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publishing process. I especially want to acknowledge Steve Piersanti for his skilled collaboration as my editor and his creative leadership as president of Berrett-Koehler. Steve’s feedback was restrained, persistent, discerning, and consistently helpful. I am grateful for the support of Judy Johnstone and her skillful editing of the final manuscript. To Detta Penna, many thanks for her elegant design and for seeing this project through production. To Camilla Coates, my grateful thanks for her graceful illustrations. I also appreciated the editorial feedback of B-K authors Alan Briskin, Dee Hock, David Korten, and Libba Pinchot, and B-K manuscript reviewers Douglas Dupler, Elainne Obadia, John Renesch, and Don Schatz.

Finally, I want to express my great appreciation to my wife Coleen LeDrew Elgin for her feedback on this manuscript and for being such a loving and supportive partner as, together, we learn to live in the living universe.

Duane Elgin

February, 2009

Introduction

The Great Awakening

The universe is a communion and a community.

We ourselves are that communion become conscious of itself.

—THOMAS BERRY1

Is the universe non-living at its foundations? If it is dead and without consciousness in its underpinnings, then it is unaware of—and indifferent to—our existence. What do you think? Are we strangers in a strange land, unwelcome outsiders?

What if, instead, the universe is alive at its deepest foundations? If there is a permeating field of aliveness and an ecology of consciousness throughout the universe, what does that mean for our life and life purpose?

You may wonder, with the challenges of climate disruption, energy shortages, wars over resources, deep poverty, and more, why should you care about the universe and our connection with it? My answer is that we humans need to step back and get our bearings.

The dream of material prosperity is becoming a collective nightmare as we overwhelm the Earth with our sheer numbers and our voracious appetites as consumers. With growing urgency we are being pushed to imagine new ways we can live together agreeably and sustainably on this planet. Yet we find ourselves without a compelling sense of direction. It feels as if we are wandering into history—alienated from the Earth, from one another, and from the universe. We are lost. Where do we find a way forward that articulates a common journey for the human family?

I believe we must look beyond devising solutions to the energy crisis or the climate crisis, although that is important. Possibly the most fundamental challenge facing humanity is to look beyond adversity and visualize futures of great opportunity. In a self-fulfilling prophecy, we actualize who we think we are. The archetypes and stories we present to ourselves act as beacons guiding us into the future. To explore potential guiding images, let us step back, draw upon the deepest wisdom that humanity has to offer, and ask three fundamental questions:

1. Where are we? Although there is a natural inclination to start with ourselves, it is important to begin with the question of where we are rather than who we are. When we start with ourselves, we tend to asssume that our physical body defines who we are, and from this a cascade of consequences flow—giving us the kind of world we have now. If we begin, not with ourselves, but with where we are, and if we freshly open to the universe and ask what kind of place this is, then we may be led to a larger understanding; we may see that we are more than biological beings—that we have a cosmic connection as well.

Let’s look at the universe in which we live and ask this core question: Do we live in a living or non-living universe? Einstein said if he could ask God one question, it would be “Is the universe friendly or not?” This book asks an even deeper question: Is the universe alive or not? The way we answer this simple question has profound implications for whether we experience life with feelings of alienation or belonging, see it as pointless or purposeful, and regard it with feelings of indifference