For millennia, the world’s wisdom traditions have taught us that all life is interconnected. In the past few decades, quantum physics has confirmed that the universe exists not as discrete chunks of matter, but as an unbroken mesh of interconnected energy, portions of which we perceive as matter. If we could see with electron microscope eyes, we would see that the boundaries between our bodies, our possessions, the air we breathe, and the spaces we inhabit are not rigid, but fluid. Ultimately, we are all made of the same stuff.
It strikes me, therefore, as the height of arrogance to believe that our brains – microscopic specks in relation to the universe – could contain consciousness, but that the greater matrices of which our minds are a part – the Earth, the universe – would be senseless and inert.
Part of this arrogance may stem from the fact that the conventional understanding of consciousness is deeply entangled with a sense of continuity: we perceive life to be a fundamentally uninterrupted sequence of experiences by an individual organism. Every moment is appended to those that came before it. The universe, being boundless and infinite, seems to have no such limitations. Freed from the shackles of a singular viewpoint, every moment begins anew.
I suspect that this continual renewal is not limited to the big picture. It is comforting to think that each instant of our lives is an opportunity to begin anew, to realign our flow with that of the cosmos, and – by healing ourselves – to heal the universe.
It is a pleasure to get these posts. I can very much empathize with your feelings on social media. I have weened myself way back. My notifications have been stuck at 99 for months. I’m not sure if it was bad timing or other factors that prevented us from doing lunch before, but would still love to. I think we share a very similar intent, if not path. Please drop me an email sometime. Take care.