by Duane Elgin
Institute
of Noetic Sciences, Dec. 2000 - Feb. 2001
There
was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene.
Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. It is the mother of
the universe.
--Tao Te Ching
I
believe that the most far-reaching trend of our times is an emerging shift in
our shared view of the universe—from thinking of it as dead to experiencing it
as alive. In regarding the universe as alive and ourselves as continuously
sustained within that aliveness, we see that we are intimately related to
everything that exists. This insight—that we are cousins to everything that
exists in a living, continuously regenerated universe—represents a new way of
looking at and relating to the world and overcomes the profound separation that
has marked our lives. From the combined wisdom of science and spirituality is
emerging an understanding that could provide the perceptual foundation for the
diverse people of the world to come together in the shared enterprise of
building a sustainable and meaningful future.
Fundamental
shifts in perception happen slowly, are subtle, and often seem inconsequential
or even go unnoticed by the majority of people living through them. Yet such
shifts amount to nothing less than revolutions in our sense of ourselves, our
relationships with others, and our view of the universe. Only three times in
human experience has our view of reality been so thoroughly transformed.
The
first transformation occurred when humanity “awakened” roughly 35,000 years
ago. The archeological record shows that the beginnings of a reflective
consciousness emerged decisively at this time as numerous developments were
occurring in stone tools, burial sites, cave art, and migration patterns.
Because we were just awakening to our capacity for “knowing that we know,”
we were surrounded by mystery at every turn. Nonetheless, human culture was born
in these first glimmerings of personal and shared awareness.
The
second time our view of reality and human identity changed dramatically was
roughly 10,000 years ago when our ancestors shifted from a nomadic life to a
more settled existence in villages and farms. Midway during the agrarian period,
roughly 5,000 years ago, we saw the rise of city-states and the beginnings of
civilization.
The
third time that our perceptual paradigm transformed was roughly 300 years ago,
following the scientific revolution, when the stability of agrarian society gave
way to the radical dynamism and materialism of the industrial era. Each time
that humanity’s prevailing paradigm has changed, all aspects of life have
changed with it, including the work that people do, the ways they live together,
how they relate to one another, and how they see their role in society and place
in the universe.
We
are now living at a time when humanity’s perceptual paradigm is again
undergoing one of its rare shifts, and that shift has the potential to
dramatically transform life for each of us. A paradigm shift is much more than a
change in ideas and how we think. It is a change in our view of reality,
identity, social relationships, and human purpose. A paradigm shift can be felt
in the body, mind, and soul.
At
the heart of the new paradigm is a remarkable idea: Our cosmos is not a
fragmented and lifeless machine (as we have believed for centuries) but is
instead a unified and living organism. Although it is new for our times, the
idea that the universe is alive is an ancient one. More than two thousand years
ago, Plato described the universe as “one whole of wholes” and “a single
living creature that encompasses all of the living creatures that are within
it.” What is unprecedented is how this notion is being informed today by both
modern science and the world’s diverse spiritual traditions (see sidebar:
“The Mother Universe”).
Less
than a hundred years ago, when Einstein was developing his theory of relativity,
he considered the universe a static, unchanging system no larger than the cloud
of stars we now know to be our galaxy. Today, we know that the universe is
expanding rapidly and contains at least a hundred billion galaxies, each with a
hundred billion stars, or more. Our cosmos embodies an exquisitely precise
design. Researchers have calculated that if the universe had expanded ever so
slightly faster or slower than it did (even by as little as a trillionth of a
percent), the matter in our cosmos would have either quickly collapsed back into
a black hole or spread out so rapidly that it would have evaporated.
It
is reasonable to assume that if our cosmos were alive it would exhibit specific
properties characteristic of all life—unity, regeneration, freedom, sentience,
and a capacity for self-reproduction. These in fact are among the properties of
our universe emerging from the frontiers of modern science.
1. THE COSMOS IS A
UNIFIED SYSTEM.
Physicists once viewed our universe as composed of separate fragments.
