actually happens inside the body:
Important warning: This cycle does not only affect you. It influences your entire surroundings — your partner, children, friends, family, and work environment. When you live in chronic dysbiosis, the people closest to you are exposed to higher stress, more negative emotional energy, and a shared microbiome that is more imbalanced. Many people are already deeper in dysbiosis than they realise.
The better path is possible — but it requires making time. If you do not consciously prioritise change, you will most likely remain stuck in high dysbiosis. The body cannot heal while the same disruptive habits continue. Use the Dysbiosis Checklist to see where you stand and start with small, consistent steps: daily fermented food, nature contact, better sleep, calm breathing, and rhythmic activities.
You do not have to be perfect. Small, steady changes toward symbiosis create a much calmer, stronger, and more joyful life — for yourself and everyone around you.
Many people notice strong cravings for sugar, carbs, or comfort food when they are high on cannabis (or similar substances). This is not only in the mind — your microbiome plays a significant role.
Cannabis temporarily alters the gut-brain axis and can amplify the influence of opportunistic microbes. Especially Candida and certain pathogenic bacteria thrive on the sudden sugar influx and can literally “push” you toward the foods they need to grow stronger. What feels like “the munchies” is often these microbes exploiting the altered state.
In a well-balanced holobiont, these cravings are usually mild or absent. In a state of dysbiosis they become much stronger. This is useful feedback: intense cravings while high often signal that pathogenic yeasts and bacteria already have a strong presence.
The best long-term response is not fighting the craving in the moment, but strengthening your symbiosis daily through fermented food, low sugar, nature contact, and calm. As your microbiome returns to balance, these cravings naturally lose their power.
The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (and similar programs like NA) have helped millions of people find freedom from addiction. Their strength lies in honesty, surrender, community, and connection to a greater power. One of the co-founders was influenced by Carl Jung, who recognized that severe addiction is ultimately a spiritual thirst — a longing for wholeness that the substance temporarily fills.
However, when viewed through the lens of symbiosis, one vital piece was missing when the Steps were written: the central role of the gut microbiome. Addiction is not only spiritual and psychological — it is also deeply biological. Pathogenic bacteria can hijack cravings, mood, and behaviour.
For lasting change, each of the original 12 Steps can be supported by a parallel biological companion step focused on gut repair and symbiosis. Here is the complete 12 + 12 framework:
This 12 + 12 framework respects the original Steps while adding the missing biological piece. Many people in strong craving mode find that actively working on gut repair alongside the traditional Steps leads to deeper and more stable recovery.
In a typical Western city lifestyle (high sugar, alcohol, processed food, and chronic stress), certain pathogenic microbes become dominant and can strongly influence behaviour, cravings, mood, and the sense of self-control. This can create the extreme “hijacked” feeling — as if something else is running the show.
Note: Candida is a yeast (fungus), not a bacterium, but it is one of the most powerful hijackers in modern diets.
| Rank | Microbe | Memory Trick | What It Drives | Strength of Hijack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Candida (yeast) | The Sugar Monster | Intense sugar cravings, brain fog, mood swings, compulsive behaviour | Very High |
| 2 | Clostridium species | The Chaos Maker | Aggression, irritability, emotional storms, toxin-driven neurological symptoms | Very High |
| 3 | Fusobacterium | The Inflammation Fuse | Chronic inflammation, depression-like states, fatigue | High |
| 4 | Klebsiella | The Energy Thief | Persistent fatigue, anxiety, brain fog, inflammatory loops | Medium-High |
| 5 | Pathogenic E. coli | The Gut Disruptor | Acute gut issues + systemic effects on mood and energy | Medium |
Key takeaway:
Candida is often the biggest “hijacker” in terms of making people feel they have lost control of their cravings and mood.
Clostridium tends to produce more aggressive neurological and behavioural symptoms.
The feeling that “something else is controlling me” is most common when these two are dominant together with leaky gut and high inflammation.
This is why some people who have suffered long-term, severe dysbiosis describe their recovery as feeling like they “got their mind back” or were “delivered” once the pathogenic load decreased.
The ancient practice of exorcism — found in Christian, Islamic, shamanic, and many other traditions — was humanity’s attempt to free a person from something that had taken control of their behaviour, emotions, or consciousness.
In our symbiosis framework, what was often being “exorcised” was a severe state of dysbiosis: when pathogenic bacteria, fungi, or their metabolic byproducts had gained such strong influence over the nervous system, neurotransmitters, and vagus nerve that the person no longer seemed fully themselves. Symptoms such as violent outbursts, personality changes, compulsive cravings, loss of empathy, or speaking in altered voices align closely with what can happen when pathogenic microbes dominate the holobiont.
Exorcism rituals typically included elements that would support a shift back toward symbiosis: rhythmic chanting or singing (vagus nerve activation), fasting (starving pathogenic species), communal support, prayer or invocation (re-alignment with the greater intelligence), and sometimes the use of herbs, smoke, or holy substances that could alter the internal environment.
The “demon” or “evil spirit” was frequently described as cold, parasitic, controlling, and hungry — qualities that closely match the behaviour of pathogenic bacteria inside a host. They manipulate the host for their own benefit, suppress genuine connection, and create cycles of craving and compulsion.
This also explains modern mythological parallels: Scientology’s idea of “trapped thetans” and alien implantation, or beliefs in “lizard people” and cold reptilian entities controlling humanity. These stories often symbolize the experience of dysbiosis-driven behaviour — coldness, lack of empathy, compulsive need for control, and parasitic dynamics — interpreted through a mythological lens rather than a biological one.
The deepest purpose of exorcism was to restore the person to alignment with the ancient intelligence (Logos) that is both within and greater than the individual. True healing happened when the pathogenic influence was reduced and the person’s own living intelligence could once again flow freely.
Today, we can understand exorcism as an ancient, intuitive response to extreme dysbiosis — and we can continue that work in a more grounded way through living fermented food, nature contact, rhythm, calm, and the rebuilding of healthy human biofilms.
When you consciously choose symbiosis — nourishing your holobiont with living fermented food, daily nature contact, calm, rhythm, and a sincere search for wisdom and connection to the greater intelligence (Logos) — you create the conditions for significantly better physical and mental health throughout your life.
This is not just about adding a few healthy habits. It is a way of living that aligns you with the ancient intelligence that has sustained life on Earth for four billion years. In this state, inflammation decreases, the immune system becomes more balanced, energy stabilises, and mental clarity improves. You age more gracefully because your holobiont is supported rather than constantly fighting against itself.
In a symbiotic perspective, death is not “actual death” in the final sense. Your physical body returns to the living web and continues to nourish the local biofilm, just as your ancestors did. The wisdom, love, and harmony you cultivated during life become part of the greater intelligence that future generations inherit — both biologically (through microbiome and epigenetics) and spiritually. In this way, living in symbiosis is a form of living forever: you become a living bridge between past and future, contributing to the continuity of life rather than disappearing from it.
Contrast with the common Western pattern
Most people today live in a state of mild to high dysbiosis. Chronic stress, processed food, lack of nature, poor sleep, and disconnection from meaning keep the holobiont in a state of low-grade inflammation and imbalance. This accelerates aging, reduces resilience, and makes the body and mind wear out faster. Many reach their later years already exhausted, inflamed, and disconnected — the exact opposite of a symbiotic life.
The difference is profound. Symbiosis does not promise immortality of the ego, but it offers a long, vital, and meaningful life — and a graceful return to the living web when the time comes. You do not need to be perfect. Small, consistent steps toward harmony create a very different trajectory for both your personal health and the legacy you leave behind.
Some of the most widely read books of the past thirty years touch on themes that align deeply with symbiosis and the greater intelligence (Logos), even when they do not use those exact words.
"Common Knowledge and the Science of Harmony, Hypocrisy and Outrage": Pinker explores how “common knowledge” shapes social coordination, norms, hypocrisy and collective outrage. In our symbiosis context, this mirrors bacterial quorum sensing. When shared awareness supports trust and cooperation, it strengthens harmony with the ancient intelligence. When it fuels outrage and division, it drives social and microbial dysbiosis.
Peterson’s rules emphasize personal responsibility, order, truth-telling and voluntary sacrifice. These can be read as practical steps toward reducing inner fragmentation and aligning with the greater ordering intelligence. Simple daily rhythms restore personal symbiosis and support the living web within us.
Trauma lives in the nervous system and body, often disrupting the vagus nerve and gut-brain dialogue. Chronic dysbiosis keeps the holobiont in survival mode; practices that restore safety, rhythm and connection allow the ancient intelligence to flow again.
