The Universe is in Us

I simply can't get enough of this video. It's been a couple weeks since this video has been posted and is almost up to 2 million views! Of course whenever a video like this gets posted and shared there are some which bring up religion into the conversation. And that's okay, it's very human of us to see, reflect, and respond through our own specific personal view. That's the reason why I shared this video on my Facebook page and here as well. It echoes what is important to me.


 (Via Unreasonable Faith)

This video is not commenting on religion, God, or faith but the reflection of one astrophysicist, one fellow human being on our relationship to each other and the universe. Whether you believe in evolution or intelligent design is not important, what is astounding is the FACT that we are connected to each other. This astounding fact of our interconnection is what has guided me as a human being, a father, a husband, and neighbor more so than any other belief system. Of course the background music makes the video that much more beautiful.

My spirituality is not based on any religious background but on the sheer experience of being. I don't follow a creation myth nor do I have an infallible book with an infallible god to back up my spirituality. But as a very fallible human being with very fallible human thoughts I seek only to eat, drink and be merry. I travel through this life to love, be loved, and not prevent love for anyone else. Videos like these remind me that even if you and I don't share the same beliefs or views we share the same origin at the atomic level. Some theist would say that we are built with a drive to seek God, I would say that we have an inner drive to seek each other, to seek connectedness. You can see that by simply following the trend of people switching to smartphones to stay connected with the world (and yes I work for one of those smartphone companies). How can we ignore our global interconnectedness to neighbors suffering halfway around the world, or even down the street, when we have the world pouring into our living rooms through our TVs and phones? We can't ignore it. Those who want the good ole' days when gays, Muslims, and Atheists were out of sight out of mind will never reach their goal. The space between ourselves and our neighbors is evaporating and unless you're willing to live in a community out in the country secluded from the wilds of an increasingly interconnected world then have at it, the world is not going to go back to a time with less diversity and interconnectedness. But we can have so much more, we can be so much more, by accepting the fact that we are connected to and need each other.

Now that I finish this post I remember I posted a similar video (with the same exact title) back in September 2010 here. It was exciting then and now.

Beauty

Enjoy! The video says it much better than I ever could.



(via Unreasonable Faith)

So This is the Begat

Every time I watch or listen to Alan Watts speak on reality I feel completely and utterly unraveled afterwards. I can never get enough of Alan Watts, or I should say I can never get enough of The Begotten.



My favorite quote: "Life is a bridge, pass over it but build no house upon it." Although I'm unsure about the source of the quote it has been attributed to Jesus (Isa), son of Mary on the Victory Gate at the Fathepur Sikri Mosque in India. It bears some similarity to the Christian relationship of being in the world but not of the world. The difference being that mainstream Christians are waiting for a glorious Hereafter whereas the Eastern concept brought up by Alan Watts is of experiencing the infinite Now without trying to hold onto it.Everything is constantly moving, changing, evolving so don't cling to it. This is why I'm constantly being drawn to the book of Ecclesiastes, which describes the impermanence of Reality as vapor. You can't grab a hold of it and keep it in place, so why try? Breathe in reality, live in harmony with its flow, be IN the world but not OF the world. Am I the only one who goes coco nuts over this? The constant flowing, reshaping, and overwhelming abundance of creativity of Reality/Life itself draws me in like moth to flame. I ramble on and on trying to come up with words to describe the experience of awe when realizing the immensity of  ____ until I realize both the futility and creativity of Naming the Unnameable.

Enjoy the dance of life but don't lean on it. Breathe it in but don't hold your breath.

Science Saved My Soul

Unreasonable Faith, how I love thee.

They recently shared this 15 minute gem entitled Science Saved My Soul. A must see video on the grandeur and overwhelming beauty of the universe. It makes you feel microscopic until you realize your relationship to it All. Absolutely breathtaking.



My favorite line:

Stars have died, so that I could live. I stepped out of a supernova. And so did you.

This video is in the same vein as the Atheist Spirituality videos I stumbled upon last Spring. I use the term spirituality in a non-supernatural sense to describe the awe of and connectedness to the universe.

Happy Powers of 10 Day! 10/10/10

Today is a day to sit back and increase our perspective of the world around us. Powers of 10 day is inspired by the 1968 film by Charles and Ray Eames, The Powers of Ten, a magnitude roller-coaster which takes us from the edge of the universe to the guts of a proton by factors of 10. Please excuse the lack of 21st century special effects.


Here's a similar, more modern clip from the Imax film Cosmic Voyage.



Still feel like we're the center of the universe? It would seem like an awful waste of creative energy if the cosmos was created merely for our enjoyment or to show off the glory and power of a monotheistic god. The universe just is, and we are a part of it just as much as it is a part of us.

The Universe Is In Us

I can't think of anyone else who gets me ecstatic about the cosmos as much as astrophysicists, Neil deGrasse Tyson. Every time he's on the Daily Show or on a History Channel documentary he lights up whenever he talks about the majesty and grandeur of the universe.



This clip is taken from a final "sermon" on cosmic perspective he closed with at the Beyond Belief conference in 2006. There is another interesting related video which also uses this clip to help explain what Atheists may celebrate. Darwin's birthday perhaps?