Today, however, despite its unimaginably vast size, the universe is increasingly
regarded as a single functioning system. Because other galaxies are millions of
light years away, they appear so remote in space and time as to be separate from
our own. Yet experiments show that things that seem to be separate are actually
connected in fundamental ways that transcend the limitations of ordinary space
and time. Described as “nonlocality,” this is one of the most stunning
insights from quantum physics.
Although
scientists working in this domain hold divergent views about the implications of
quantum mechanics for our everyday lives, physicist David Bohm says that
ultimately we have to understand the entire universe as “a single undivided
whole.” Instead of separating the universe into living and nonliving things,
Bohm sees animate and inanimate matter as inseparably interwoven with the
life-force that is present throughout the universe, and that includes not only
matter but also energy and seemingly empty space. For Bohm, then, even a rock
has its unique form of aliveness. Life is dynamically flowing through the fabric
of the entire universe.
Our
home galaxy—the Milky Way—is a swirling, disk-shaped cloud containing a
hundred billion or so stars. It is part of a local group of nineteen galaxies
(each with a hundred billion stars), which in turn is part of a larger local
supercluster of thousands of galaxies. This supercluster resembles a giant many-petaled
flower. Beyond this, astronomers estimate that there are perhaps a hundred
billion galaxies in the observable universe (each with a hundred billion or so
stars). Scientists and spiritual seekers alike ask the question: If this is a
unified system, then could all this be but a single cell within a much greater
organism?
2. THE COSMOS IS
CONTINUOUSLY REGENERATED.
For decades, the dominant cosmology in contemporary physics has held that
creation ended with the Big Bang some fourteen billion years ago and that, since
then, nothing more has happened than a rearranging of the cosmic furniture.
Because traditional physicists think of creation as a one-time miracle from
“nothing,” they regard the contents of the universe—such as trees, rocks,
and people—as being constituted from ancient matter. In sum, the dead-universe
theory assumes creation occurred billions of years ago, when a massive explosion
spewed out lifeless material debris into equally lifeless space and has, by
random processes, organized itself into life forms on the remote planet-island
called Earth.
In
striking contrast, the living-universe theory proposes that the cosmos is
completely recreated at each moment, and is maintained, moment-by-moment, by an
unbroken flow-through of energy. Imagine the cosmos as the vortex of a tornado
or a whirlpool, as a completely dynamic structure. David Bohm calls the universe
an “undivided wholeness in flowing movement.” In this view, our universe has
no freestanding material existence of its own. The entire cosmos is being
regenerated at each instant in a single symphony of expression that unfolds from
the most minute aspects of the subatomic realm to the vast reaches of thousands
of billions of galactic systems.
It
overwhelms the imagination to consider the size and complexity of our cosmos
with its billions of galaxies and trillions of planetary systems, all partaking
in a continuous flow of creation. How can it be so vast, so subtle, so precise,
and so powerful? “We are not stuff that abides, but patterns that perpetuate
themselves; whirlpools of water in an ever-flowing river,” states the
mathematician Norbert Wiener. Physicist Max Born adds: “We have sought for
firm ground and found none. The deeper we penetrate, the more restless becomes
the universe; all is rushing about and vibrating in a wild dance.” Physicist
Brian Swimme tells us, “The universe emerges out of an all-nourishing abyss
not only twelve billion years ago but in every moment.”
3. THE FOUNDATION
OF THE COSMOS IS FREEDOM.
Traditional physicists have seen the cosmos as being like a clockwork mechanism
locked into predetermined patterns of development. By contrast, the new physics
maintains that the cosmos has the freedom and spontaneity to grow in unexpected
ways. Uncertainty is so fundamental that quantum physics describes reality in
terms of probabilities, not certainties. No one part of the cosmos determines
the functioning of the whole; rather, everything seems to be connected with
everything else, weaving the cosmos into one vast interacting system. Everything
that exists contributes to the cosmic web of life at each moment, whether it is
conscious of its contribution or not. In turn, it is the consistency of
interrelations of all the parts of the universe that determines the condition of
the whole. We therefore have great freedom to act within the limits established
by the larger web of life within which we are immersed. A living universe is a
learning system in which we are free to make mistakes and to change our minds.
