The Living Universe - Duane Elgin [89]
self-organizing systems, 122
sending and receiving potential, 47
sensing, 136–137
slime mold, 44–45
thinking, 137
validating, 51
conversations
about sustainability, 181–182
authentic inquiry, 166
Do we make a difference?, 196
the effects of mass media on our species, 197–198
integrating simplicity in your lifestyle, 199
Is the universe dead or alive?, 195–196
our place on the hero’s journey, 197
personal cosmic connections, 198
scenarios for the future, 198
self-reflection, 197–198
What are your talents and true gifts?, 199
What is the current life stage of humanity, 196–197
Cosmic Feminine, evolution of the universe, 143
cosmophilia, relating to the universe, 10
cosmos
continuous creation of the, 40, 204–208
flow of the living, 153
the “great awakening,” 124
life energy, 31
requirements for building a, 27–29
creatio continua, doctrine of, 65
creatio ex nihilo, doctrine of, 65
creation, continuous, 40, 128–129, 204–208, 211
creationism, vs. continuous creation, 211
crisis
the emerging world systems, 140–142
the global systems, 182
resolving the world systems, 161
whole systems, 3
culture, wisdom, 143
Dalai Lama
preparing for death, 111
Tibetan Buddhist perspective, 72
dancing, to our internal music, 104–105
death
enduring aliveness, 112
recognizing the existence of our soul, 109–110
design, intelligent, 27, 203
dimension, going beyond the third, 127
dimensions, invisible framework of the universe, 24
discoveries, recent scientific, 34
doctrines
creatio continua, 65
creatio ex nihilo, 65
Sufisim, 67–68
Dreamtime, Aboriginal teachings, 77
dynamics, at work in the universe, 128
Dyson, Freeman, consciousness on the quantum level, 43
Eastern Orthodox Christianity, view of God’s energy, 63–64
Eckhart, Meister
creation of the universe, 65
intimacy with the sacred, 89
eco-communities, creating, 177–178
ecology
of consciousness, 167–168
sustainable harmony for future generations, 169
economics, narrowing the disparities in wealth and opportunity, 168–169
ecosystems, creating sustainable, 29
Einstein, Albert
existence of a vastly superior spirit, 33
question for God, 2
space vs. matter, 41
time as the fourth dimension, 24
elan vital, life force, 79
Elgin, Duane
about the author, 227–229
Awakening Earth, 6, 29
and Joseph Campbell, et.al, Changing Images of Man, 5
personal perspective, 3–7
Voluntary Simplicity, 6
emergence, self-organizing systems, 123
empathy, between animals, 46
empires, built on war and violence, 171
energy
dark, 22–24, 202
flow in living systems, 38–39
life, 31, 74
particles, 103
shortages, 139–140
zero point, 38–39
ephemeralization, Buckminster Fuller’s process of, 173–174
era
the agricultural, 137–138
the industrial, 78–79, 137–138
of spiritual communion, 147
eternity, preparing for, 112–113
etherialization, Toynbee’s process of becoming more efficient, 173
ethics, fostering a new level of, 166
ethnic cleansing, healing the wounds of, 168
evolution
from dead matter to consciousness, 8–9
goal of, 126
self-organizing systems, 123–128
self-reflective life forms, 29
existence, maginitude of the mystery of, 118
experiences
awakening, 148–149
mystical, 11, 202–203
experiments
intuitive knowing, 48–49
with psychokinesis, 49–50
receiving and sending potential, 47
Father Giovanni, the journey home, 131
feedback, and meditation, 48–49
feminine archetype, expanding on a cosmic scale, 151
flow-through, sustaining life, 119–120
framework, invisible, 24
freedom
of choice, 52
self-organizing systems, 122
Fromm, Erich, biophilia, 10
Fuller, Buckminster, process of ephemeralization, 173
future
retrofitting for a sustainable, 177
visualizing the, 2–3, 161, 180
galaxies
engineering, 28
the Milky Way, 35–37, 216
Gandhi, Mahatma
essence of Hinduism, 70
principle of simple living, 175–176
Gautama, Siddartha, founder of Buddhism, 71
gender discrimination, healing the wounds of, 168
genocide, healing the wounds of, 168
geometry, dimensional, 27–28
giants, humans in the cosmic scale, 20–21
gifts, “near