The most fundamental question facing humanity is this: At its foundations, is the universe dead or alive? In short, was Plato correct when, more than two thousand years ago, he said: “The universe is a single living creature that encompasses all living creatures within it.”
We can begin to answer this question by turning to both science and the world’s wisdom traditions. Science now regards our universe as: 1) almost entirely invisible (96 percent of the known universe comprised of invisible energy and matter), 2) completely unified and able to communicate with itself instantaneously in ways that transcend the limits of the speed of light, 3) sustained by the flow-through of an unimaginably vast amount of energy, and 4) having freedom at its deepest, quantum levels. While not proving the universe is alive, these and other attributes from science do point strongly in that direction.
When we turn to the world’s wisdom traditions and ask how they regard the universe, we find a stunning consensus that the universe is a continuously regenerated, living presence:
“God is creating the entire universe, fully and totally, in this present now. Everything God created . . . God creates now all at once.”
—Meister Eckhart, Christian mystic
“My solemn proclamation is that a new universe is created every moment.”
—D.T. Suzuki, Zen teacher
“The Tao is the sustaining Life-force and the mother of all things; from it, all things rise and fall without cease.”
—Tao Te Ching, Taoism
“God keeps a firm hold on heavens and earth, preventing them from vanishing away.”
—Islam, Koran
“Evolution presupposes creation. . . creation is an ever-lasting process—a creation continua.”
—Pope John Paul II
These quotes just begin to describe the profound aliveness of the universe as seen through the lens of the world’s wisdom traditions.
What difference does it make if the universe is dead or alive at its foundations? When children are starving, climate is destabilizing, oil is dwindling, and population is growing, why is it important to put our attention here? Here are a few reasons why aliveness makes a profound difference.
Consumerism or Simplicity? Materialism is a rational response to living in a dead universe. In a material universe, consumerism offers a source of identity and a measure of significance and accomplishment. Where do I find pleasure in a non-living universe? In things. How do I know that I amount to anything? By how much stuff I have accumulated. How should I relate to the world? By exploiting that which is dead on behalf of the living. Consumerism and exploitation are natural outcomes of a dead universe perspective. However, if we view the foundations of the universe as being intensely alive, then it makes sense to minimize the material clutter and needless busyness and develop the areas where we feel most alive—in nurturing relationships, caring communities, creative expressions, time in nature, and service to others.
Indifferent or Welcoming? If we regard the universe as dead at its foundations, then feelings of existential alienation, anxiety, dread, and fear are understandable. Why seek communion with the cold indifference of lifeless matter and empty space? If we relax, we will simply sink into existential despair. However, if we live in a living universe, then feelings of subtle connection, curiosity, and gratitude are understandable. We see ourselves as participants in a cosmic garden of life that has been patiently developing over billions of years. A living universe perspective invites us to shift from indifference, fear, and cynicism to curiosity, love, and awe.
Biological or Bio-Cosmic? Are we no more than a bundle of chemical and neurological interactions? If so, the boundaries of our being are defined by the extent of our physical body. However, in a living universe, our physical existence is permeated and sustained by an aliveness that is inseparable from the larger universe. Seeing ourselves as part of the unbroken fabric of creation awakens our sense of connection with, and compassion for, the totality of life. We recognize our bodies as precious, biodegradable vehicles for acquiring ever-deepening experiences of aliveness.
Separate or Interconnected? If we are no more than biological entities, then it makes sense to see ourselves as disconnected from the suffering of other living beings. However, if we are all swimming in the same ocean of subtle aliveness, then it makes sense that we would each have a direct experience of communion with, and concern for, the well being of others. If we share the same matrix of existence, then the rest of life is already touching me, and co-creating the field of aliveness within which I exist.
Pull Apart or Pull Together? If we see the universe as mostly barren and devoid of life, then it is natural to see our time on Earth as primarily a struggle for material existence. In turn, it makes sense that we humans would pull apart in conflict. However, if we see the universe as intensely alive and our journey here as one of discovery and learning, then it makes sense that we would pull together in cooperation in order to realize this magnificent potential.
Our view of the universe as either dead or alive creates the context within which we understand who we are and where we are going. In turn, it is vitally important that we have an accurate understanding of our cosmic home. Where a dead-universe perspective generates alienation, environmental destruction and despair, a living-universe perspective generates feelings of communion, stewardship, and the promise of a higher pathway for humanity. Although the idea of a living universe has ancient roots in human experience, it is now radically new as the frontiers of modern science cut away superstition and reveal the authentic mystery, subtlety, and aliveness of our cosmic home.
