The idea of a living universe is not new. More than two thousand years ago, Plato said that the universe is a single living creature that embraces all living creatures within it. And Indigenous Wisdom has always held that the universe is alive. However, for the past three hundred years or so, science has viewed the universe as essentially non-living at its foundations and made up primarily of inert matter and empty space. A non-living view of the universe has led to rampant materialism and global environmental degradation. To transform our planetary crises, we need to move past a paradigm of separation and exploitation and learn to live sustainably on the Earth, in harmony with one another, and in communion with the living universe.
To align our efforts and fulfill our potentials, it is vital for the human family to find a compelling sense of direction for living and growing together. What vision of humanity’s journey has the breadth, depth, and reach to enable humanity to look beyond our many differences and galvanize our efforts in building a promising future? An integrative vision or “great story” of humanity’s journey can be summarized as: The universe is deeply alive as an evolving and learning system and we humans are on a journey of discovery within it. We are learning to live within a living universe. If we lose sight of where we are (living in a living universe) we profoundly diminish our understanding of who we are (beings of both biological and cosmic dimension) and where we are going (growing into an ever more intimate relationship with the living universe).
We cannot understand who we are or the journey we are on without first understanding the universe we are in. Our future pivots on how we answer the question whether we regard the universe as dead or alive. A growing body of evidence points toward regarding the universe as “alive” and there is a meaningful distinction between two views:
- Dead Universe View: The universe is a barren and inhospitable place that is comprised almost entirely of non-living matter and empty space. Life is extremely rare. On Earth, matter has somehow organized itself to high levels of complexity and has produced living entities. However, considered in the context of the larger universe, the human enterprise is a trivial speck. Our existence as humans appears to be pointless and without purpose, and will be forgotten. A dead universe has no memory and tells no stories. When the body dies, the “lights go out” and we disperse, leaving no trace or remnant, either physical or non-physical. What matters most is matter—material possessions, material power, material pleasure and material prestige.
- Living Universe View: In counterpoint to the dead universe perspective, this paradigm portrays the universe as buzzing with invisible energy and aliveness, patiently growing a garden of cosmic scale. It also suggests that we humans, as conscious life forms in this immensity, are very precious. We serve an important purpose for a universe growing conscious forms of life: Through us, the universe sees, knows, feels, and learns. We are learning how to live ever more consciously in a living universe. What matters most is not matter but what is invisible—the aliveness within ourselves, our relationships, and the world around us. In a single sentence, 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.
Several hundred years ago, the mechanistic and materialistic view of a non-living universe was liberating—part of the Enlightenment-born rationalism that helped humanity free itself from superstition and fear, and achieve extraordinary intellectual and technological breakthroughs. But this paradigm no longer serves human evolution. By removing aliveness from the fabric of the universe, the initial success of the materialistic perspective has ultimately led to environmental exploitation and a global ecological crisis.
Because our view of the universe creates the context within which we understand and choose our future, it is critically important that we have an accurate understanding of our cosmic home. Where a dead universe perspective generates alienation and despair, a living universe perspective generates inspiring and resilient visions of a higher pathway for humanity.
For the past three hundred years or so, science has viewed the universe as essentially non-living at its foundations and made up of primarily of inert matter and empty space. This view has led to rampant materialism and global environmental degradation. To transform our planetary crises, we need to move past a paradigm of separation and exploitation and learn to live sustainably on the Earth.