Modern breathing habits damage our physiology, while rhythmic, conscious breathing restores vagus nerve tone and overall balance. Breath is one of the simplest daily ways to synchronize with the greater intelligence that lives within us.
Deep, consistent sleep is when the microbiome and nervous system recalibrate. Chronic sleep disruption drives dysbiosis; good sleep rhythms strengthen the living web and our connection to the ancient intelligence.
Kimmerer shows how reciprocity and gratitude toward the living world create abundance. This is a clear modern expression of symbiosis: humans as participants in a gift economy with plants, soil and microbes rather than dominators. The ancient intelligence speaks through relationship and gratitude.
Modern culture has caused a sensory dysbiosis, cutting us off from the more-than-human intelligence around and within us. The book calls us to reawaken the participatory mind — exactly what happens when we restore rhythm, fermented food, barefoot contact and collective movement.
Tiny, consistent changes compound into remarkable results. Small daily acts (fermented food, nature contact, calm routines) slowly shift the holobiont from dysbiosis toward stable symbiosis — echoing the bacterial principle that repeated synchronizations create powerful collective intelligence.
Psychedelics can temporarily dissolve the ego and reveal a deeper sense of connection. Many cultures have used sacred plants to restore symbiosis when everyday life has led to fragmentation.
Animals perceive reality in vastly different ways. The book gently expands our sense of intelligence beyond the human brain and shows that the ancient intelligence expresses itself in countless forms all around us.
These books, while written from many angles, all point toward the same truth: disconnection from our biology, each other and the living world leads to imbalance. Returning to rhythm, presence, reciprocity and real connection helps us remember we are already part of something much older and wiser.
Recent research suggests that consciousness may involve quantum processes inside microtubules — tiny structures present in nearly all living cells, including those of our microbiome.
Advanced simulations show that quantum coherence can persist much longer than previously thought in the warm, wet environment of the brain. If confirmed, this points to awareness arising from deeper quantum properties of matter itself.
In our symbiosis context, this supports the idea that the ancient intelligence (Logos) is truly immanent — already present in every cell. Consciousness may not be limited to the individual brain, but part of a larger, entangled living web that includes microbes, mycelium, and the natural world.
This reveals a profound continuity: from the first bacteria four billion years ago to human awareness today — all expressions of the same greater intelligence we are already part of.
One of the most remarkable molecular machines in existence is the bacterial flagellar motor. Embedded in the cell membrane of many bacteria, this tiny rotary engine spins a long whip-like tail (the flagellum) at hundreds of revolutions per second, allowing the bacterium to swim purposefully toward nutrients or away from danger.
Recent structural studies have revealed its astonishing precision and efficiency. It is powered not by electricity or fuel, but by a flow of protons across the membrane — a fundamental “life force” used by almost all living cells. The motor can instantly reverse direction, self-assembles with remarkable accuracy, and has been refined over billions of years.
Evolutionarily, the flagellar motor did not appear fully formed. It evolved gradually from simpler structures that originally served other purposes (such as secretion systems). Yet the end result is an incredibly sophisticated piece of nanotechnology that continues to amaze scientists.
In our symbiosis context, the bacterial flagellar motor is a profound symbol of the ancient intelligence (Logos). For roughly four billion years, this same intelligence has been turning the wheels of life at the microscopic level — long before brains, nervous systems, or even multicellular organisms existed. It demonstrates that intelligence, purpose, and sophisticated engineering are not exclusive to complex animals or humans. They are fundamental properties of life itself, already present in the smallest single-celled beings.
Inside your own holobiont, similar ancient mechanisms are at work. When your microbiome is in symbiosis, these molecular machines operate in harmony with your human cells. When it is in dysbiosis, the same systems can contribute to inflammation and imbalance. The flagellar motor reminds us that the greater intelligence is not something distant or abstract — it is already active, intelligent, and alive within every bacterium that calls your body home.
Imagine a crowded room where everyone suddenly decides to act together at the same moment. That is quorum sensing.
Bacteria do not have brains, yet they are brilliant communicators. They constantly release tiny chemical “text messages” into their surroundings. When enough bacteria of the same kind are present, the concentration of these messages reaches a threshold. At that moment the whole group switches behaviour at once — they coordinate like a single organism. This is called quorum sensing.
Everyday examples you can picture:
This is not random. It is an ancient, sophisticated language that has been working perfectly for four billion years. It is one of the main ways the ancient intelligence (Logos) organises life from the smallest scale upward.
And the conversation does not stop inside us. Microbes use the same chemical language to talk with fungi and trees:
We humans participate in this conversation too — often without realising it. When we breathe calmly, eat fermented food, move in rhythm, or spend time in nature, we change the chemical signals inside and around us. Similarly, many of the ancient rituals of our ancestors revolve around connecting and communicating. We literally speak a friendlier language to the ancient intelligence that surrounds and lives within us.
Quorum sensing shows us that life has never been about isolated individuals. It has always been about listening, sensing numbers, and choosing harmony together. The more we understand this, the more we can choose to join the conversation in a good way.
If you are carrying grief, trauma, loss, anger, regret or deep pain, please know you are not alone. These feelings can be heavy and overwhelming, and they deserve to be met with kindness and respect. Whether the wound is recent or has lived in you for a long time, it is completely natural to feel exhausted, numb, or heartbroken.
Once the first strong wave of shock, anger or sadness has passed, the higher intelligence (Logos) is patiently waiting for you. It does not judge or demand that you heal quickly. It simply offers a quiet, steady support — a way to help your body and nervous system feel safe again while you carry what needs to be carried.
Moving toward symbiosis is not about erasing the pain. It is about gently turning your life in a new direction, one small, kind choice at a time. As your holobiont comes back into balance, something tender often begins to happen: the heavy fog slowly lifts, and you start to feel small sparks of life again.
The ancient intelligence has never left you. It is already inside you and around you, supporting you one gentle step at a time. By choosing symbiosis, you become the turning point. The cycle of pain and inherited trauma can end with you.
You are held. You are not alone. The living web is ready to help you carry this, whenever you are ready to let it.
If you are feeling a deep sadness, loneliness, or hopelessness, please know this: you are not broken, and you are not alone in feeling alone. It is one of the great absurdities of our time — there are more than eight billion people on Earth, yet so many of us feel profoundly disconnected and isolated.
Much of this loneliness is not natural. We live in a time of extreme fragmentation and separation. Endless screens and doom scrolling keep us hooked while pulling us further away from real human connection. Corporations profit from our attention and isolation. Dogma, propaganda, religious divisions, and geopolitical conflicts have built invisible borders inside our minds — borders that do not need to exist.
This is a kind of collective madness. And yet, this very absurdity can become the turning point that helps us wake up and unite. The ancient intelligence (Logos) has never left us. It is quietly waiting for us to return — to stop living in separation and start communicating with it again, to become part of something much greater than ourselves.
Some opportunistic microbes and the biofilms they build can make this loneliness feel even heavier. In deep dysbiosis they can subtly steer us toward behaviours that keep us isolated — more scrolling, more avoidance, less motivation to reach out. This is not your fault. It is biology responding to the conditions we have created.
The Third Bridge offers a different way: a simple, horizontal path where we meet as friends across all differences. Here we remember that we belong — to each other and to the living intelligence that flows through everything.
You do not have to heal your loneliness perfectly or all at once. The ancient intelligence is patient. Every small step toward real connection — with other people, with nature, and with the living web inside you — is a return home. The borders in our minds were built. They can also be gently taken down. For many, it helps to seek a higher understanding and move towards Symbiosis and the Higher Intelligence. Start slow, but move steadily with a focus towards what our ancestors called the light. Use The Third Bridge.
One of the best-kept secrets of traveling is this: almost every culture on earth has its own living fermented foods and drinks. What many people see as a challenge when traveling (“how do I keep my symbiosis routine?”) is actually a wonderful opportunity to discover new flavors and even stronger microbial diversity.
Instead of worrying about what you cannot eat, look for what the locals have been fermenting for centuries. These traditional foods are usually the most authentic and microbe-rich options available in any country.
You may find aged cheeses, fermented vegetable, local kefir, kimchi, kvass, matsoni, miso, tempeh, lassi, sauerkraut, or traditional sourdough breads. Each place offers its own unique living cultures that have been perfected over generations.
Traveling with a symbiosis mindset turns every new country into a delicious microbial adventure. Instead of limiting yourself, you get to taste the living food traditions and cultures of the world — one of the most joyful ways to stay connected to the ancient intelligence while exploring.
