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The
Universe as Infinite Potential:
The Relativity of Time and Space Within the Multiplicity of God Centers
The omnipresence of
God is the foundation of Reality at all points in space and in every slice
of time. This intuition has
surfaced in diverse religious traditions throughout the history of humankind
and is beginning to be affirmed in the modern era with the advent of quantum
physics and through the assimilation of Einstein’s theory of the relativity
of time and space. Realizing
and integrating the vast potentials available in space and time is the
creative quest and ultimate manifestation.
Empty space is illusory and perhaps the clearest example of the
possibilities inherent in creation.
Complexity remains mysteriously hidden behind the void.
As we bring form into the apparent darkness, potentials are actualized
and what was once perceived as nothing transforms into a tree, glass of
water, skyscraper, beam of light, orchid, or the human brain.
Without space and the potentials inherent therein nothing can exist.
All space and time is infused with infinite potentials embraced
in the being of God that is complete in the everywhere and nowhere.
Evolution is the unfoldment of the Godself and the realization
in the actual time continuum of the possibilities latent in space. Like mind, space possesses the capacity to enjoy a diverse
array of actualities. The
quiet mind is seemingly filled by a void- lacking meaningful content.
However, in the tranquility of mind, thoughts inevitably arise.
What was once an empty mind becomes an experience of majestic beauty,
nightmare, or vision of love through mutual embrace.
Our minds are reflections of the nature of the universe and are
examples of vast potentials. Evolution
is the actualization and life of all possibilities culminating in ever
greater experiences of love. These
manifestations of the singular God center were brought into time at the
advent of creation or what many refer to as the Big Bang. The unfolding universe appears to have arisen at the
center of time and space. This
center lies everywhere and nowhere.
Wherever the Big Bang is thought to occur is equally possible at
every conceivable point in space and time.
Evolution is the single Cause bringing being and life’s potentials
to fruition.
As Godself is unveiled in time and space through the actuality
of the cosmos, there is an eternal process of the tripartite movement
of birth, death, and re-birth. The
earth plane of existence is but one example of the creative endeavor.
Whether we are a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly or a
super nova star about to explode into existence, creative energies infuse
existence. Evolution is the
eternal play of creative possibilities manifesting in time. Teleological conceptions of possible outcomes are hypothetical
imaginations of future potentials.
What shall we create now?
We have built rockets that propel humans to unknown places of unexpected
beauty, technological devices connecting the planet through multimedia
mediums of communication, and upon earth we possess the raw power to create
or rather help facilitate the growth process of flora and fauna of diverse
genera. Evolution within
the human race is the realization of potentials inherent in creative inspiration.
Our imaginations are our only limitations and they appear to be
as infinite and all embracing as the divine mind itself.
The current planetary
situation and crisis is but one opportunity for the inrush of creative
energy to transform the dying into the living.
We must move carefully and judiciously in our creative endeavors.
Nature has been silently creating Beauty for millinnia and our
respect is essential for the actualization of a planet that can appropriately
integrate the yearnings of human creativity and the currents of Nature.
Working in concert with Nature in our creative enterprises is imperative.
God and the universe embraces our current crisis.
The death of a rainforest inevitably brings forth new life.
However, we ought to be cautious in our judgments of value.
Is it worth it to destroy a redwood for a fence in our frontyard? Are the creative endeavors justified in a coherent system of
values?
In order for the evolution of our planet and the universe to proceed
in a fashion that is consistent with worthwhile values, especially as
we consider the nature of human evolution, a consciousness infused with
love is imperative. As Godcenters
in this universe who are imbued with the array of vast potentials, we
are participants in the Divine Play of love.
Since the beginning of time, organisms have organized themselves
according to increasing levels of complexity in concert with the ultimate
value, namely, the embodiment of love.
At the subatomic level in primitive forms of bacteria a divine
principle is at work in the formation of simple life forms.
These creations were possible through the potentialities latent
in their natures as God centers.
