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The Living Universe

Page 21

by Duane Elgin


  necessary relationships for existence of, 27

  life force, foundation of existence, 117–119

  life forms, alien, 215–216

  lifestyles

  changing to earth-friendly, 176

  of simplicity, 172–176

  light, nature of, 98–102

  Linssen, Robert, a skilled meditator’s view of the world, 73

  living, sustainable, 175, 178

  Living One, recognizing the, 111

  location, where are we, 2

  logic, whole systems of a “living universe,” 55

  love

  and awareness, 105–108

  impact and enduring power of, 170–172

  Luthr Standing Bear, Lakota teachings, 76

  Majarj, Sri Nisargadatta, your existence in the universe, 69

  mass media, the collective mirror of, 179–184

  Master Universe. See Mother Universe

  matter

  dark, 22–24, 202

  designing, 28

  maturity, testing our, 143

  meditation

  Buddhist, 72–73

  experiencing flow, 108

  feedback and, 48–49

  practicing intense, 5

  meditations

  on becoming beings of light, 194

  on building a universe, 190

  with conscious aliveness, 192–193

  on knowing, 194

  on living in harmony with others, 194

  looking into space, 191–192

  on love, 194

  on our invisible self, 191

  practing flow consciousness, 193

  reality surfing, 193

  with reflective consciousness, 192

  visualizing ourselves as giants, 190–191

  Merton, Thomas, impact of life events on the soul, 113

  Meta-Universe. See Mother Universe

  mindfulness, balance between concentration and, 150

  mindsets, evolving, 6–7

  miracles, American Indian lore’s three, 19

  mirror

  of consciousness, 148

  mass media as an effective social, 179–184

  Mitchell, Edgar, observing the entire universe from space, 11

  mold, slime, 44–45

  molecules, primary perception of, 44

  Mother Universe

  description of God, 86

  existence of a, 54

  key attributes of, 89–90

  superspace, 85

  movements, retrofitting for a sustainable future, 177

  Muhammad, teachings of, 66–68

  Muir, John, nature’s peace, 10

  Multiverse. See Mother Universe

  music, body of, 102–105

  Muslims, teachings of Muhammad in the Koran, 66

  Nag Hammadi, ancient texts, 64–65

  NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), SRI psychic research project, 6

