Don't know if you're familiar, and I don't want to spoil this for others, but near the
end of Asimov's foundation series he presents an idea very similiar to this. The
characters discover a planet, and the people on this planet are part of the planet.
They recognize a planetary "consciousness", and they desire to spread there way of
life. I read this quite a while ago, so I don't remember the exact details.
It's like someone somewhere said (I'm horrible with remembering exact quotes) : "Two
humans in modern times, with huge orginizations (countries, companies, political groups,
etc.) existing and interacting, asking whether there is a greater consciousness, is like
two red blood cells discussing the existance of a higher life form."
-Paul Prestopnik