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“As to thy question whether the physical world is subject to any limitations, know thou that the comprehension of this matter dependeth upon the observer himself. In one sense, it is limited; in another, it is exalted beyond all limitations. The one true God hath everlastingly existed, and will everlastingly continue to exist. His creation, likewise, hath had no beginning, and will have no end. All that is created, however, is preceded by a cause. This fact, in itself, establisheth, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the unity of the Creator.” –Bahá’u'lláh (written before Einstein, before relativity and quantum physics)
“As regards thine assertions about the beginning of creation, this is a matter on which conceptions vary by reason of the divergences in men’s thoughts and opinions. Wert thou to assert that it hath ever existed and shall continue to exist, it would be true; or wert thou to affirm the same concept as is mentioned in the sacred Scriptures, no doubt would there be about it, for it hath been revealed by God, the Lord of the worlds. Indeed He was a hidden treasure. This is a station that can never be described nor even alluded to. And in the station of ‘I did wish to make Myself known’, God was, and His creation had ever existed beneath His shelter from the beginning that hath no beginning, apart from its being preceded by a Firstness which cannot be regarded as firstness and originated by a Cause inscrutable even unto all men of learning.
That which hath been in existence had existed before, but not in the form thou seest today. The world of existence came into being through the heat generated from the interaction between the active force and that which is its recipient. These two are the same, yet they are different. Thus doth the Great Announcement inform thee about this glorious structure. Such as communicate the generating influence and such as receive its impact are indeed created through the irresistible Word of God which is the Cause of the entire creation, while all else besides His Word are but the creatures and the effects thereof. Verily thy Lord is the Expounder, the All-Wise.
Know thou, moreover, that the Word of God—exalted be His glory—is higher and far superior to that which the senses can perceive, for it is sanctified from any property or substance. It transcendeth the limitations of known elements and is exalted above all the essential and recognized substances. It became manifest without any syllable or sound and is none but the Command of God which pervadeth all created things. It hath never been withheld from the world of being. It is God’s all-pervasive grace, from which all grace doth emanate. It is an entity far removed above all that hath been and shall be.”
–Bahá’u'lláh
“As to thy question concerning the origin of creation. Know assuredly that God’s creation hath existed from eternity, and will continue to exist forever. Its beginning hath had no beginning, and its end knoweth no end. His name, the Creator, presupposeth a creation, even as His title, the Lord of Men, must involve the existence of a servant.
As to those sayings, attributed to the Prophets of old, such as, “In the beginning was God; there was no creature to know Him,” and “The Lord was alone; with no one to adore Him,” the meaning of these and similar sayings is clear and evident, and should at no time be misapprehended. To this same truth bear witness these words which He hath revealed: “God was alone; there was none else besides Him. He will always remain what He hath ever been.” Every discerning eye will readily perceive that the Lord is now manifest, yet there is none to recognize His glory. By this is meant that the habitation wherein the Divine Being dwelleth is far above the reach and ken of any one besides Him. Whatsoever in the contingent world can either be expressed or apprehended, can never transgress the limits which, by its inherent nature, have been imposed upon it. God, alone, transcendeth such limitations. He, verily, is from everlasting. No peer or partner has been, or can ever be, joined with Him. No name can be compared with His Name. No pen can portray His nature, neither can any tongue depict His glory. He will, for ever, remain immeasurably exalted above any one except Himself.
Consider the hour at which the supreme Manifestation of God revealeth Himself unto men. Ere that hour cometh, the Ancient Being, Who is still unknown of men and hath not as yet given utterance to the Word of God, is Himself the All-Knower in a world devoid of any man that hath known Him. He is indeed the Creator without a creation. For at the very moment preceding His Revelation, each and every created thing shall be made to yield up its soul to God. This is indeed the Day of which it hath been written: “Whose shall be the Kingdom this Day?” And none can be found ready to answer!”
–Bahá’u'lláh
“I testify that no sooner had the First Word proceeded, through the potency of Thy will and purpose, out of His mouth, and the First Call gone forth from His lips than the whole creation was revolutionized, and all that are in the heavens and all that are on earth were stirred to the depths. Through that Word the realities of all created things were shaken, were divided, separated, scattered, combined and reunited, disclosing, in both the contingent world and the heavenly kingdom, entities of a new creation, and revealing, in the unseen realms, the signs and tokens of Thy unity and oneness. Through that Call Thou didst announce unto all Thy servants the advent of Thy most great Revelation and the appearance of Thy most perfect Cause.”
–Bahá’u'lláh
I recently commented on two of Duane’s blogs on the Huffington Post. Commenting again here, I feel as if I’m following him around bleating “Me too!”
I plead two excuses. I also write about science and spirituality. And my wife and I recently set up a website to communicate our work more widely. We want to spread the news about this, and also connect with and support likeminded people.