“Through us, the universe questions itself and tries out various answers on
itself in an effort—parallel to our own—to decipher its own being,” writes
the philosopher Renée Weber.
4. CONSCIOUSNESS
IS PRESENT THROUGHOUT.
Consciousness, a capacity for feeling or knowing, is basic to life. If the
universe is alive, we should therefore find evidence of some form of
consciousness operating at every level. Renowned physicist Freeman Dyson writes
about consciousness at the quantum level: “Matter in quantum mechanics is not
an inert substance but an active agent, constantly making choices between
alternative possibilities. . . . It appears that mind, as manifested by the
capacity to make choices, is to some extent inherent in every electron.” This
does not mean that an atom has the same consciousness as a human being, but
rather that an atom has a sentient capacity appropriate to its form and
function. Dyson thinks it is
reasonable to believe in the existence of a “mental component of the
universe,” and, if so, “then we can say that we are small pieces of God’s
mental apparatus.” While it is stunning to consider that every level of the
cosmos has some degree of consciousness, that seems no more extraordinary than
the widely accepted view among scientists that the cosmos emerged as a pinpoint
some twelve billion years ago as a “vacuum fluctuation”—where nothing
pushed on nothing to create everything.
5. THE COSMOS IS
ABLE TO REPRODUCE ITSELF.
A remarkable finding from the new physics is that our cosmos may very well be
able to reproduce itself through the functioning of black holes. In his book In
the Beginning: The Birth of the Living Universe, astrophysicist John Gribbin
proposes that the bursting out of our universe in the Big Bang may be the
time-reversed mirror image of the collapse of a massive object into a black
hole. Many of the black holes that form in our universe, he reasons, may thus
represent the seeds of new universes: “Instead of a black hole representing a
one-way journey to nowhere, many researchers now believe that it is a one-way
journey to somewhere—to a new expanding universe in its own set of
dimensions.” Gribbin’s dramatic conclusion [reflecting the work of many
physicists and cosmologists] is that “our own Universe may have been born in
this way out of a black hole in another universe.” He explains it in this way:
If one universe exists, then it seems that there must be many—very many,
perhaps even an infinite number of universes. Our universe has to be seen as
just one component of a vast array of universes, a self-reproducing system
connected only by the “tunnels” through space-time (perhaps better regarded
as cosmic umbilical cords) that joins a “baby” universe to its “parent.”
Gribbin suggests not only that universes are alive, but also that they
evolve as other living systems do: “Universes that are ‘successful’ are
the ones that leave the most offspring.” The idea of many universes evolving
through time is not new. David Hume noted in 1779 that many prior universes
“might have been botched and bungled throughout an eternity ere this
system.”
Is
the cosmos indeed a living system? It certainly appears so in the light of
recent scientific findings. Our universe is revealing itself to be a profoundly
unified system in which the interrelations of all the parts, moment-by-moment,
determine the condition of the whole. Our universe is infused with an immense
amount of energy, and is being continuously regenerated in its entirety, while
making use of a capacity for consciousness throughout. As an evolving, growing,
and learning system, it is natural that freedom exists at the quantum
foundations of the universe. It even appears that the universe has the ability
to reproduce itself through the vehicle of black holes. When we put all of these
properties together, it suggests an even more spacious view of our cosmic
system. Our universe is a living system of elegant design that was born from and
is continuously regenerated within an even larger universe. We are living within
a “daughter universe” that, for twelve billion years, has been living and
growing within the spaciousness of a Mother Universe. The Mother Universe may
have existed forever, holding countless daughter universes in its grand embrace
while they grow and mature through an eternity of time.
When
our cosmos blossomed into existence from an area smaller than a pinpoint some
twelve billion years ago, it emerged out of "somewhere." Modern
physics is beginning to speculate on the nature of this generative ground.
