the key to the universe

 

It happened again this week. I finished another almost-300 page book, much of which I didn't understand. It was about the origin and evolution of the cosmos. Quarks and neutrinos. String theory. Dark energy and dark matter. And how we know what we know about it.

"The more you know,

the more you know you don't know."

~Aristotle~

My friends tend to respond with a blank stare or an eye roll when they ask what I'm reading this time...because, usually, I can't explain it. This is true of much of what I choose to read about. The interface between science and spirituality. Eastern psychology and practice. Quantum theory. Consciousness studies. 

Perhaps this month's record setting heat wave propelled my attention to the ravages of climate change and the fate of our planet. To our place in the solar system. To our dependence on unpredictable and as yet unknown cosmic forces, because the book I just finished is "Cosmic Queries" by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist at the Hayden Planetarium in NYC. He not only describes the origins and evolution of the universe as we know it, but he tackles the big questions. How old is the universe? What is it made of? How did life begin...and how might it end? Who figured it all out and how did they do it?

"The universe is under no obligation

to make sense to you."

~Neil deGrasse Tyson~

It fills me with deep reverence for anyone who understands mathematics like this, not to mention the person who came up with it:

~from Mostafa Elhashash @ Praxilabs.com ~

So, why do I bother reading books that are so difficult to understand when I could be reading romance novels, cozy mysteries, thrillers, or dystopian fantasies? When I could be meeting with friends over a glass of good red wine or simply watching home renovations on TV? (Not that there's anything wrong with any of that...)

For me, the answer is AWARENESS. 

I may not exactly understand what I'm reading about, but it helps to be aware of it. To know that it exists. That someone, somewhere understands it.

"Imagination is more important

than knowledge."

~Albert Einstein~

Before I tackled this book, I'd never heard of Lagrange Points, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, or the WOW signal. I didn't know what a "singularity" referred to, or what a Higgs boson was. I didn't know that Yellowstone National Park is situated on a supervolcano that last erupted 664,000 years ago. It's so massive that, if it erupted today, it would bury much of North America under volcanic ash. I'd never heard of Mount Krakotoa in New Zealand. When it erupted in 1883, seawater rushed in to fill the gap, causing an explosion heard in Australia, 2,000 miles away~the loudest sound in recorded history. Imagine that! I still don't really understand the BIG BANG...but I have a clearer awareness of it now.

Does knowing this make life any better? Easier, or happier, or safer? No. Does it make any difference whether you're aware of any of this or not? 

As a matter of fact, it does. It leaves me in awe. It fills me with wonder. It reminds me that there is so much I don't know I don't know...which inspires me to read, to reflect, and to wonder. It humbles me. It compels me to ask if we are witnessing an unfolding mystery or a genuine miracle.

"I do not believe in miracles.

I rely on them."

~Yogi Bhajan~

My advice is this:

Don't wait (like I did) until you retire to pursue whatever stokes your curiosity. To explore whatever fuels your sense of disbelief or skepticism. To embrace the thing that makes you wonder.

Never stop imagining. Never stop questioning. Never abandon the search.

"The most interesting questions

are the ones we don't yet know to ask."

~Neil deGrasse Tyson~

jan