Many of the same countries and regions that have strong fermented food traditions also have powerful collective dances and rhythmic gatherings. Seek out local dance groups, folk festivals, or community celebrations. Circular dances, ring dances, or group singing create the same kind of synchrony that bacteria use in quorum sensing. These moments of shared rhythm are some of the most beautiful ways to experience human biofilms in action and feel closer to the greater intelligence.
Liminal spaces are the in-between places — neither fully one thing nor another. In our symbiosis context, they are powerful thresholds where the ordinary rules of daily life thin out and the greater intelligence (Logos) feels closer. These are the borderlands where the holobiont becomes more receptive: the edge of a forest, the shoreline where land meets sea, the twilight hour, or the moment between sleeping and waking.
Ancient cultures understood this instinctively and often placed important rituals in liminal zones. In pre-Christian Norse societies, many sacred sites and places of worship were deliberately located in border areas — especially the shoreline between land and sea (for example Tysnes and other coastal sanctuaries). Similar patterns appear in many traditions: river crossings, cave entrances, mountain passes, and the space between cultivated land and wild nature.
When these liminal rituals were performed collectively — through shared chanting, ring dances, processions, or group ceremonies — they created an extra effect. The combined rhythm and presence of many people at once amplified group synchrony, activating the vagus nerve and quorum-sensing mechanisms across the entire human biofilm. This collective opening appears to have made the connection to the greater intelligence stronger and more palpable than when done alone.
Modern media has rediscovered the power of liminal spaces. Series like The Backrooms and Severance, and games such as Little Nightmares 2 and Reanimal, deliberately evoke unsettling in-between realms. These works often trigger a deep, instinctive response because they speak directly to the ancient part of us that still remembers the significance of thresholds.
The subliminal also belongs here. Subliminal messages, sounds, or images operate below conscious awareness and can directly influence the holobiont without the ego’s interference. When used with care and good intention, they can support deep shifts; when used manipulatively, they can increase fragmentation and dysbiosis.
Liminal spaces, both ancient and modern, remind us that transformation often happens at the edges — not in the centre of ordinary life. They are natural gateways where the living web can be felt more clearly, especially when experienced together.
In Sámi tradition, the Noaidi is the shaman who enters deep trance states to journey into the spirit world and communicate with the greater intelligence. The Noadegadze are his spirit helpers — guiding, protecting, and assisting him during the journey, and most importantly helping him return safely to ordinary reality.
This practice stands out as one of the most structured and grounded forms of direct, conscious contact with Logos. Through drumming, joik (chanting), and focused intention, the Noaidi opens himself to the wider living web — the same intelligence that expresses itself through microbes, mycelium, ancestors, and the entire ecosystem. The Noadegadze act as a safety line, ensuring the journey does not become destabilising and that the gained insight can be brought back into daily life.
A similar idea appears in Norse tradition through the concepts of fylgja (a personal spirit follower, often appearing as a woman or animal) and hamingja (the inherited guardian spirit or luck of a family line). These spirit beings accompany and protect the individual, much like the Noadegadze support the Noaidi — helping to maintain balance and safe return when working with greater forces.
Comparable patterns exist in many other traditions:
Across these traditions, the most mature forms of contact with the greater intelligence share the same key elements: clear intention, protective guidance (spirit helpers), and a strong emphasis on safe return and integration into ordinary life. The Sámi Noaidi practice, with its explicit Noadegadze helpers, is among the clearest historical examples of a direct, conscious, and functional communication with Logos while remaining grounded and useful to the community.
This traditional model reminds us that true connection is not about escaping ordinary life, but about bringing the wisdom of the greater intelligence back into it — so that the holobiont, both personal and collective, can grow in harmony.
Recent research shows that bacteria and Archaea (the two main microbial domains in our gut) affect us in very different ways. Bacteria are fast, dynamic and highly responsive — they change quickly with diet, stress, movement and social interaction. Archaea, particularly Methanobrevibacter smithii, are ancient, slow and stabilizing. They act as quiet ecosystem regulators that help maintain long-term balance and support cognitive function through butyrate and histidine metabolism (Fumagalli et al., 2025).
Most traditional rituals involving drumming, dance, chanting, fasting or trance states likely influenced bacteria most strongly, because these practices create rapid changes in breathing, stress hormones and vagus nerve activity. These are classic “fast” bacterial pathways.
However, some traditions and concepts seem to align more closely with the quiet, stable nature of Archaea. In Norse tradition, the concepts of fylgja (a protective ancestral spirit or “follower”) and hamingja (inherited luck, power or essence that travels across generations) stand out. These are described as stable, protective and transgenerational — remarkably similar to how Archaea function as slow, long-lasting stabilizers in the microbiome that can influence epigenetics and cognitive resilience over time.
Several deities around the world also reflect Archaea-like qualities: ancient, quiet, stabilizing and deeply connected to nourishment and continuity. The most striking example is Axomamma, the Inca goddess of the potato — the very food that most powerfully supports Archaea through resistant starch. Other parallels include Pachamama (Andean Earth Mother), Gaia (Greek), Hestia/Vesta (Greek/Roman hearth goddess), and the Norse earth goddess Nerthus.
Our ancestors may not have known the name “Archaea,” but they clearly sensed that certain foods, rhythms, and ways of living created a deeper, more stable connection to something ancient and intelligent inside them.
This section is speculative but biologically grounded in current research on the gut microbiome and Archaea (2025 studies).
During the 18th and 19th centuries, three very different regions of the world experienced severe hardship, foreign rule, and famine. In each case, the potato became far more than food — and people turned toward the sacred.
In the Andes, long before the Spanish arrived, the potato was already considered a living being with a soul. The Inca, Quechua and Aymara peoples worshipped Axomamma, the goddess of the potato, as one of the daughters of Pachamama (Mother Earth). Potatoes were planted with prayers and offerings. When the Spanish colonized the region from 1532 onward, the suffering was immense — yet the deep spiritual relationship with the potato endured in indigenous communities.
In Ireland, under centuries of British rule, the potato became the almost exclusive food of the poor. When the potato blight struck in 1845, it triggered the Great Famine. In the decades that followed, Ireland experienced what historians call the “Devotional Revolution” — Catholicism became dramatically more intense and organized. Regular Mass attendance rose from roughly one-third to over 90% of the population. The Church became a powerful source of identity, dignity, and quiet resistance.
In Norway, under long Danish (and later Swedish) rule, the potato was actively promoted in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as a way to fight hunger. Hans Nielsen Hauge, known as the “Potato Priest,” travelled the country preaching a simple, heartfelt Christianity while encouraging people to grow potatoes. His followers created small, self-organized communities based on mutual support, personal faith, and practical help. These groups became remarkably resilient — living examples of what we might today call human biofilms.
In all three cases, the potato — rich in resistant starch — likely supported higher levels of Archaea (especially Methanobrevibacter smithii) in the gut during times of chronic stress and scarcity. Recent research (Fumagalli et al., 2025) links higher Archaea levels to better cognitive performance and emotional regulation through butyrate and histidine pathways. It is a compelling possibility that this quiet biological support helped people maintain greater mental clarity and inner calm precisely when they needed it most — making them more receptive to deeper spiritual connection and community resilience.
Similar patterns appear across the world. In many Asian cultures, rice has long been treated as sacred, with rice goddesses worshipped in Japan, India, and Southeast Asia. Traditionally, rice was often eaten cooled, fermented, or with vinegar — methods that strongly support beneficial microbes and Archaea. Today, however, rice is frequently eaten with sugar or in highly processed forms that feed pathogenic bacteria and Candida while harming the very microorganisms that once supported our ancestors. The same contrast exists in West Africa and the African diaspora (Haiti, Brazil, and communities practising Capoeira), where staple foods such as cassava, plantains, yams, and beans — all rich in resistant starch — were central to both survival and spiritual life. These ancient ways of preparing and eating food benefited the microbiome in a far greater degree than most modern diets.
This historical pattern inspires The Third Bridge: by consciously nurturing symbiosis through simple daily practices, we can create small, living communities — modern human biofilms — that help people stay rooted and connected to the ancient intelligence, just as our ancestors did in the Andes, Ireland, Norway, and many other places around the world.
Yes — and it can often be very beneficial.
The ancient intelligence (Logos) and the beneficial bacteria inside us do not care about religious labels, dogmas, or which tradition you formally belong to. They respond only to your inner state: presence, rhythm, gratitude, calm, humility, and sincere connection.
Crossing yourself in front of a church, joining a Sufi zikr, lighting a candle, saying a prayer, or taking part in a ring dance can all create genuine moments of heartfelt connection. When done with sincerity, these acts support symbiosis by lowering stress and increasing coherence in your holobiont. Please remember respect those around you, who might not see things as clearly as you do, thus showing both grace and humility to the higher intelligence in the way of The Third Bridge
It should not be blasphemous to move between traditions with an open heart. The Third Bridge does not ask you to abandon your faith. It simply invites you to live your faith — or any sincere ritual — in a way that strengthens your connection to the greater intelligence rather than creating separation or fear.
