The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.From a Living Universe perspective, our identity is much bigger than our physical bodies. Science tells us that 96 percent of the known universe is made up of invisible energy. Since we’re part of this universe, 96 percent of who we are is also invisible energy. Only four percent shows up as our physical body. We’re much more than the skin we live in. Our biological existence is woven into the larger aliveness of the living Universe.
For centuries, many cultures around the world have understood that “all is one.” Meanwhile, Western thinking has mostly seen each person as separate, confined to their physical body. This view took hold during the Scientific Revolution but is now changing. As we recognize ourselves as part of the fabric of creation, we feel more connected to and caring toward all forms of life.
Brian Swimme, who studies the cosmos, explains that the self-awareness we feel bubbling up in each moment “is rooted in the originating activity of the Universe.” We’re all “arising together at the center of the cosmos.” We’re discovering that we’re deeply connected to the ongoing creation of the Universe. We’re far more fascinating, complex, and alive than thinkers like Descartes or Newton ever imagined.
Cosmic Purpose
Being born human is a rare gift. Our bodies are like biodegradable vehicles we use to gather soul-growing experiences. After nearly 14 billion years of cosmic evolution, we’ve become the expressions of creative aliveness that allow the Universe to look back and reflect on itself.
If the Universe were dead at its foundations, we’d need a miracle to save us from extinction when we die — to carry us from here to some heavenly place where life continues. But if the Universe is alive, we’re already nested within its aliveness. When our physical body dies, our life-energy journey ends in the larger ecology of aliveness. We don’t need a miracle to save us—we’re already inside the miracle of ongoing life.
There’s an old saying: “A dead man tells no stories.” Similarly, a dead Universe tells no stories. But a living Universe is a vast story constantly unfolding, with countless characters playing out amazing dramas of awakening. We’re shifting from seeing ourselves as accidents in a lifeless cosmos to recognizing we’re on a sacred journey of discovery in a Universe rich with purpose.
Natural Ethics
If we’re nothing more than biological entities, it makes sense to think we could cut ourselves from the suffering of other living things. But if we’re all swimming in the same ocean of subtle aliveness, we’d naturally feel some connection with the larger fabric of life. Because we share the same matrix of existence, all of life is touching us and co-creating the field of aliveness we live in.
A felt sense of ethics emerges from our connection with the living Universe — like a ‘moral tuning fork.’ We can tune into the field of life and sense what’s in harmony with the well-being of the whole. When we’re in alignment, we feel a warm hum of wellbeing that we might call ‘compassion.’ We can also feel when something is off-key or discordant. As we recognize we can contribute to the unfolding story of cosmic evolution, we move from feeling disconnected to deeply connected with everything that exists.
Waking up to our identity as unique individuals and inseparably connected with the unfolding Universe transforms our feeling of separation into an experience of connection. Discovering this firsthand is like entering a new age of exploration where the frontier isn’t outer space, but the living cosmos we’re already part of.
