Physics, reality, the universe, identity

[mommyshoppinghabit]

This is both about science and spirituality. It sounds kinda nerdy but I'm really not that intellectual or can even get very esoteric. I've been thinking about things I've read --some from spiritual books, some from scientific ones. I've always thought that the two intersected somewhere...like in the laws of physics. Like have you guys ever read about String Theory? I haven't read exhaustively about it but have read chunks of a book by Brian Green, a mathematician from Columbia, and seen parts of his series, the Elegant Universe on PBS. At one point, he comments, what if the universe was unified by one giant string? And in one of his books, he likens time as being like a loaf of bread that one can slice at any single moment. Eckhart Tolle, the author of Power of Now and A New Earth talks about being one with the present moment, probably a very Zen idea. And then there is this book called "The Disappearance of the Universe" that I've never read but is based on A Course in Miracles that really intrigues me, which both state that the reality we see in front of our eyes is just an illusion. Both ACIM and many other spiritual teachings talk about how we are all actually not separate individuals but one.
Anyone up for a chat about these things?

[Collinsky]

Too too tired to delve into anything right now, but I'll pop back in later.

[Murihiku]

Wow, you weren't joking about your location, were you?

I'll read and learn, I think!

[~PurityLake~]

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[Princess ConsuelaB]

[mommyshoppinghabit]

Regarding oneness with everything, I think this idea dates back to the Hindu tradition? Anyway, I heard a doctor who does past life regression on Oprah express the stories that come of his patients as a "tapping into human consciousness", not necessarily that everyone has a set of past lives they are carrying around. As if behind all our conscious thoughts and conscious feelings, we can tap into the mind and memories that all humans share. It's like if we can get past the illusion that we have separate thoughts and feelings, like pulling back a curtain, the way to connectedness with all that is and that has ever been is always there. I think that's what they say meditation is for. Eckhart Tolle says that humans all share a collective "pain body"---trauma experienced through the millenia that has built up in or psyche. So on one level, we all share that. But then there are also teachers that teach we can get past all of that, and tap into the collective peace and imperturbability that is in the universe, once we release this pain.
Then, on a sub-atomic level, where do you or I begin and end? If you looked at our skin under the most powerful microscope, would one be able to define the boundaries of or body from the surrounding air?
And back to the String theory. Green said that these "strings", which are probably the most basic level of all things, even smaller than quarks are basically bands of vibrating energy. But that these bands can actually form "superstrings" that encompass entire "dimensions." They overlap one another in ways we couldn't even imagine, because we can only perceive 4 dimensions. Take that with what Eckhart Tolle said about oneness with the present moment, couldn't this present moment be a "string" or rather a vibration or dimension in itself and we, as we are in this moment, are just one little component of it?

[ColwynsMommy]

I don't know that I can really be coherent about this, but I'll try.

I've read some of Brian Green's stuff, and a few other books in that genre (pop science? I dunno.. science for the masses, really). I've watched lots of Science Channel, Nova, etc. I read things about past lives, psychics, mediums, collective conscious, etc. It just all seems.. interconnected.

I don't believe in God, at least, not as a conscious being. But it seems completely plausible that there is some underlying truth to the universe that we can't fully see. It's like that old bit about blind men touching an elephant, and each man comes up with a completely different guess about what he's touching. Scientists explain what they see in ways that make sense to them. Religious people explain it another way. Everyone uses their own lens to observe the universe, but unless we can somehow combine all these different lenses, I don't think we'll ever actually understand the universe at all.

The universe, life, everything is just so completely incredible, and that's why I identify most as a pagan. I feel like my 'worship' is to the Earth, to the universe.. and if there is a god, he or she would be included, I guess. I was talking with a (Christian) friend about the UU church she goes to, and how we plan to start attending one eventually, and she was trying to tell me which UU churches to avoid, the ones that use more Christian language than not. I told her that, as far as I'm concerned (what my kids hear is another matter), whatever words a Christian uses to describe his or her reality is just a function of their limited reality.. it doesn't negate whatever truth is behind their words.

[eilonwy]

This is a big part of the reason I'm a Chaos Mage.

[GoldBerry]

Fascinating posts, MSH! What you write resonates with me- that we(all living things and the entire Universe) are all connected in deep ways. I love science- it's a avenue of worship of the sacred to me. I shy away from organized religions and labels- but Pantheist suits me best I think.

One of my favorite books in this area is Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth by William Bryant Logan. I keep it by my bed and when I feel freaked out reading it is very calming. I just got from the libraryNatural Prayers by Chet Raymo- exploration of the natural world as meditation or prayer.

[Mountaingirl79]

Wow, I was so glad to see this thread.
My dad is a physics professor and he introduced me to the idea of string theory almost a decade ago. Then he bought me The Elegant Universe and I was hooked. I really do think it is the theory of everything, and will be known as such in the near future.
Wish I had more time to post, I love this subject!