  Native Americans, the Golden Rule of, 146

  nature

  consciously reconnecting with, 134–135

  self-organizing system’s paradoxical, 112

  the torus found throughout, 121

  Navajo, view of the universe, 76

  Nimay, Mikhail, Book of Mirdad 166–167

  non-locality, instant communication, 36–37

  Norbu, Namkhai, Tibetan Buddhist teacher, 72

  occasionalism, continuous rebirth of the universe, 66–67

  Ohlones (San Francisco to Monterey Bay), view of the universe, 76

  OM, “sound body,” 104–105

  opportunity, narrowing the economic disparities between wealth and, 168–169

  origins, birth of the universe, 83–84

  Palamas, Gregory, absorbing the wisdom within light, 99

  panentheism, contemporary Western philosophy of, 79–80

  paradigms

  changing, 7

  Newtonian vs. quantum physics, 52–53

  perception of a dead universe, 7–8

  replacing consumerism with ephemeralism, 174

  particles, communication between subatomic, 36–37

  patterns, dynamic stability of the torus, 120

  perception

  extrasensory, 26

  primary, 43

  perspective

  the big picture, 134

  of a living universe, 211–212

  our relationship with the universe, 14–15

  See also paradigms

  Planck distance, cosmic scale of human existence, 21

  Planck length, measure of, 202

  Planck, Max, on consciousness, 43–44

  plants, communication between, 45, 209

  Plato

  living by the golden mean, 172

  on music and the universe, 104–105

  pleasure, consumerism vs. relationships, 13–14

  Plotinus

  philosophical teachings of, 78

  the universe, 117

  poets, early Persian, 67–68

  Pope John Paul II, creatio continua, 65

  potentials, remote viewing and sending, 47

  “power of now,” view of the universe, 81

  Prabhasvara, clear light, 100–101

  Prince Ashoka, compassionate rule of, 171–172

  principle, the quantum, 37

  progress, relationship between simplicity and, 173

  psychokinesis, experiments with, 49–50

  Puthoff, Harold and Russell Targ, psychic research experiments at SRI, 48

  Pythagoras

  the cosmos, 10

  the human race, 159

  Quakers (Society of Friends), idea of inner light, 99–100

  quantum theory, 41–42

  quantum vacuum, reality of the, 85

  questions. See conversations

  racism, healing the wounds of, 168

  Radin, Dean

  psi research analysis, 26

  remote viewing, 47

  reality

  fabric of, 42

  surfing, 153

  reconciliation

  with future generations, 169

  the process of, 168

  regeneration, continuous, 29, 39

  relationships, fundamental wisdom, 146–147

  religions

  during the axial ages, 144–147

  reconciliation of the world’s, 168

  reproduction, black holes, 53–54

  research, psychic, 48

  revolution

  the agricultural, 137–138

  the industrial, 78–79, 137–138

  rituals, the Last Supper, 211–212

  Rumi

  on light, 100

  poetry of, 107

  Sufi leader and Persian poet of the thirteenth century, 67

  view of Mother Universe, 88

  Sagan, Carl, view of our universe, 84

  scale

  our place in the cosmic, 25

  Planck, 21–22

  videos on the powers of “ten,” 217

  Schelling, Friedrich, philosophical teachings of, 78

  Schimmel, Annamarie, life’s journey, 93

  Schroedinger, Erwin, barriers in quantum theory, 41

  science, the meta-universe in, 84–86

  Scott-Maxwell, Florida, knowing yourself, 109

  Self

  encounters with your cosmic, 110–111

  our sense of, 94–96, 185–186

  self-awareness, our sense of, 93

  self-image

  collective, 3

  of a maturing species, 161–162, 165–166

  sentience

  basic, 43

  consciousness of the universe, 46–47

  separation, humanity’s journey of, 134–138

  Shabistari, Mahmud, poetry of, 67–68

  Shao, description of Mother Universe, 87

  Shintoism, the Golden Rule of, 146

  Shiva, cosmic dance of, 70

  shortages, energy, 139–140

  Sikhism, the Golden Rule
of, 146

  simplicity, living a lifestyle of, 172–176

  size, humans in the Cosmic Scale, 21

  slime mold, single cell consciousness, 44–45

  Smith, Huston, on Hindu religious thought, 69

  society, journey of awakening, 131

  song-line, individual, 103

  Sorokin, Pitirim, The Ways and Power of Love, 170–172

  soul

  existence of a, 215

  identity, 94–96

  impact of life events on the, 113

  knowingness, 109–110

  unique signature of thoughts in our, 97

  “Sound,” Kabir, 103–104

  space

  designing, 28

  empty, 38–39, 41

  space-time, fabric of, 24–25

  species

  balancing human needs with the earth’s biosphere, 169

  the cosmic nature of our, 163–166

  a maturing, 161–162

  SRI

  participation in “futures group,” 5

  psychic research conducted at, 6, 47–48

  stars, engineering, 28

  stories

  miracle of the universe, 128

  passing along wisdom, 13