Distinguished Princeton astrophysicist John Wheeler describes space as the basic
building block of reality. He explains that material things are "composed
of nothing but space itself, pure fluctuating space . . . that is changing,
dynamic, altering from moment to moment." Wheeler goes on to say that
"Of course, what space itself is built out of is the next question. . . .
The stage on which the space of the universe moves is certainly not space
itself. . . . The arena must be larger: superspace . . . [which is endowed] with
an infinite number of dimensions." What Wheeler calls "superspace"
I am calling the "Mother Universe."
The
idea of a "superspace" or Mother Universe is not simply a creation of
theoretical physics. It is a reality that can be directly experienced and has
ancient roots in the world's meditative traditions. For example, more than
twenty centuries ago, the Taoist sage Lao-tzu described it this way: "There
was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene.
Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. It is the mother of
the universe. For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao."
Regardless
of what the Mother Universe is called, all wisdom traditions agree that it is
ultimately beyond description. Nevertheless, many attempts have been made to
describe her paradoxical qualities. Here are six of the key attributes of the
Mother Universe as described by both East and West:
•Present
everywhere. The
clear, unbounded life-energy of the Mother Universe is present in all material
forms as well as in seemingly empty space. She is not separate from us, neither
is she other than the "ordinary" reality continuously present around
us. Other universes, besides ours, grow in other dimensions of her unimaginable
spaciousness.
•Nonobstructing.
The Mother Universe is a living presence out of which all things emerge, but is
not herself filled or limited by these things. Not only are all things in her,
she is in all things. There is mutual interpenetration without obstruction.
•Utterly
impartial. The
Mother Universe allows all things to be exactly what they are without
interference. We have immense freedom to create either suffering or joy.
•Ultimately
ungraspable.
The power and reach of the Mother Universe is so vast that she cannot be grasped
by our thinking mind. As the source of our existence, she is forever beyond the
ability of our limited mental faculties to capture conceptually.
•Compassionate.
Boundless compassion is her essence. To experience the subtle and refined
resonance of the Mother Universe is to experience unconditional love.
•Profoundly
creative.
Because we humans do not know how to create a single flower or cubic inch of
space, the creative power of the Mother Universe to bring into existence and
sustain entire cosmic systems is utterly incomprehensible.
Christians,
Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Taoists, mystics, tribal cultures, and Greek
philosophers have all given remarkably similar descriptions of the universe and
the life force that pervades it. These are more than poetic and metaphorical
descriptions. Because we find the notion of a living universe emerging across
cultures and millennia as well as from modern science, there is compelling
evidence that it forms the basis of a powerful perceptual paradigm-one that will
open up enormous opportunities for the human family as we are pressed to create
a sustainable future for ourselves.
Like
any paradigm shift, the idea and experience of a living universe is
transformative. In addition to changing our view of the universe, it can alter
our sense of identity, our sense of purpose, how we relate with others. Consider
a few of its many implications:
A REBIRTH OF
CONNECTEDNESS IN ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE.
The ways American Indians perceive and experience the world is instructive.
Their culture provides a clear window into the experience of living with an
infusing aliveness that is an intimate part of everyday life. Author Luther
Standing Bear expresses the wisdom of indigenous peoples around the world when
he says for the Lakota Sioux “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 a great interest in life.”
Since a life force was felt to be in and through everything, all things were
seen as being connected and related. Because everything is an expression of the
Great Spirit, everything deserves to be treated with respect.
THE AWAKENING OF
COSMIC IDENTITY.
The industrial era paradigm assumes we are no more than biological beings,
ultimately separate from others and the rest of the universe. The new findings
from physics, however, reveal that we are intimately connected with the entire
cosmos. Our actual identity or experience of who we are is vastly bigger than we
thought—we are moving from a strictly personal consciousness to a conscious
appreciation of ourselves as integral to the cosmos.