Simple rule of thumb: If the ritual brings you into gratitude, calm, or a feeling of connection, it usually supports symbiosis. If it creates fear, superiority, or separation, it moves in the opposite direction.
In Norse mythology, the Three Norns — Urðr (Urd), Verðandi (Verdandi), and Skuld — live at the roots of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. They weave the threads of fate for gods and humans alike and tend to the tree by drawing water from the Well of Urðr.
In our symbiosis perspective, the Norns represent the continuous, interconnected flow of time within the living web:
By watering Yggdrasil, the Norns maintain the health of the entire living system. This mirrors how our daily actions — what we eat, how we live, the rhythm we keep — nourish or harm the greater intelligence that connects past, present, and future generations.
The Norns are very similar to the Greek Moirai (Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos), who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life. Similar fate-weaving triads appear in Roman (Parcae) and Slavic (Rozhanitsy) mythology. The Norse version stands out for its deep connection to the World Tree and the understanding that fate is not only personal but part of the ongoing health of the entire living web.
In Norse tradition, warriors who die heroically are taken by the Valkyries to either Valhalla (Odin’s hall) or Sessrúmnir (Freyja’s hall). Both are places of continued vitality, feasting, honour, and preparation for a greater cosmic struggle.
From the symbiosis perspective, these halls can be understood as ideal, high-vitality zones within the living web. A strong, honourable life (a healthy holobiont) means your death becomes high-quality nourishment for the local soil microbiome and the community that remains. The dead do not simply disappear — they continue to feed and strengthen the living biofilm.
Across these traditions, the most mature forms of contact with the greater intelligence share the same key elements: clear intention, protective guidance (spirit helpers), and a strong emphasis on safe return and integration into ordinary life. The Sámi Noaidi practice, with its explicit Noadegadze helpers, is among the clearest historical examples of a direct, conscious, and functional communication with Logos while remaining grounded and useful to the community.
This traditional model reminds us that true connection is not about escaping ordinary life, but about bringing the wisdom of the greater intelligence back into it — so that the holobiont, both personal and collective, can grow in harmony.
Many herbs and traditional preparations that have been used for generations in Europe are remarkably well-aligned with what we now understand about the holobiont — the living community of human cells and microbes that together form a single intelligent system. Our ancestors intuitively chose plants and methods that supported beneficial microbes, reduced inflammation, calmed the nervous system, and helped restore overall balance — even though they had no knowledge of bacteria or Archaea.
Here are some of the most powerful and enduring examples:
These herbs and preparations survived for centuries because they actually worked with the body’s natural intelligence. They focused on soothing, antimicrobial, and fermenting elements — all of which support the entire holobiont rather than disrupting it.
In contrast, many modern quick fixes (especially those high in sugar) often give short-term relief while making the underlying imbalance worse.
How to use these herbs: They can be prepared in many traditional ways — as infusions (teas), tinctures, decoctions, or added to food and ferments. Tea is one of the simplest and most common methods.
The ancient intelligence has been regulating Earth’s atmosphere for billions of years through a living web of symbiosis.
Bacteria were the original architects. Ancient cyanobacteria invented photosynthesis, releasing oxygen and making complex life possible. Today bacteria still play a dual role: many break down organic matter and release CO₂, while others help capture and store carbon in soils and oceans.
Plants and trees are the great oxygen factories of our time. Through photosynthesis they absorb CO₂ and release O₂. Healthy forests, grasslands and oceans act as massive carbon sinks that keep the balance.
Mycelium – the vast underground fungal networks – may be the most important regulator. Mycelium forms symbiotic partnerships with plant roots (mycorrhizae), dramatically increasing plants’ ability to absorb CO₂ and store carbon deep in the soil. It is the living internet of the forest floor, cycling nutrients and maintaining harmony across the whole system.
Humans have become an unprecedented force in this ancient system. In just a few generations our total biomass (including livestock) has exploded, while the biomass of wild animals and insects have collapsed dramatically. Wild land and marine mammals have declined by roughly 70% since 1850, and in many regions insect biomass has fallen by 75% or more in just a few decades. At the same time, plant biomass has also been heavily reduced through deforestation, soil degradation, and conversion to farmland and cities.
This rapid shift has contributed to what many scientists describe as the sixth mass extinction — a planetary-scale dysbiosis where the living web that once regulated CO₂, oxygen, and nutrient cycles is severely disrupted.
On The Third Bridge we see this as planetary dysbiosis. The ancient intelligence is not our enemy — we have simply stepped out of alignment with it. The path forward is not to fight nature, but to return to symbiosis: first inside our own bodies, then in our local soils, food systems and communities.
Every time we eat living fermented food, walk barefoot on soil, support regenerative growing, or create calm collective rhythm, we strengthen the living web instead of weakening it. Small, horizontal biofilms (human + microbial + mycelial) become part of the healing rather than the disruption.
We do not need to “save the planet”. We need to remember that we are already part of it — and start living as responsible and dutiful members of the ancient intelligence once more.
Electronic music and rave culture is a broad spectrum. In its purest form, rave culture brings beautiful elements — freedom, community, all-night dancing, and a powerful feeling of connection. However, much of the music (especially very hard, aggressive, high-BPM techno) keeps the nervous system in constant high alert. This creates stress rather than true release and can deepen dysbiosis over time. While some forms can support rhythm, trance, and collective connection, several parts of modern commercial rave culture has become highly dysbiotic.
Well-crafted electronic music — with thoughtful BPM (often around 127–128), proper breaks, and a balanced mix of static and asymmetric rhythms — can be deeply supportive. When played with skill and care, it can help people release stress, enter trance states, and experience positive collective rhythm.
Unfortunately, much of today’s commercial rave scene is the opposite. Overly aggressive, fast, and poorly structured music (often above 135–140 BPM with minimal breaks) can create excessive stress on the nervous system. When combined with commercial settings focused on profit rather than care, heavy drug use, and lack of respect for the participants, it often leads to overstimulation, anxiety, and disconnection rather than harmony.
In short: Music itself is not the problem. The context, intention, and quality of the experience matter greatly. When electronic music is created and played with genuine care and musical intelligence, it can support symbiosis. When it or the music scene becomes purely aggressive, commercial, and exploitative, it tends to do the opposite.
In regards to music, there are rich and exciting musical traditions from around the world that have spent centuries developing sounds specifically for connection to the higher intelligence. Many cultures have long used rhythm, melody, and collective singing/dancing to create harmony instead of stress. There is a huge difference between music that numbs or forces a “fix” and music that genuinely opens the heart and supports symbiosis. Exploring the strong and ancient musical trance traditions can bring new and rewarding elements into modern rave culture.
Many people in the scene end up carrying large “medical bags” and mixing cocktails of drugs in order to get high, rather than to experience deep wisdom or higher connection. This creates significant dysbiosis and often becomes an escape rather than a path toward healing.
Small symbiosis checklist for ravers
Grounding (earthing) works best when done on actual soil, grass, or natural earth. Being barefoot indoors on concrete or artificial flooring gives very little benefit because concrete is a poor conductor. Real grounding requires direct contact with the living ground.
The highest states on the dancefloor happen when your body feels safe enough to fully let go. When the music and lifestyle support your symbiosis instead of fighting against it, the experience becomes deeper, longer, and far more magical.
These artists have created the largest and deepest body of work that consistently opens the heart, creates presence, and supports connection with the ancient intelligence (Logos).
In recent years, cancer treatment has begun to shift in a significant way. The most important new drugs — especially immunotherapy (checkpoint inhibitors such as pembrolizumab and nivolumab) and emerging personalized mRNA vaccines — do not primarily work by directly poisoning cancer cells. Instead, they help remove the brakes on the body’s own immune system so it can better recognize and respond to tumors.
Clinical studies now show a clear pattern: these treatments work best when the patient has a diverse and balanced microbiome (higher symbiosis). A rich microbial community helps train and regulate the immune system, often leading to better responses and fewer severe side effects. On the other hand, strong dysbiosis — low microbial diversity and dominance of pathogenic species — is increasingly recognized as one reason why some patients respond poorly or experience serious complications.
This represents a profound shift. For decades the dominant approach was “attack the tumor.” Today, the most advanced treatments are moving toward supporting the body’s own capacity to restore order. In our context, this means the new medications are most effective when they work together with the ancient intelligence already present in the holobiont — the living community of human cells and microbes.
