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By Root 984 0

bolt that came forth from the Caribbean skies. But I ran wild-eyed into the medical library because the nature of the cell’s membrane that was “downloaded” into my awareness in the wee hours of the morning convinced me that we are immortal, spiritual beings who exist separately from our bodies. I had heard an undeniable inner voice informing me that I was leading a life based not only on the false premise that genes control biology but also on the false premise that we end when our physical bodies die. I had spent years studying molecular control mechanisms within the physical body and at that astounding moment came to realize that the protein “switches” that control life are primarily turned on and off by signals from the environment … the Universe.

You may be surprised that it was science that led me to that moment of spiritual insight. In scientific circles, the word “spirit” is as warmly embraced as the word “evolution” is in fundamentalist circles.

As you know, spiritualists and scientists approach life in vastly different ways. When life is out of whack for spiritualists, they beseech God or some other invisible force for relief. When life is out of whack for scientists, they run to the medicine cabinet for a chemical. It is only with a drug like Rolaids that they are able to spell relief.

The fact that science led me to spiritual insight is appropriate because the latest discoveries in physics and cell research are forging new links between the worlds of Science and Spirit. These realms were split apart in the days of Descartes centuries ago. However, I truly believe that only when Spirit and Science are reunited will we be afforded the means to create a better world.

A Time of Choice

The latest science leads us to a worldview not unlike that held by the earliest civilizations, in which every material object in nature was thought to possess a spirit. The Universe is still thought of as One by the small number of aborigines who survive. Aboriginal cultures do not make the usual distinctions among rocks, air, and humans; all are imbued with spirit, the invisible energy. Doesn’t this sound familiar? This is the world of quantum physics, in which matter and energy are completely entangled. And it is the world of Gaia that I spoke of in Chapter 1, a world in which the whole planet is considered to be one living, breathing organism, which needs to be protected from human greed, ignorance, and poor planning.

Never have we needed the insights of such a worldview more. When Science turned away from Spirit, its mission dramatically changed. Instead of trying to understand the “natural order” so that human beings can live in harmony with that order, modern science embarked on a goal of control and domination of nature. The technology that has resulted from pursuing this philosophy has brought human civilization to the brink of spontaneous combustion by disrupting the web of nature. The evolution of our biosphere has been punctuated by five “mass extinctions,” including the one that killed the dinosaurs. Each wave of extinction nearly wiped out all life on the planet. Some researchers believe, as I mentioned in Chapter 1, that we are “deep” into the sixth mass extinction. Unlike the others caused by galactic forces such as comets, the current extinction is being caused by a force much closer to home—humans. As you sit on your porch and watch the sunset, note its spectacular color. The beauty in the sky reflects the pollution in the air. As the world we know decays, the Earth promises us an even greater light show.

Meanwhile we are leading lives without a moral context. The modern world has shifted from spiritual aspirations to a war for material accumulation. The one with the most toys wins. My favorite image for the scientists and technologists who have led us into this spiritless world comes from the Disney movie, Fantasia. Remember Mickey Mouse as the hapless apprentice to a powerful sorcerer? The sorcerer instructs Mickey to do the chores of the lab while he is away. One of the chores is to fill a giant cistern with