Living In a Living Universe

ONE OF HUMANITY’S MOST FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS:
IS OUR UNIVERSE DEAED OR ALIVE AT THE FOUNDATIONS?

I’ve consulted AI systems to investigate global perspectives on this fundamental issue. Their analysis suggests that, when considering humanity overall, approximately twice as many people regard the universe as alive rather than dead. The AI-generated estimates indicate the following:

• roughly, 30% of the world views the universe as dead at the foundations
• roughly, 60% of the world views the universe as alive at its foundations.

In addition, the mechanistic worldview, dominant in industrial societies for 300-400 years, appears to be giving way to new synthesis that honors both scientific rigor and the intuition of a living, participatory universe. We are in a major transition in our view of reality as a species.

THE WISDOM OF ALIVENESS:

An explorer of humanity’s deepest wisdom, Joseph Campbell, was once asked, “Isn’t what people are searching for is meaning in Ife?” and he replied, “No, what people are searching for is the direct experience of being alive.”  Why is this encounter with aliveness so vitally important? When our direct experience of being alive meets the profound aliveness of the living universe – when life meets life – it has a transformative impact on our understanding of where we are, who we are, and where we are going.

Here is a 3-minute video introducing the Living Universe

Here is a 4-minute video of The Living Universe book
(and includes my granddaughters and nephew).

How important and impactful could a shift from a dead to a living universe be for humanity’s vision of ourselves at our future? Here is a quote from the AI system, ChatGPT, describing the significance of bringing a living system’s perspective into our world.

“to see the to a cosmos as a unified, living system suffused with aliveness would be nothing short of revolutionary — touching every dimension of human thought, technology, governance, and culture . . . . . a living‑system paradigm is not merely an intellectual refinement — it is a catalyst for a wholesale reimagining of humanity’s role on Earth. It offers the ethical foundation, scientific methodology, socio‑political structures, and collective narratives we urgently need to navigate the deep uncertainty of our era.”

 VIEW ONE: If we view the world around us as made from dead matter and empty space, then it is natural and logical to exploit that which is dead for the small portion which we regard as  alive — ourselves.

VIEW TWO: If we view the universe as a living system of which we are an inseparable part, then it is natural to extend caring regard for all that exists.

With aliveness, we shift from exploitation to respectful regard and care Because we ae consuming the Earth far beyond its ability to regenerate its support for humanity, it is critical that we shift our collective mindset from exploitation to renewal.  Deepening the respect and regard for the aliveness of the can transform how we live on the Earth.