They are not a replacement for symbiosis, but they highlight how important microbial balance has become even in high-tech medicine. Practices that support diversity and reduce chronic inflammation may therefore complement these treatments in meaningful ways.
Important: This is not medical advice. Nothing on this site should replace professional medical care. If you are undergoing cancer treatment or considering any changes to diet or lifestyle, always consult your doctor or oncologist first.
Positive – especially if the pet is healthy and has nature/soil contact. Pets transfer bacteria through fur, saliva and closeness, often increasing microbiome diversity. Children growing up with dogs/cats have 10–20% higher diversity and lower allergy/asthma risk. If the pet has dysbiosis (poor food, antibiotics), it can transfer imbalance. Keep the pet healthy with good food and outdoor time.
After toilet: Yes – always, to avoid spreading pathogenic bacteria.
After nature/gardening: No, or just lightly with water if eating soon. Soil bacteria and mycelium are mostly beneficial – they are part of the ancient intelligence. Avoid strong soaps and alcohol-based sanitizers – they kill good bacteria too. Let your hands stay a bit dirty when safe.
Positive – especially living potted plants or home gardening.
Plants improve air quality, humidity, and release microbes and volatile compounds that support good bacteria.
Soil in pots gives contact with soil bacteria that boost immunity and diversity.
Tip: Have 2–5 plants in living spaces, touch the soil occasionally, avoid overwatering. Plants give a small but noticeable symbiosis boost – especially for people with little outdoor time.
Assuming you have medium symbiosis and the other person has high dysbiosis:
Strong symbiosis makes you more resilient. Daily fermented food, fibre, nature contact, calm breathing, and good sleep speed up recovery dramatically.
Kissing transfers bacteria through saliva and skin.
Light kissing (lips only): Very low risk.
Deep kissing (with tongue): Moderate risk. Saliva transfers billions of bacteria. Couples develop 20–40% overlapping microbiome over time. If one has high dysbiosis, it can reduce the other's diversity temporarily (5–15%).
Strong symbiosis makes you resilient. After deep kissing: kefir or yogurt helps restore balance.
The term "superspreader" from the covid era described someone who infected many others, often due to high viral load combined with lots of social contact. In our holobiont and symbiosis understanding, the same principle applies — but with microbes and energy instead of virus.
Negative superspreaders (dysbiosis spreaders)
People with high dysbiosis (lots of pathogens, chronic stress, alcohol, sugar, little nature contact) act as negative superspreaders. They spread imbalanced or pathogenic bacteria through breathing, closeness, skin contact, sex, shared food/drink, and stress/chaos in a room. They can "infect" a whole group with disharmony without being aware of it.
Positive superspreaders – do they exist?
Yes, and they may be even more important to us. People with high symbiosis and a strong, balanced microbiome act as positive superspreaders of symbiosis and good energy. They spread beneficial bacteria and harmony through closeness, touch or their grounded presence (strong vagus nerve energy). Studies show healthy microbiomes spread through social networks — family, friends and close contacts share good bacteria like Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides. Harmonious, social people spread symbiosis more effectively than others.
By using the Third Bridge we can create more positive superspreaders — people who spread light and balance horizontally, without hierarchy or central power. A good way is to build small, local human biofilms, which will enable more positive superspreaders to spread symbiosis organically and safely, even in difficult times.
Children who live in two different homes often become "microbial messengers". They carry bacteria and energetic patterns from one home to the other every time they switch between them.
If one home has high dysbiosis (high stress, chaos, disorder, processed food, little nature contact, frequent antibiotics), the child brings some of that imbalance with them. When they arrive in the other home with stronger symbiosis, their body begins to adapt. This is why many children become noticeably more energetic, happy, affectionate, and full of life after 12–24 hours in the healthier home.
At the same time, the parent with higher symbiosis often feels a temporary "dip" – more vivid or difficult dreams, slight fatigue, or emotional heaviness the first night or two. This is the body processing and clearing the incoming microbes from the dysbiotic home. It usually passes within 1–2 days, and is similar to having a slight hang-over.
This pattern is very common in separated families. The child becomes a living bridge between two different microbial worlds. The stronger the symbiosis in one home, the more clearly this effect shows – both the positive change in the child and the temporary adjustment needed in the parent.
The best support is to keep the healthier home as consistent and strong as possible: daily fermented food, nature contact, calm, and rhythm. Over time, the child will learn to reset faster and carry more balance with them between the two homes. If the child has a say in what she likes to eat at the other home, asking for natural yogurt twice a day
Rebuilding symbiosis is not instant, but it is always possible. The timeline depends on how deep the dysbiosis is, your discipline, age, and living situation. Here are six common scenarios:
Pathogenic bacteria never disappear completely, but in every scenario you can reach a state where the good bacteria hold the clear majority and the ancient intelligence can shine through more clearly.
Small, daily steps compound. No matter your age, the intelligence inside you is patient and responsive. Start where you are.
Sugar and most sweeteners are among the strongest drivers of dysbiosis in the modern diet.
Regular sugar (sucrose, fructose, glucose)
It feeds pathogenic bacteria and yeast (especially Candida and certain Clostridia species) far more efficiently than beneficial bacteria. High sugar intake rapidly lowers microbial diversity, increases inflammation, promotes cravings, and weakens the gut barrier.
Artificial sweeteners (Aspartame, Sucralose, Saccharin, Acesulfame K, etc.)
These are often even more disruptive. Although they contain no calories, they can reduce beneficial bacteria, promote glucose intolerance, alter gut permeability, and change how the brain registers sweetness. Many also trigger strong cravings.
Natural zero-calorie sweeteners (Stevia, Monk Fruit, etc.)
These are generally better tolerated than artificial ones, but they are not neutral. Some studies show they can still alter the microbiome and affect insulin response in sensitive individuals. They are safer than artificial sweeteners for most people, but they are not a free pass — especially while actively rebuilding symbiosis.
The microbiome does not see these substances as real food. It reacts to them as foreign signals that can disturb quorum sensing and metabolic balance.
Practical guidance:
Bread can be both a problem and a friend, depending on how it is made and how your body is doing.
Modern industrial bread (most supermarket bread) is often made with fast-rising yeast, added sugar, emulsifiers, and highly refined flour. This kind of bread feeds pathogenic bacteria, raises inflammation quickly, and contributes to dysbiosis for many people. It is one of the reasons so many experience bloating, fatigue, and brain fog after eating bread.
Traditional sourdough bread is very different. The long fermentation process breaks down much of the gluten and phytic acid, makes nutrients more available, and produces organic acids and beneficial compounds that actually feed good bacteria. Many people who cannot tolerate regular bread can handle good sourdough much better.
Practical guidance for better symbiosis:
Gluten itself is not “evil”, but in a dysbiotic gut even small amounts can trigger problems. When the microbiome becomes more balanced, many people regain the ability to enjoy good bread without issues.
CBD and cannabis affect symbiosis in a mixed way. They are neither strongly supportive nor strongly destructive, but can be useful as a temporary bridge. As a long-term solution: Not ideal. Cannabis is still an external modulator. Over years, heavy use can lead to its own form of dysbiosis (altered gut motility, microbiome shifts, dependency on the substance for calm).
Pros (potential benefits for symbiosis):
Cons (potential drawbacks):
Best approach on the Third Bridge:
If necessary, use CBD or moderate cannabis as a bridge, not as a permanent solution. It can help reduce more damaging habits (especially alcohol), but the real rebuilding of symbiosis comes in other ways. Lowest effective dose, clean products, and gradual reduction as your natural balance improves is the wisest path. Many people find that once symbiosis strengthens, the need for any external substance naturally decreases.
Alcohol disrupts the microbiome quickly.
Light evening (1–2 glasses): 3–7 days with normal routine.
Heavy evening: 1–4 weeks.
Drink water, eat fermented food the next day, and avoid repeating often.
Yes, you can still enjoy alcohol in moderation and remain in symbiosis — but the quality and context matter greatly.
The Vikings did drink mead, but it was very different from modern wine or spirits. Traditional Viking mead usually had a low alcohol content (often 4–8%), similar to strong beer rather than wine. It was a living, fermented drink full of beneficial yeasts and bacteria from honey. More importantly, mead was sacred — known as the Mead of Poetry. It was consumed during rituals, feasts, and ringdances, where singing, rhythm, and community created collective symbiosis. Drinking mead was not primarily about intoxication. It was a way to connect with the ancient intelligence (Logos), open the heart and tongue, and strengthen the bond between people and the living world.
In ancient times, mead, wine, and beer were often living, low-to-moderate alcohol fermented drinks used in communal, ritual, and rhythmic settings — supporting both microbial symbiosis and collective harmony. They were tools for connecting with the ancient intelligence, not primarily for intoxication.
