The Living Universe Read Online Free PDF Page A

three miracles. The first miracle is that anything exists at all. The second miracle is that living things exist. The third miracle is that living things exist that
know
they exist. As human beings conscious of ourselves, we represent the third miracle. 2
    In celebrating ourselves, it is important that we not overlook the first miracle: the natural world which is our home. When we overlook the first miracle and do not feel at home within the larger universe it is impossible for us to feel at home within ourselves or with one another. The journey home, reconnecting with the first miracle of the universe around and within us, is a theme woven through this book.
    In our long evolutionary ascent toward the third miracle of knowing ourselves, we have been pulling back from our connection with nature and the first miracle. I believe this has been a natural and purposeful process. The human family is on a collective journey to awaken and, in the initial phase, our evolutionary task was to separate ourselves from nature and to develop our sense of individuality and empowerment. We have now succeeded so well and become so empowered that we are disrupting the climate, depleting precious resources, spreading weapons of mass destruction, and overpopulating the Earth. We are hitting an evolutionary wall and being pushed by necessity—and pulled by opportunity—to make a great turn in our evolutionary journey. How do we find our way back to the living universe? How can we visualize ourselves at home in the universe?
    To expand our appreciation of the universe, let’s consider four observations from science that set the stage for a more systematic inquiry in the following chapter. These four insights always fill me with awe.

We Are Giants
    When we gaze at the enormity of the universe, with its billions of swirling galaxies, it seems natural to conclude that we are very small. When we see a universe that extends trillions upon trillions of kilometers, it is reasonable to think we are insignificant in the cosmic scale of things. However, this commonsense view of ourselves is radically mistaken. We are not small creatures. In the overall scale of the universe, we are giants!
    Imagine you have a ruler that measures from the largest scale of the known universe to the smallest. At the largest, we see hundreds of billions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars like our Sun.At the smallest, we travel deep within the core of an atom to the world of quarks, and then farther, to the foundations of existence and what is called the “Planck distance.” 3 If we were to place humans on that ruler, we would fall roughly in the middle zone. 4 Actually, we are a bit on the larger side, as shown in the accompanying illustration. The stunning insight from science is that
there is more smallness within us than there is bigness beyond us
.
    In the cosmic scheme of things, we are actually enormous creatures who live in the middle range of the spectrum of cosmic existence. Thinking we are small represents a profound mispercep-tion. Just as we are stunned by the immensity of our universe, we should be equally amazed to learn of our own enormity. The universe reaches into unimaginably minute realms within us. We think of the realm of atoms as small, but there is a vast distance from thesize of atoms to the truly infinitesimal realms at the foundations of existence. It seems likely that a vast amount of harmonizing activity is occurring in the immensity that lies between the realm of atoms and the realm of the truly small.
    The Size of Humans in the Cosmic Scale

    Scientists consider our size as humans to be optimal for who we are. If we were significantly smaller, we would not have enough atoms to become the complex and intelligent creatures we are. If we were significantly larger, our nervous system would not operate fast enough to support rapid communication within our bodies. In the cosmic scale, we seem to be just the right size.