Several years ago, I published “The Science of Oneness: A worldview for the twenty-first century.” Ervin Laszlo was kind enough to contribute the following endorsement:
“This hits the nail on the head. We need a worldview that is integrated and shows that we are all parts of a greater whole – and that this view has its foundations in science, and is not mere speculation. I hope this will find the broad readership it deserves – and that we all deserve if enough people are to understand and embrace the holistic worldview to make a real difference in our crisis-wracked and dangerous unsustainable world.”
A summary of the book can be found at: http://www.humansolutionsnow.com/science-and-spirituality/about-the-science-of-oneness/overview-of-the-science-of-oneness/
I will content myself here with two short quotes, one from the Prologue and the other from the ending.
“I set out to explore what was happening at the cutting edges of science in order to create a coherent picture of the universe and our relationship to it that could form the basis of a more just, sustainable and peaceful future. What I found exceeded my wildest expectations, leading me on a personal journey that transformed my beliefs and life. Rather than the mechanical, alienating, meaningless vision of reality bequeathed to us be classical science, I found a living, conscious, interconnected, meaningful and purposeful universe of which we are co-creators. And I found a vision which resonates strongly with the beliefs and wisdom of many ancient spiritual traditions throughout the world.”
“Like many others, this book is a call to action; a call based on love and affirmation of our deepest human values. It is only by love that we can transform ourselves and the world; love, first and foremost, for our selves, flowing thence to others and the whole of creation. If we lovingly pursue our deepest meanings and values, we will transcend our present way of being, and thus resolve our deepest problems as individuals and societies, and as a species.”
Essential discussion
It is disappointing and perhaps a sad reflection on the state of 21st Century Man however that he still has to be re-assured by science of understandings which he already carries within himself, albeit seemingly unknowingly.
Put simply:
Equilibrium is such that
The key to what is inside you is outside you
The key to what is outside you is inside you
To understand the unitary nature of our universe, and it’s true nature, surely we need simply to ask the question of ourselves, be conscious of some pretty clear signals received from our sensory world and follow our universal conscience – after all we all have one (even though we often choose to ignore the fact).
Anyway, who ever suggested that the universe was “dead” in the first place?
This is another sore point of mine:
Please See
http://poetryofegalbohen.blogspot.com/search/label/Blinfolded
As it is, the real question goes far beyond whether “our” Universe happens to be alive or dead (as a matter of fact I believe it is unquestionably as” alive” as we are) as logic tells us that in order to measure our own universe (although size in this case is irrelevant) another is required, and so on.
More importantly, does Mankind have to wait for proof that he is part of a “living” universe before he decides he will start behaving responsibly?
I would suggest that a conscious change toward better behaviour on the part of Man does not require that he first understands every minutiae of the system that supports him.
Whilst such an understanding (That he a an indivisible part of a “living” universe) may encourage sooner adoption of better behaviour, that understanding in itself is no guarantee of better behaviour.
In my view it would be safer for all life in the universe if Man first learnt how to “behave” as a prerequisite to understanding what he is actually a part of.
Egal..
_
Egal Bohen
Egal,
I agree with your statements, but I believe science can clear religion and spirituality of its excess baggage, the accumulated superstitions and ignorant or purposeful dogmatic doctrines. For those who have lost sight of the essence of spirituality, science can be a clarifier and can join both mind and heart–both necessary.
“While it is true to speak of the unity of all religions, understanding of the context is vital. At the deepest level, as Bahá’u’lláh emphasizes, there is but one religion. Religion is religion, as science is science. The one discerns and articulates the values unfolding progressively through Divine revelation; the other is the instrumentality through which the human mind explores and is able to exert its influence ever more precisely over the phenomenal world. The one defines goals that serve the evolutionary process; the other assists in their attainment. Together, they constitute the dual knowledge system impelling the advance of civilization. Each is hailed by the Master as an “effulgence of the Sun of Truth”.
It is, therefore, an inadequate recognition of the unique station of Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muḥammad—or of the succession of Avatars who inspired the Hindu scriptures—to depict their work as the founding of distinct religions. Rather are they appreciated when acknowledged as the spiritual Educators of history, as the animating forces in the rise of the civilizations through which consciousness has flowered: “He was in the world,” the Gospel declares, “and the world was made by him….” That their persons have been held in a reverence infinitely above those of any other historical figures reflects the attempt to articulate otherwise inexpressible feelings aroused in the hearts of unnumbered millions of people by the blessings their work has conferred. In loving them humanity has progressively learned what it means to love God. There is, realistically, no other way to do so. They are not honoured by fumbling efforts to capture the essential mystery of their nature in dogmas invented by human imagination; what honours them is the soul’s unconditioned surrender of its will to the transformative influence they mediate.”
–the Universal House of Justice
Billy/Duane
Yes, they are very good points and I agree entirely with all the refreshing views on this page – and fervently hope the title of Duane’s article – “We are Learning to live with a Living Universe” is THE pathway that 6.9 billion other humans on our planet may be encouraged to follow!