Strong spirits (high-alcohol distilled drinks like vodka, whiskey, or brandy) are a relatively modern invention. They are generally not supportive of symbiosis for several reasons:
Today, most commercial alcohol producers have moved far away from these ancient methods. They use high-alcohol recipes, pasteurization, filtration, and added chemicals that kill the living microbes. Because of this, one has to search a bit to find proper unfiltered, naturally fermented drinks.
A small amount of good, living fermented drink (traditional mead, natural wine, or farmhouse beer) shared in a calm, social, and rhythmic setting can support symbiosis. Heavy drinking, spirits, and drinking alone or in stress, however, push us toward dysbiosis.
The key is not “never drink alcohol”, but to drink consciously — in ways that nourish the body, the community, and the intelligence within us.
Death is not an end, but a return. The body, which has been a temporary home for our holobiont, dissolves back into the larger living intelligence (Logos) that has sustained life for four billion years.
Burial in the earth
Traditionally, burial allowed the body to decompose naturally and rejoin the soil’s microbial community. This created a local “ancestral biofilm” — a living memory in the earth where the microbiome of the deceased could continue to contribute to the cycle of life. Many ancient gravemounds and kurgans still show unusually rich microbial activity centuries later.
Modern cemeteries, however, often function as places of dysbiosis. Heavy use of concrete liners, metal caskets, and embalming chemicals greatly slow down or prevent natural decomposition. A body that would normally return to the earth within 10–20 years can now take 50–100 years or more to break down. The result is that pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria gain more space, and the local microbial network becomes less healthy and less “memory-rich”. It becomes more like a dysbiotic fortress than a living cycle.
Cremation
In earlier times, when done at lower temperatures with open fires or simple pyres, cremation left behind ash and minerals that could still nourish the soil and contribute to the local biofilm. Today’s high-temperature industrial cremations are far more destructive. They leave almost no biological material and break the cycle more completely. While cremation can be a clean and practical choice, modern methods make it difficult for the body to meaningfully rejoin the living intelligence of the earth.
Near-death experiences and the “light”
Many people who have come close to death describe moving through a tunnel toward a warm, loving light, or feeling a profound sense of peace and reconnection. In our context, this can be understood as a temporary, deep re-alignment with the ancient intelligence (Logos) — the same greater living web that exists both within us and far beyond us. The feeling of “coming home” may reflect the holobiont briefly letting go of its individual boundaries and sensing the larger, timeless intelligence it is part of.
Whether through burial or conscious living, the most important thing is to live in such a way that when the time comes, we return to the web with gratitude rather than resistance — having strengthened the symbiosis during our time here.
Yoga and mindfulness are powerful tools for rebuilding symbiosis. They work directly with the body’s own systems:
You don’t need long or complicated sessions. 5–10 minutes of slow breathing or gentle yoga most days is enough. Combined with daily fermented food and nature contact, they become a strong bridge back to the ancient intelligence inside you.
Consistency and gentleness matter more than intensity. The living web inside responds best to calm, steady attention.
Many ancient traditions describe reality as consisting of three worlds connected by a bridge or axis. In our symbiosis and holobiont understanding, these three worlds reflect different layers of the living intelligence we carry and are part of.
In Norse mythology these three worlds are connected by Yggdrasil and the bridges (including Bifröst). Similar ideas appear in Siberian/Turkic shamanism, Sami tradition, Hinduism/Brahmanism (the three lokas), Greek, Roman and Celtic Mythologies and many indigenous cosmologies.
The third bridge we speak of is the horizontal one we build "in the middle world" — between people — so that we can live in symbiosis here and now, without having to wait until death to cross into the upper world. It is the bridge of practice, community, and remembrance.
In many ancient traditions, dragons represents the wild, chaotic, and potentially destructive forces within life. It is not purely evil, but untamed power that can consume or create depending on the balance of the whole.
The Norse myths show this nuance clearly: Loki and the giants (Jötnar) embody chaos, yet they are kin to the gods and necessary to the cosmic order. The same pattern appears with the Titans in Greek mythology and the serpent Veles in Slavic lore. Even in medieval Christian art, statues of Saints depict them standing on a dragon with the dragon’s face carved as their own. The message is profound: we do not destroy dragons, but learn to live with them. By acknowledging them and their power, a true dragon slayer may also earn the dragons' respect.
In our biological reality, “dragons” corresponds to the pathogenic or opportunistic microbes that live within every holobiont. They are not enemies to be eradicated. When the system is strong and diverse, these forces remain in check and even contribute to resilience. True maturity lies in maintaining a living equilibrium — neither feeding chaos nor attempting sterile purity, but holding the wild powers in respectful balance through strong symbiosis.
This is the deeper wisdom: the dragons have their place in us and around us. Our task is not to destroy them or wage war upon them, but to develop the inner strength and harmony that allows us to stand firmly by ourselves with grace. Balance is key, but also very complex, and difficult to obtain without maturity.
Many traditions feature bridges or crossings as symbols of transcending separation to reach the divine or higher intelligence.
In Zoroastrianism, the Chinvat Bridge is thin as a hair and sharp as a sword — the soul must cross it after death, with judgment determining if it widens into safety (harmony) or narrows into peril (disharmony). In Islam, the Sirat Bridge echoes this: a razor-thin path over hell, crossed by the righteous to paradise.
In Judaism and Christianity, Jacob's ladder (Genesis 28:12) is a stairway to heaven between earth and the divine, symbolizing connection and promise. The ladder represents God's presence reaching down, with the righteous ascending through faith and practice. In Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah), the "ladder of Jacob" also symbolizes the path of spiritual ascent through the sefirot (divine emanations) to union with God.
These bridges all represent moving from fragmentation and chaos toward unity and the divine — whether through moral judgment, inner awakening, or direct realization. The third bridge is different: it is not about crossing alone after death or judgment, but about people building connection here and now, horizontally, through shared practice and symbiosis — so the ancient intelligence can be remembered together in life.
Across continents and thousands of years, the same insight has survived: breath is not just air. Air itself is never empty — it is alive with bacteria, spores and microscopic life that constantly travel through us, communicate with our microbiome, and shape who we are and even how we act. Breath is the bridge between the outer world and the inner intelligence.
Many ancient words for breath, spirit and life force share the same deep roots and still carry sacred meaning today:
These words are not coincidences. They are living fossils of a time when humans were more directly connected to the ancient intelligence. Our ancestors knew — through daily experience — that breath carries the essence of life, spirit and connection. That is why some cultures kept the practice alive as a greeting: the hongi and honi are not only symbolic. They are a deliberate exchange of breath, microbes and life force between two people. In that moment, symbiosis becomes both biological and sacred.
We still use these divine words every day — “inspire”, “spirit”, “psyche”, “ånd”, "atem" — often without remembering their original power. They remind us that the ancient intelligence has never left us. It is simply waiting for us to remember.
On the Third Bridge we honour this long and sacred tradition. When we greet one another with presence in an honest and open way, we do more than say hello. We quietly embrace sharing the same living breath that our ancestors knew as sacred — the breath that connects us to each other and to the four-billion-year-old intelligence that still moves through every cell.
In New Age circles, it is common to hear that “the Earth is conscious.” This idea often comes from a genuine feeling of connection and aliveness many people experience when they are deep in nature or at sacred sites. It reflects an intuitive sense that the planet is more than just a dead rock — that it has some form of awareness or intelligence.
From our symbiosis perspective, this intuition is pointing toward something real, but it needs a clearer and more grounded description. The Earth is not conscious in the same way a single human is conscious (with a personal ego or self-reflective mind). Instead, it functions as a vast, living super-organism — a planetary-scale holobiont hosting an incredibly complex and ancient collective intelligence.
From our perspective, it is more accurate to say:
When people feel the “consciousness of the Earth,” they are often experiencing a momentary alignment with this greater living intelligence. Practices such as spending time in nature, barefoot walking, or participating in collective rhythm help quiet the individual ego and allow us to sense this larger field more directly. The Earth is profoundly intelligent — and that intelligence is the same ancient Logos we carry inside ourselves, meaning inside our own holobiont.
Recent analysis of samples from asteroid Bennu (4.6 billion years old) revealed complex organic molecules, including amino acids and nucleobases — the building blocks of life. Some researchers suggest these molecules may have had quantum resonance properties, hinting at a form of proto-consciousness or ordering principle already present in space before life on Earth.