  suffering, healing, 170

  Sufism

  essense of God, 106–107

  Islamic doctrine of, 67–68

  superspace, theory of, 84–85

  surfing, reality, 153

  Suzuki, D.T., Zen scholar, 73

  Swimme, Brian

  our sense of self-awareness, 93

  persisting pattern of the universe, 42

  systems

  cosmic information, 28

  of the cosmos, 31

  crisis of whole, 3

  living, 34–35, 38–39, 54–55

  self-organizing, 119–123

  Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu), 74

  clear light, 101

  Taoism

  the Golden Rule of, 146

  “Great Tone of Nature,” 104

  Lao tzu’s description of Mother Universe, 87

  view of the world, 73–74

  wisdom of simplicity, 172

  Targ, Russsell and Harold Putoff, psychic research experiments at SRI, 48

  technology, exposing injustice in all parts of the world, 170

  temperature, zero point, 38–39

  tension, creative, 104–105

  test, our supreme, 138–140

  texts, the Nag Hammadi, 64–65

  The Encyclopedia of Religion, love and wisdom traditions, 105–106

  The Gospel of Thomas

  the Kingdom of God, 109

  light in the teachings of Jesus, 99

  recognizing ourselves, 110

  teachings of the living Jesus, 64–65

  The Ways and Power of Love (Sorokin), 170–172

  theism, vs. atheism, 201

  theories

  the Big Bang, 24–25, 27

  continuous creation of the cosmos, 40, 204–208

  a dead universe vs. a living universe, 39–42

  non-locality, 36–37

  number of dimensions of the universe, 24

  quantum, 41–42

  quantum foam, 41–42

  the quantum principle, 37

  superspace, 84–85

  Tiru-Mular, poetry of love in the Middle Ages, 107

  Toba catastrophe, 135–136

  tools, animal use of, 46

  torus

  in Nature, 121

  significance of, 120

  Toynbee, Arnold, Law of Progressive Simplification, 173

  traditions, wisdom. See wisdom traditions

  training, cosmic feedback, 50–52

  tribal peoples, indigenous view of the universe, 75–77

  truth-telling, planetary, 182

  Tzu, Lao, Tao Te Ching, 73–74

  universe

  acknowledging a non-living, 7

  Biblical references to creation of the, 61–63

  composition of the, 23

  contrasts between a dead and a living, 30-31

  daughter perspective, 90–91

  definition of a living, 12

  evolution of the Cosmic Feminine, 143

  exploitation of the dead, 9

  friend or foe, 2–3

  invisibility of the, 22–24

  as a living system, 55

  music of the, 104

  rate of expansion of the, 27

  views of various religious groups on the, 61–77, 81, 99–100

  wisdom traditions, 59–60

  Upanishad, Chandogya, Hindu teachings of, 69–70

  vacuum, quantum, 85

  Vedas

  Hindu scripture, 68

  sound of Brahman, 104

  vibrations, music of the universe, 104

  videos, powers of “ten,” 217

  viewing, remote, 47, 48–49

  views, dead vs. alive universe, xii

  virus, a living or non-living entity, 34

  Voluntary Simplicity (Elgin), 6

  warfare, psychic, 48

  Watts, Alan, Zen scholar, 73

  wealth, narrowing the economic disparities between opportunity and, 168–169

  Western thought, impact of, 77–80

  Wheeler, John

  quantum foam theory, 41–42

  the quantum principle, 37

  theory of superspace, 84–85

  Whitehead, Alfred North, “occasions of experience,” 79

  Whitman, Walt

  colorless light, 101

  the divine in nature, 19

  Wiener, Norbert, pattern of the universe, 42

  Wilson, E.O., biophilia, 10

  wisdom

  culture, 143

  harvesting the human experience, 80–82

  using stories to pass along, 13

  wisdom traditions

  the Golden Rule in, 145–146

  sacred meaning and knowledge, 109

  spirituality and the universe, 86–89

  theme of light in, 98–102

  views of the universe, 59–60

  womb, cosmic, 89–90

  world

  intense interdependence of the, 182

  solidity of the matrial, 97–98

  wormholes, relationship to black holes, 53–54

  wounds, healing through reconciliation, 169–170

  Wright, Frank Lloyd, belief in God, 11

  Yung-chia, Zen view of the universe, 88

  Zen

  becoming centered, 73

  Buddhist wisdom traditions from the Lanbkavatara Sutra, 88

  zero point, background energy, 38–39

  Zimmer, Heinrich, Hindu cosmology, 70

  About the Author

  DUANE ELGIN is an internationally recognized visionary, speaker, and author. He earned his MBA from the Wharton Business School and then an MA in economic history from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2001 he was awarded an honorary PhD for work in “ecological and spiritual transformation” from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. In 2006 Elgin received the Goi International Peace Award in recognition of his contribution to a global “vision, consciousness, and lifestyle” that fosters a “more sustainable and spiritual culture.”

