Read Online The Living Universe by Duane Elgin - Free Book Online Page B

conclusion is that our own universe may have been birthed this way out of a black hole in another universe. He explains:
    If one universe exists, then it seems 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 join a “baby” universe to its “parent.” 39
    The insight that there could be many universes evolving through time is not recent. Philosopher David Hume noted in 1779 that many prior universes “might have been botched and bungled throughout an eternity [before our universe].” 40 A growing number of cosmologists are now suggesting a universe evolves like other living systems—by passing along favorable characteristics to their offspring: “Universes that are ‘successful’ are the ones that leave the most offspring.” 41 Many cosmologists now consider our universe to be one of many universes, all existing within a vastly larger universe that is sometimes called the “Meta-Universe” or “Master Universe” or “Multiverse.” 42 I give this a friendlier name and call the generative source and sustainer of all the island universes the “Mother Universe.”

An Integrative View from Science
    When we bring together these findings from science, an extraordinary picture begins to emerge: Our universe is a profoundly
unified
system in which the interrelations of all the parts determine at every moment the condition of the system as a whole. Our universe is permeated and sustained by an unimaginably immense amount of flowing
energy;
it is being
continuously regenerated
in its entirety while making use of a knowing capacity or
consciousness
throughout. The universe appears to have
freedom
as a fundamental property of the quantum foundations as well as the ability to
reproduce
itself by using black holes as wormholes for creating a new cosmic system.
    Combining these key characteristics, we can now see the whole-systems logic of the definition given in the introduction:
A “living universe” is a unified and completely interdependent system that is continuously regenerated by the flow-through of phenomenal amounts of life energy whose essential nature includes consciousness or a self-reflective capacity that enables systems at every scale of existence to exercise some freedom of choice
. The universe also has other characteristics of living systems such as the ability to reproduce itself via black holes that provide the seed instructions for growing new cosmic systems.
    Because the universe appears to meet each of the key criteria for “aliveness,” current scientific evidence points toward the conclusion that the universe is a living system. While these combined properties do not prove the universe is a living system, they point clearly in that direction. Because our universe embodies core properties that are common to living systems, from a scientific perspective, it seems compelling to explore the universe as a unique kind of living system.
    We have explored a scientific definition of the universe as a living system. Now we turn to consider how that connects with us as human beings. How is our understanding of who we are and the journey we are on transformed by living in a living universe?

Part Two

Who Are We?

Chapter 3
Spirituality as Intimacy with a Living Universe
    At bottom, the whole concern of religion is
with the manner of our acceptance of the universe
.
    â€”W ILLIAM J AMES
    Who
we are depends directly upon
where
we are. Are we an inseparable part of a greater aliveness? Or are we a small speck of life that is surrounded by a vast sea of deadness? How do the world’s wisdom traditions view the universe and our relationship to it? Do they see this world as a place of