Technically,
we humans are more than Homo sapiens
or “wise”—we are Homo sapiens
sapiens or “doubly wise.” In other words, whereas animals “know,”
humans have the capacity to “know that we know.” In this new paradigm, our
sense of identity takes on a paradoxical and mysterious quality: We are both
observer and observed, knower and that which is known. We are each completely
unique yet completely connected with the entire universe. There will never be
another person identical to any one of us in all eternity are absolutely
original beings. At the same time, since our existence arises from and is woven
into the deep ecology of the universe, we are completely integrated with all
that exists. Awakening to the miraculous nature of our identity as
simultaneously unique and interconnected with a living universe can help us
overcome the species-arrogance and sense of separation that threaten our future.
LIVING LIGHTLY IN
A LIVING UNIVERSE.
In a dead universe, consumerism makes sense; in a living universe, simplicity
makes sense. If the universe is
unconscious and dead at its foundations, then each of us is the product of blind
chance among materialistic forces. It is only fitting that we the living exploit
on our own behalf that which is not alive. If the universe is lifeless, it has
no larger purpose or meaning, and neither does human existence. On the other
hand, if the universe is conscious and alive, then we are the product of a
deep-design intelligence that infuses the entire cosmos. Our sense of meaningful
connection expands to the entire community of life, including past, present, and
future generations. Every action in a living universe is felt to have ethical
consequences as it reverberates throughout the ecosystem of the living cosmos.
The focus of life shifts from a desire for high-consumption lifestyles (intended
to provide both material pleasures and protection from an indifferent universe)
toward sustainable and simple ways of living (intended to connect us with a
purposeful universe of which we are an integral part).
LIVING WITH
PURPOSE IN A LIVING UNIVERSE.
The shift to a new paradigm also brings a change in our sense of evolutionary
purpose. We are shifting from seeing our journey as a secular adventure in a
fragmented and lifeless cosmos without apparent meaning or purpose to seeing it
as a sacred journey through a living and unified cosmos whose purpose is to
serve as a learning system. Our primary purpose is to embrace and learn from
both the pleasure and the pain of the world. If there were no freedom to make
mistakes, there would be no pain. If there were no freedom for authentic
discovery, there would be no ecstasy. In freedom, we can discover our deeper
identity and purpose within a living cosmos.
LIVING ETHICALLY
IN A LIVING UNIVERSE.
A form of natural ethics accompanies our intuitive connection with a living
universe. When we are truly centered in the life current flowing through us, we
tend to act in ways that promote the well-being and harmony of the whole. Our
connection with the Mother Universe provides us with a sort of moral tuning fork
that makes it possible for individuals to come into collective alignment. An
underlying field of consciousness weaves humanity together, making it possible
for us to understand intuitively what is healthy and what is not, what works and
what doesn’t.
This
new understanding will usher us into an era in which people will be inclined to
live ethically because they understand that everything they do is woven into the
infinite depths of the Mother Universe. When we discover that all beings are
part of the seamless fabric of creation, it naturally awakens in us a sense of
connection with and compassion for the rest of life. We broaden our scope of
empathy and concern when we realize that we are inseparable from all that
exists. We no longer see ourselves as isolated entities whose being stops at the
edge of our skin, and whose empathy stops with our family, or our race, or our
nation. We see that, because we all arise simultaneously from a deep ocean of
life-energy, a vital connection always exists among all beings.
The
living universe paradigm is not simply a lateral shift from one set of values to
another; it is a contextual shift, from one cultural atmosphere to another, from
one perceptual environment to another. It transforms the human story. After
fourteen billion years of evolution, we stand upon the Earth as agents of
self-reflective and creative action on behalf of the universe. We see that we
are participants in an unceasing miracle of creation. This recognition brings a
new confidence that our potentials are as exalted, magnificent, and mysterious
as the living universe that surrounds and sustains us.
Duane
Elgin is the author of the books Promise
Ahead, Voluntary Simplicity, and
Awakening Earth, and is the co-author
(with Joseph Campbell, Willis Harman, and others) of Changing Images of Man. He was formerly a senior researcher at SRI International. This article
is adapted from his book Promise Ahead: A Vision of Hope and Action for
Humanity’s Future published by William
Morrow. Copyright © 2000. HarperCollins, Inc.