A common assumption of the modern world is that we live in a universe comprised almost entirely of inert matter and empty space. Regarding the universe as dead at its foundations is basic to the industrial revolution: It makes sense to exploit what appears dead for the benefit of what seems most alive -- ourselves. This assumption is now being questioned as a more ancient view is reconsidered. Plato put it this way: "The universe is a single living creature that encompasses all living creatures within it."
Is the universe alive or dead? We can explore this fundamental 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 is comprised of invisible energy and matter), 2) completely unified and able to communicate with itself instantaneously in non-local 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) free 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 everlasting 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 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 material things. How do I know that I amount to anything? By how many things I have accumulated. How should I relate to the world? By taking advantage of 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 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 in a living universe 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 Inter-Connected? 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 already touches me, 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, and 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. 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.
Follow Duane Elgin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DuaneElgin
Living Universe. Origin of the Universe
Astrobiology: The Living Universe - Main Page
It's certainly possible to be a moral, ethical being while maintaining a position of strict materialism.
And certainly, if you look at those who claim to believe in a living universe - or a living presence that creates and sustains the universe - you will find just a much rampant consumerism as you will among the materialists.
The real truth is that what one believes about the universe and how one chooses to live one's life are scarcely correlated at all, statistically speaking. The Pope lives in obscene luxury. So did Osho (Bagwan Shree Rajneesh). So do many "believers" in one religious doctrine or another.
The idea of a living universe is one step backwards from the religious fantasy of an engaged mighty being taking a robust personal interest in each of our lives. Granted, the idea of a living universe is a more demur religious premise not likely to require granite edifices and legions of martyrs.
1) Is the universe unified despite its great size?
2) Is energy flowing throughout?
3) Is it being continuously regenerated?
4) Is there sentience or consciousness found at every scale?
5) Is there evidence of freedom of choice at the foundations of existence?
6) Is our universe able to reproduce itself?
This is a very challenging list of criteria for our universe to meet if we are to regard it as a living system, and these are the criteria explored in my book "The Living Universe."
Until we are actually physically present in the majority of the universe, and have observed and experienced first-hand, as a species, the experiences available within the majority of the galaxies that exist, as well as the far greater 'empty' space between the tenuous strings of galactic superclusters, we can't say ANYTHING with any authority.
Also I, and many in my circle, already experience the benefits of a 'living-universe' perspective, withOUT knowing (or caring) one way or the other if the universe is 'alive' (since the question is unanswerable at the present time).
We already focus on nurturing relationships, caring communities, creative expressions, time in nature, and service to others; easily shift from indifference, fear, and cynicism to curiosity, love, and awe for the universe we live in (dead or alive); have a sense of connection with, and compassion for, the totality of life and also recognize our bodies as precious, biodegradable vehicles for acquiring ever-deepening experiences… etc…etc...
But your speculations make for great science fiction - can be classed as dreamy meanderings of a hopeful optimist with his head in the clouds... and I have no doubt that it's pretty fun to do, especially if people pay you for it LOL :)
Also, I'm definitely not saying that altruism is possible only if one views the universe as alive! However, I am saying that an attitude of exploitation is a natural response to viewing the world around us as comprised of dead matter and empty space. If we see the universe as mostly dead stuff, then it makes sense to treat it with indifference, disregard, and little more than resources for we, the living, to use for our own benefit. From that mindset has emerged both the powerful advance of the industrial revolution and the accompanying ecological devastation of the Earth.
The logic of this view is unassailable - I wrote this poem several years ago and before such enlightened publications, such as your own, existed to support the concept.
Forgive me but now I have to read the book!
A Truth
_
The Universe is God
You did not know?
They do not tell
The Universe is God
All within it too
Including
You
Including
You
The Universe
Is
God
To God we are
As senses are to us
Yet we don't see
See that we are part
Of He
or
She
Read that again
Next
Time
More carefully
_
Egal Bohen
http://poetryofegalbohen.blogspot.com/search/label/A Truth God Universe
For you to think that operating on the assumption that the universe is 'alive' will mitigate any of the inherent selfishness and/or greed that's natural for living organisms, and definitely natural for humanity, is simplistic (couched in a seemingly complex and vast philosophical discussion).