  In the early 1970s Elgin worked in Washington, D.C., as a senior staff member of a joint Presidential-Congressional Commission on the American Future. He then moved to California to work as a senior social scientist with the think tank SRI International, where he co-authored numerous studies on the long-range future. With Joseph Campbell and a small team of scholars, he co-authored the report that later became the book Changing Images of Man (1982). He co-authored other major reports as well: Anticipating Future National and Global Problems (for the President’s Science Advisor), Alternative Futures for Environmental Policy (for the Environmental Protection Agency), and Limits to the Management of Large, Complex Systems (for the National Science Foundation).

  Seeing the challenges ahead,
Elgin left SRI in 1977 to focus on writing and non-partisan organizing of citizens around issues of media accountability and citizen empowerment. Elgin’s first book was published in 1981: Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich (3rd edition, forthcoming). This pioneering book is recognized as a classic in exploring more sustainable and meaningful ways of living. The idea of a living universe was at the foundation of his next book, Awakening Earth: Exploring the Evolution of Human Culture and Consciousness (1993). This is a big-picture overview of the evolution of human consciousness, both personal and social, from awakening hunter-gatherers to the modern era and then into the deep future. Elgin’s third book, Promise Ahead: A Vision of Hope and Action for Humanity’s Future (2000), explored the “adversity trends” and the “opportunity trends” that were converging at that time; it suggested ways the human family could avoid an evolutionary crash and instead realize an evolutionary leap forward. Elgin has also contributed chapters to sixteen books, and published more than seventy articles on subjects ranging from social transformation and simplicity to media accountability and a living universe.

  Elgin has been researching the theme of a living universe for the past twenty-seven years, and elements of his work have been published in scholarly journals. In 1988 he published the lengthy article on the cosmology of a reflective and regenerative universe:

  “The Living Cosmos: A Theory of Continuous Creation,” for the journal Revision. His article, “The Paradigm of a Living Universe,” was published in the Journal of World Futures (2000) and presents a scholarly summary of his cosmology. Two of his books—Awakening Earth and Promise Ahead—included chapters on the theme of a living cosmos. The Living Universe brings these years of inquiry together for the first time.

  In addition to decades of scholarship, Elgin also brings forty years of meditation and inner inquiry to his exploration of a living universe. He has been inspired by all of the world’s wisdom traditions, especially Buddhist, Quaker, Gnostic Christian, and Hindu. Elgin has also had extensive experience with psychic research in a scientific setting. For nearly three years in the early 1970s he was one of four primary subjects who participated in numerous experiments funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to explore our intuitive potentials. These experiments were conducted at SRI International, where Elgin worked doing futures research. Results from these experiments (notably, remote viewing) have been published in major scientific journals. A portion of Elgin’s work is described in the scientific paper by Puthoff and Targ, “A Perceptual Channel for Information Transfer over Kilometer Distances,” published in the proceedings of the prestigious I.E.E.E. (1976). His work is also described in their book Mind-Reach: Scientists Look at Psychic Ability (1977).

  As a speaker, Elgin has given more than 250 keynotes and workshops with audiences ranging from business executives and civic groups to college students and religious organizations. Common topics are “the world at the tipping point,” “sustainable and meaningful ways of living,” “the living universe,” and “four arche types for imagining a promising future.” A series of online courses is available through his website. Elgin has also co-produced short streaming videos for the Internet that look at key aspects of the human journey. His videos, courses and extensive writing are available on his website:

 

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