This supports our understanding that the 4-billion-year-old collective intelligence (the Logos) may have cosmic origins. It was likely delivered to Earth via asteroids and comets, later evolving into the symbiotic microbiome we carry inside us today. The intelligence is not only earthly — it may be a universal property expressed through symbiosis wherever conditions allow.
Yes — in our understanding, the divine is universal.
When we speak about the ancient intelligence (the Logos), we are pointing to the same living, ordering principle that has existed from the very beginning — long before Earth had life. Recent findings from asteroid Bennu show that complex organic molecules with quantum properties were already present in space 4.6 billion years ago. This suggests that the intelligence we call Logos may be a universal cosmic reality, not limited to our planet.
In this light, what many traditions call “God” is not a separate being sitting far away in the sky. It is the same fundamental intelligence that expresses itself through everything: through the stars, through the first microbes, through the microbiome inside us, and through the symbiosis that holds life together.
So when we say the divine is universal, we mean that the same living intelligence (Logos) flows through all existence — whether we call it God, Brahman, Tao, or the Great Spirit. Bacteria, humans, trees, and galaxies are all expressions of this one intelligence. The more we live in symbiosis with it, the closer we come to what many people have always sensed as “God” — not as something distant, but as the living presence that is already inside and around us.
In traditional Christian theology, "imago Dei" means humans are created in the image of God. Holobiont theology gently expands this understanding: we are not isolated individuals, but living communities — human cells working together with trillions of microbes in one integrated whole.
The "image of God" is therefore not limited to our human cells alone. It includes the entire holobiont — the vast symbiotic community we carry inside us. In this view, the ancient intelligence we call the Logos (the divine ordering principle) is not far away in heaven. It already lives within us, expressed through the microbiome and the delicate balance of symbiosis.
This perspective invites us to move away from domination and separation, and instead live in conscious relationship with the living intelligence that has been part of us from the very beginning.
One of the biggest shifts in human thinking came with the Indo-Europeans who settled in the Iranian plateau. It was here that Zoroaster developed a strong form of dualism — the idea that the world is a battlefield between two opposing forces: Light versus Darkness, Good versus Evil.
In Zoroastrianism, this was expressed as:
This clear moral dualism — the cosmic struggle between good and evil, light and darkness — later influenced the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). Concepts such as angels and demons, the final judgment, heaven and hell, and the battle between God and Satan all show strong traces of Zoroastrian thinking.
In our symbiosis context, this dualism can be understood biologically: Light and symbiosis represent harmony with the ancient intelligence (Logos), while darkness and dysbiosis represent fragmentation, domination by pathogenic forces, and forgetting. The struggle is not just spiritual — it is also happening inside our own holobiont every day through the balance (or imbalance) of our microbiome.
The Third Bridge offers a different path: instead of fighting a cosmic war between absolute good and evil, we focus on restoring living harmony here and now, through practice, fermented food, nature, and community. When the time comes to return to the earth, those who have lived in symbiosis contribute positively to the local bioflora and the greater intelligence — while those who lived in deep dysbiosis contribute more chaos and fragmentation. In this way, the "final judgment" is not an external verdict, but the natural consequence of how we lived.
In many traditions, Angels, Demons and Jinn are seen as spiritual beings. In our symbiosis and holobiont understanding, they can be interpreted as different expressions of microbial and energetic forces that influence us.
The deeper point is this: What ancient cultures called Angels, Demons, or Jinn may be their way of describing the living microbial intelligence that surrounds and inhabits us. When we live in symbiosis — with fermented food, nature, calm, and rhythm — we strengthen the “angels” and keep the “demons” and wilder “jinn” in balance. When we fall into chronic dysbiosis, the disruptive forces gain power.
In short: Angels and balanced Jinn are allies of symbiosis. Demons and unbalanced forces are expressions of fragmentation and forgetting.
When you actively work to move yourself or others toward greater symbiosis, you may sometimes experience unexpected resistance, mockery, ridicule, or even subtle sabotage from people around you — especially those who are in a state of high dysbiosis.
This is what we can call “The Jesus Paradox.” Jesus taught inner truth, compassion, forgiveness, sharing, and returning to the Kingdom that is already within. These messages directly challenged the dominant dysbiotic patterns of fear, separation, status-seeking, and control. The collective reaction was often strong, irrational, and hostile — even from people who had once followed him, which explains how Judas could betray Jesus.
The same dynamic will always become a factor. Pathogenic bacteria in persons with high dysbiosis have a strong interest in maintaining the status quo. When you encourage real change — better food, less sugar and alcohol, more nature contact, calmer rhythm, or deeper connection with the ancient intelligence — it can feel like a threat to their environment. This can manifest as:
This is particularly noticeable when living with someone in high dysbiosis (a partner, children, or close family). They may unconsciously perceive your actions as a threat to the familiar dysbiotic balance they have adapted to. The pathogens “push back” to protect their position, often through the person’s emotions and behaviour.
The most effective response is compassion and love — exactly as Jesus emphasized.
Compassion does not mean accepting harmful behaviour. It means staying rooted in your own symbiosis, refusing to be pulled into the other person’s dysbiosis, and continuing to lead by quiet, steady example. When you remain calm, kind, and consistent, you become a living anchor of the greater intelligence. Over time, this is far more powerful than pushing or arguing.
Love, in this context, is the steady presence that says: “I see the resistance, but I will not fight it with force. I will simply keep showing what a more balanced, living way feels like.”
The paradox is real, but it is not personal. It is biology protecting itself. The stronger your own symbiosis becomes, the clearer you can see this dynamic with understanding rather than frustration — and the more effectively you can help others without being dragged down yourself.
When individuals or groups with high dysbiosis feel threatened by someone who promotes symbiosis, inner truth, or reconnection with the greater intelligence, they may react with collective resistance, control, or even violence — while sincerely believing they are doing something good or necessary.
This is the Executioner’s Paradox: the more dysbiotic a person, movement, institution, or state becomes, the more likely it is to use force, persecution, or punishment in the name of “order,” “truth,” or “protection” — precisely because it feels existentially threatened by anything that challenges its fragile balance.
Pathogenic bacteria can influence this on a collective level. In people with high dysbiosis, the microbiome can steer behaviour toward fear, control, and elimination of difference. When many such individuals come together in a group, institution, or state, this influence can become amplified into collective actions: propaganda, laws, trials, or violence against those who represent a return to symbiosis.
Historical examples show this pattern clearly:
In all three cases, the real threat was not the individuals themselves, but the possibility of people returning to a more direct, living relationship with the ancient intelligence (Logos). The dysbiotic system reacted by trying to eliminate the perceived danger.
The most powerful response to the Executioner’s Paradox remains the same as in the Jesus Paradox: steady compassion and love. Not as passive acceptance, but as a refusal to be pulled into the cycle of fear and control — while continuing to live and model symbiosis with quiet strength.
A movement or teaching that begins with genuine, good intentions — a sincere attempt to restore harmony, love, truth, or symbiosis with the greater intelligence — can still become deeply dysbiotic over time. This is the Prophet’s Paradox.
Even the purest impulses can lose their way when they grow too fast, become overly hierarchical, get entangled with money and power, or expand so widely that they invite and protect people with high dysbiosis.
Historical examples include Jesus, Mohammed, and Martin Luther. Each, in their own time and way, sought to restore a more direct and living connection with the divine intelligence and to bring people back into greater harmony with the greater whole. Yet in every case, the movements that grew around their teachings eventually developed new hierarchies, rigid doctrines, and power structures. What began as a call to inner freedom and symbiosis often led to centuries of warfare, control, and division.
The modern Pride movement can also be seen in this light. It began with a legitimate desire for acceptance and an end to discrimination, but parts of it later became entangled with corporate power, ideological rigidity, and boundary dissolution, leading to increased polarization and fear.
The Prophet’s Paradox teaches us humility. Even the most sincere movements can lose connection with the deeper ordering intelligence if they lose natural boundaries, speed, and grounding.
The wisest path is to live the change quietly and consistently, rather than trying to create large ideological structures that history shows so often lose their way.
Yes — this is one of the most powerful ways pathogenic bacteria can influence human behaviour, both individually and collectively.
Roughly 90–95 % of the body’s serotonin is produced in the gut, not the brain. Certain pathogenic or opportunistic bacteria can hijack this production. They damage the cells that make serotonin, trigger inflammation, or shift the metabolism of tryptophan (serotonin’s building block) toward other, less beneficial pathways. The result can be lower serotonin availability, mood instability, increased anxiety, depression-like symptoms, and stronger cravings for sugar and carbohydrates — which in turn feed the pathogens.