"...the powerful advance of the industrial revolution and the accompanyiÂng ecological devastatioÂn of the Earth..." You seem to subscribe to the view that industry is 'bad' because it's 'devastated' the Earth, when in reality we humans, as naturally evolved products of nature, are behaving naturally for us - as beavers, ants, termites, locusts, disease organisms, viruses, etc... all do when THEY drastically and irrevocably alter the world around them. We have simply been more 'successful'.
You're pretty good at plugging your book though - very nice!
The solution to the religion-science gap is the realization that this dimension is there, imminent and capable of contact. The teachings of all the wisdom traditions and religions are simply the ABCs of contact by setting forth the basic attitudes to living that must precede the capacity to contact via the mind. Then, once the "life style" has reached a certain quiescence and freedom, then the mind can be disciplined to contact that consciousness-dimension, through which more advanced wisdom can flow into the individual life and the life of humanity.
LOL - you mean "...as science-FICTION is currently telling us..." - and your comment: "And at least one of those dimensions is a dimension in consciousnÂess that is beyond our current level of consciousnÂess..." is so totally unsubstantiated that I don't know why you'd even TRY to claim it's supported by science.
I also recall the words of the Sufi poet Kabir who spoke of the music of creation in his ecstatic poem, "Sound:"
The flute of interior time is played whether we hear it or not,
What we mean by "love" is its sound coming in.
When love hits the farthest edge of excess, it reaches a wisdom.
And the fragrance of that knowledge!
It penetrates our thick bodies,
It goes through walls--
Its network of notes has a structure as if a million suns were arranged inside.
This tune has truth in it.
Where else have you heard a sound like this?
I think you like what 'sounds' good, and not what is real... I'm a proponent that reality sounds far better, is more beautiful, and can lead us to become more than we are now... but not if we're distracted from serious contemplation of reality by mumbo-jumbo masquerading as 'truth'...
We can ruminate and speculate all we want, and express our opinions and demands for proof of this and that til the cows come home, but does it really get us anywhere?
When we cease to externalize the universe and instead turn our attention inward, we experience not only the infinite living grandeur of it all, we also experience a conscious understanding of how we - and everything else in existence - are a connected part of it. Everything is connected - everything.
Through turning inward we come to understand that ego - the source of our thoughts and opinions and demands for proof - is responsible for the misconception that we are somehow disconnected from the universe around us. Everything we see, everything we experience as "outside" ourselves is in fact a part of us as we are part of it. We realize that there is no "out there", there is only "in here", and in here encompasses all of existence.
With that in mind we become responsible not only for ourselves in the limited sense, but for ourselves in the expanded, universal sense. Isn't that where conscious communion and stewardship begin?
It's interesting that indigenous peoples who have maintained their traditions understand this, while we with all our scientific prowess and knowledge have forgotten it. And so many of us regard them as ignorant savages, not realizing how limited our understanding is compared to theirs.
Regarding indigenous traditions, one of my favorite quotes is from Luther Standing Bear, a Lakota elder, who said in his tradition, " there was no such thing as emptiness in the world. Even in the sky there were no vacant places. Everywhere there was life visible and invisible, and every object gave us great interest in life." This insight--that there is no such things as emptiness in the world--is now being validated by modern science that recognizes that 96% of the known universe is invisible.
Science has recognized our bodies completely replaces all its cells every 7 years so what's to prevent the zeroverse from rejuvenating itself as needed. [Plow a field and leave it to see how soon it appears flat again.] Science has also discovered there is more unseen space in our bodies than there is recognized matter, the same as existence, so that makes each of us a universe with existence being the zeroverse. [Uni means 1 but one has a negative which added to it becomes the whole or zero, existence, by my reasoning, has a time of positive manifesting all that we see and another of negative when it's nothing but ether or ashes which makes it a zero or complete verse.]
Go to http://prop1.org/protest/elijah/vision.htm#unsealed and you will see my vision of the zeroverse's cycle based primarily on the Bible and reasoning it with nature.
Yes, we are to be stewards of our resources, compassionate enough to tell the truth and just enough to save by way of the word of reconciliation.
All things that have been considered many times before by many people much brighter than we are.
We have genetic directives and we also have directives for a preexisting living Word of truth spoken many times throughout history in many ways.
Having directives of eternal truth are unrelated to having genetic directives.
Only our Maker Himself is able to salvage us with His truth (technology) because no one else can. Only He can transcribe and or translate us into His eternal kingdom.
One could say that cats are proof there is no evolution.