We should all welcome the fact that the human race have reached levels of knowledge and communication, within it’s own family at least, to question the “established” religions of man, and to require a new understanding of “God”.
I agree also that “Science” will offer a pathway to which modern civilisation may be more inclined to open it’s mind to than that presented by some of the more traditional organised religions of man, which frankly need refreshing in the light of modern understandings of our structure and universal environment.
This does not mean that they should be dismissed, just openly discussed without fear of offence by any of us ( and hopefully without staring any new wars).
I must admit, I am not very good with written discussion and for that reason
I try to set out my own understanding of such situations through my poetry and would modestly offer the following three poems as a contribution to this important discussion, so ably presented by Duane’s book and your expansive comments:
http://poetryofegalbohen.blogspot.com/search/label/Science
http://poetryofegalbohen.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Religions%20of%20Man%20Part%20II
http://poetryofegalbohen.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Edge
I hasten to add, they are my own views, written to myself following a lifetime of observation and I fully accept that others hold differing positions, which I respect.
It is so encouraging however to see these subjects under open discussion on the internet and through other media and perhaps these are the signs of a new awakening, the beginning of a new age of understanding. Certainly the time is ripe.
My real concern is, that “Man”, through Science may believe that he “Knows” but “Knowing” in this sense is not the same as “Believing”.
God is like any other thing in our life
-
You have to believe in it
-
Before
( قبل)
-
You can know
_
What it is
-
To move forward, to change it’s behaviour, the Human race definitely is in need of something else, perhaps an awareness of something that we don’t yet have the words to be able to adequately describe..
Who knows? Perhaps Science is soon going to provide them?
Egal..
Yes and if its a dead Universe (ludicrous but …) we are without love, the divine force which sustains us all, and of course we are dead too. Even if I could not see the universe is alive and beyond that there are further planes of God, I would imagine it as so, as I would not live in death. I do live in love, joy, gratitude, freedom, patience, and the enormity of the concept that God is Love. As a member of the Universe and something much greater, God, I have so many friends, as All Beings are with me, in te journey of learning more about divine Love and Sugmad (God).
Love,
David Baillie
God as a Scientist: Ten Scientific Commandments.
======.
Can a Rational Individual believe in God ?
In other words:
Can God be atheist, governed by scientific laws?
Of course
Because if God exists, He/She/It would necessarily
to work in an Absolute Reference Frame and had set of
physical and mathematical laws to create everything
in the Universe.
If we find and understand this Absolute God’s House then
is possible step by step to find and understand God’s Physics
Laws, which Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, Maxwell, Planck,
Einstein and many others scientists discovered.
#
Has God known the formula: E=Mc^2 ?
If God has known the formula why HE / SHE /IT
didn’t write it in His Bible?
=========..
The people created a God.
No one knows what the external characteristics
of this God are, a God who made himself known
with the name ” I am who I am “.
Is it enough for us in the XXIc ?
Why wasn’t the formula E=Mc^2 written in the Bible?
===============. .
Each religion uses a system of symbols
(images, metaphors, ancient myths and legends ,
beautiful stories) to explain its truth.
But Bernard Shaw wisely remarked :
“ There is only one religion,
although there are a hundred versions of it.”
It means that the source of all religion is one.
And I try to prove this idea with the formulas and laws of
physics. I don’t invent new formulas. I use simple formulas
which ,maybe, every man knows from school.
Is it possible? Is it enough?
Yes. Because the evolution goes from simple to the complex.
So, in the beginning we can use simple formulas and laws.
For this purpose I explain what the first law of Universe is,
and second law is and ………..etc.
Step by step I create a logical system of the Universe.
============= . .
How can God be Scientist?
Scheme,
Fundamental Theory of Existence: Ten Scientific Commandments.
1 The infinite vacuum T=0K
2 The particle: C/D = pi, R/N= k , E = Mc^2 = kc^2 , h = 0 , i^2= -1
3 The spins: h =E/t , h =kb, h* = h/2pi
4 The photon, the inertia
5 The electron: e^2 = h*ca, E = h*f , electromagnetic field
6 The gravitation, the star, the time and space
7 The Proton
8
The Evolution of interaction between Electron and Proton
a) electromagnetic
b) nuclear
c) biological
9
The Laws
a) The Law of conservation and transformation energy/mass
b) The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle / Law
c) The Pauli Exclusion Principle/ Law
10
The test.
Every theory must be tested logically ( theoretical ) and practically
a) Theory : Dualism of Consciousness: (consciousness / unconsciousness)
b) Practice : Parapsychology. Meditation.
========.
Best wishes
Israel Sadovnik Socratus
============.
#
“God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
!
The secret of God and Existence is hidden
in the ‘ Theory of Vacuum & Light Quanta ‘.
==================================================..
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