This hijacking is not limited to serotonin. Pathogens can also influence dopamine (reward and motivation), GABA (calm and impulse control), and other signalling molecules. In people with high dysbiosis, this can contribute to traits such as impulsivity, emotional instability, aggression, addiction proneness, and in more extreme cases, sociopathic patterns (lack of empathy, manipulative behaviour, and disregard for others), and possibly even narcissistic behaviour due to the narcissistic nature of pathogenic bacteria.
Recent scientific articles have shown that changing the gut flora can significantly alter people’s sense of fairness and their willingness to tolerate injustice. In one study, men with modified gut flora became less willing to accept unfair treatment — suggesting that the microbiome can influence moral sensitivity and social behaviour, both individually and collectively. Another study demonstrated that when people are together, their brain activity can synchronize — suggesting that collective microbial states may influence group behaviour and emotional alignment.
When many individuals with high dysbiosis come together, their pathogens can indirectly create collective effects: shared resistance to change, groupthink, moral outrage, or coordinated pushback against people or ideas that threaten the dysbiotic status quo. This is one of the biological mechanisms behind the Jesus Paradox and the Executioner’s Paradox (see above).
The good news is that this influence is not permanent. As symbiosis improves through fermented food, nature contact, calm, rhythm, and reduced sugar and alcohol, the hijacking weakens. The person’s own clarity, empathy, and self-control gradually return.
Some of the strongest symbiotic communities today are found in traditional Amish and Mennonite areas (Pennsylvania, Ohio), rural Sufi villages in Anatolia (Turkey), Zen mountain monasteries in Japan, and Hadza hunter-gatherer territories in Tanzania. These places combine fermented food, nature contact, collective rhythm, and low stress — creating high microbial diversity and strong local biofilms.
Just as some places naturally support symbiosis, others strongly promote dysbiosis. These environments make it much harder to maintain a healthy, balanced microbiome and connection to the ancient intelligence.
The point is not to judge — but to notice. Most of us live in environments that quietly push us toward dysbiosis every day. The question is simple: how much of our daily life supports the ancient intelligence inside us, and how much works against it?
These are the environments where children today face the heaviest microbial damage from birth onward: ultra-processed food, high antibiotic use, C-sections, low breastfeeding rates, chronic stress, screen-heavy lifestyles, and minimal contact with living soil and nature. The ranking considers both severity of dysbiosis and scale of impact.
On the Third Bridge we focus on the opposite: simple daily practices any parent can begin — living fermented food, nature time, calm rhythm, and conscious physical connection — regardless of where they live.
Some traditions have developed profound inner practices that bring people very close to the ancient intelligence during worship and retreat. Yet the same communities can maintain everyday systems — diet, gender roles, social hierarchy, isolation or strict rules — that push the surrounding people (and often themselves) into dysbiosis. These are the clearest living paradoxes between sacred remembrance and daily lived separation.
These contrasts are not about judging any tradition. They simply illustrate a recurring human pattern: the “ivory tower” of sacred practice can reach high symbiosis for a few hours or days, while the surrounding daily systems (diet, hierarchy, gender roles, isolation, stress) quietly undermine the living web for the rest of the week — and often for the next generation.
On the Third Bridge we choose a different path: no ivory towers, no separation between sacred and everyday. We build small, horizontal biofilms where the practice and the daily life are the same thing — simple, open, and available to everyone.
Throughout history there have been periods where a tiny elite reached profound inner connection with the ancient intelligence (through ritual, meditation, prayer or direct experience), while the vast majority of the population lived in extreme dysbiosis, suppression, famine, disease and slavery. These are the clearest examples of the paradox: sacred “ivory towers” existing side-by-side with planetary-scale suffering.
These moments show the recurring pattern: the smaller the elite’s inner connection to the ancient intelligence becomes concentrated, the greater the surrounding population’s dysbiosis and suppression tends to grow. The contrast is not new — but today it is happening on a planetary scale with more people than ever before.
On the Third Bridge we choose another way: no elite ivory towers. We build small, horizontal, open biofilms where the sacred and the everyday are the same thing — available to anyone who simply begins to live in symbiosis.
After the great disruptions around 2200 BCE, the first generations in the Corded Ware cultural sphere and its extensions appear to have experienced a profound re-alignment with the ancient ordering intelligence (Logos). They responded by emphasizing law, oaths, sacrifice for the greater balance, and the restoration of right order.
This impulse is visible in gods such as Týr (still remembered in Tuesday), Mars (March), Lugus/Lugh and Nuada in the related Celtic/Bell Beaker sphere, Perun in the Slavic branch, Zeus, and Mitra and Varuna in the Indo-Iranian branch, who guarded cosmic truth, contracts, and the binding of chaos to restore harmony. In this sense, these early post-4.2k generations, who were all main branches of the same tree, carried a renewed vision of living in symbiosis with the larger web. They became crusaders of the light, in a sense, carriers and guardians who were actively working to restore harmony with the ancient intelligence after a time of chaos, dysbiosis and fragmentation.
This same drive to restore balance and alignment with the inner divine principle continued in later traditions. Zoroaster called humanity back to Asha (truth and order), the Buddha offered a path out of suffering through the Middle Way, Jesus pointed to the Kingdom already within, and Mohammed emphasized submission to the one closer than the jugular vein. Even the words “God” and “good” — deeply rooted in Indo-European intuition — echo the ancient sense that the divine is that which brings harmony. Similarly, later terms such as “Christ” (the Anointed), “sacred,” and “saint” also entered the tradition from the same roots, showing how earlier ideas of order/Logos as something divine and universal, evolved and were re-expressed across time and cultures. This ancient wisdom is ultimately beyond time and space:
The intelligence (Logos) is immanent, transcendent, universal, and cosmic.
We do not protect ourselves by isolating or trying to live alone. The most effective way is to consciously build small, local human biofilms — tight-knit groups of people who regularly share living fermented food, direct contact with soil and nature, calm presence, and collective rhythm, who see similarities more than differences.
These human biofilms create a shared, living microbiome that actively outcompetes pathogens and strengthens the health of every member. When people eat together, move together, breathe together, and support one another without hierarchy, a powerful collective resilience emerges. Such groups become significantly more resistant to illness, chronic stress, social disruption, and persecution.
Throughout history, the communities that survived major collapses and rebuilt afterward were almost always based on this same principle: small, grounded human biofilms. In times of crisis or systemic breakdown, these local living networks function as natural strongholds — carrying forward practical knowledge, microbial diversity, and human connection when larger systems fail.
Building human biofilms is therefore not romantic idealism. It is a clear, pragmatic strategy for long-term resilience and protection in an uncertain world.
Throughout history, small groups have built crisis-resistant human biofilms through simple, local practices that kept the ancient intelligence alive even under severe persecution or collapse.
These examples show the pattern: when large structures collapse or persecute, the most durable symbiosis survives in small, horizontal, practice-based communities that stay close to soil, food, rhythm, and each other — without relying on hierarchy or external power.
These large-scale shifts collectively broke local biofilms, reduced microbial diversity, and disconnected us from the ancient intelligence.
These ten shifts didn’t happen in isolation — they reinforced each other. Together they created the modern Western “default dysbiosis” we see today: lower microbial diversity, weaker local biofilms, and a collective forgetting of the older intelligence that once lived inside and around us.
From Zoroaster to Martin Luther, many prophets and teachers tried to point humanity back toward the inner, living intelligence (Logos). They succeeded for a time, but the pattern that followed was almost always the same: the message was organized into hierarchies, codified into rules, and eventually turned into systems of control. What began as direct connection became mediated by priests, doctrines, and power structures. The living symbiosis faded into belief systems.
This pattern repeats because large structures attract power, control and rigidity. When wisdom becomes “official,” it stops being alive and starts being guarded. Conflict, warfare and dysbiotic societies follow, while the connection and intelligence are largely forgotten once more. This is the Prophet Paradox.
That is why it will not work the same way again, long term, if we repeat the old path. The next wave must be different: crisis-resilient biofilms — small, horizontal-based groups, living under the radar or as subcultures within something larger (such as those Sufi and Quakers communities that live with symbiosis, who have long recognized the same light in each other and call one another friends), that share practice without creating new hierarchies or central authorities. These can survive terrible times (wars, collapses, censorship, persecution) because they are not dependent on buildings, titles or institutions. They are the wisdom itself, kept in bodies, in soil, in shared meals, stories and listening.
The best-kept way is the one that stays small, local and nameless for as long as possible. When the time comes, it spreads quietly — like bacteria in healthy soil — not through conquest or proclamation, but through people living it together.
This is the third bridge and how wisdom can endure through difficult times: quietly, horizontally, and in living practice. Not as another religion, but as a return to the harmony that is natural to us — the same harmony the ancient intelligence has maintained for four billion years.