Evolution is the comingling activity of such God centers in a cosmos
striving towards the most complete manifestation possible of actualized
love. While love appears
to be absent in the dawning of time with the advent of apparently inanimate
matter, such as stars, solar systems, planets, and universes, without
the unifying principle as their foundation they would not exist.
The immanent God of love is active at all planes of reality as
the Force of Unity and Complexity.
In the modern world we are accustomed to using scientific metaphors
to explain the interaction of forces between various material energies.
For example, the sun is a unified whole because hydrogen molecules
are bonded together in such a complex fashion that incredible reserves
of energy can be drawn upon to infuse our solar system.
Meanwhile, there are gravitational relations between our sun and
all the planets in any given solar system.
As we begin to extend our perspective to the far reaches of space,
we are curious as to how the cosmos is held together.
Galaxies upon galaxies are intricately woven together in a magnificent
web. Likewise, organisms such as worms, lions, dandelions, and gophers
are miraculously held together through molecular bonds.
These bonds of energy, and known elements comprise virtually everything.
However, this intricate web of relationships extends everywhere
effecting the entire cosmos simultaneously.
For example, imagine a rabbit running effortlessly across a corn
field in search of a morsel of food.
When are all of the causal forces adequately accounted for?
One might suggest that the cute little bunny is hungry and that
hunger is the primary causal factor in her jaunt across the open field.
Can we stop there? What if we suggest that the chemical and molecular make-up
of the rabbit is such that the acquisition and transformation of plants
is essential for survival through the transference of energy. Are the plants the final cause of our happy friend’s jog?
If the plants are a product of photosynthesis, then in what sense
is the sun a cause, or the earth, or the universe, or the galaxy?
The complexity of mutual relationships can be extended to the distant
reaches of space and indefinitely into both the past and future.
In an attempt to further deepen our reflections on our furry friend’s
adventure, we can look at the nature of time as a causal factor.
Our bunny was seen to cross the field at approximately 9 A.M. on
Wednesday morning in the month of December in the year 1999.
How might we envision the past as causally related to the present
phenomenon? We have a vague
idea that light travels at an electrifying speed, but nevertheless takes
some time to reach the earth. The
light illuminating the bunny’s path is present on earth in time ‘now’
and past in relationship to the sun.
Consequently, the bunny is in concert with an occurrence that already
occured millions of miles away.
This light is relative to the rabbit’s perspective.
Furthermore, all of the sun’s history, as well as the earth’s,
and the galaxy’s and so on, must be accounted for if we are going to unravel
the causal mystery. We have
now an idea of how the past is causally related to our little bunny’s
experience, but what about future time?
Normally we are accustomed to believing that the future cannot
be accounted for when attempting to understand causality.
However, is there a sense in which the future played a role in
the bunny’s experience? Once
again, let’s return to the sun.
If the future sun does not exist, then the present occurrence cannot
happen. We are beginning
to see the implications of the relativity of time.
Furthermore, the bunny is driven by a future outcome.
If there is no food expected in the future, then the bunny does
not need to run anywhere. Let’s
extend our perspective to the cosmic scale.
Imagine that our earth’s fate is already determined because a massive
meteor is on the way that will completely annihilate the planet.
The rabbit’s run across the corn field is maintained by the interplay
of forces already present upon earth and fortunately the meteor is not
coming for some time. The destructive meteor for all extensive purposes does not
exist either in the past or the future.
There is simply no knowledge of the meteor or any noticeable causal
relationship. However, if
this future event would become present, then our innocent bunny would
never make it across the wide expanse.
Time is relative to the mode and being of the perceiver.
Paradoxically, the Absolute Godhead is present to all relative
perceptions and experiences. God
is complete at every point in space and time despite appearances.
Perhaps one of the greatest examples of the overlapping of realities
in the natural world is the seed.
Contained within a morning glory seed are all of the potentialities
of the future vibrant flowers and all of the past evolutionary changes
of predecessors. Like the
seed, potential forms are present within every imaginable segment of space
and time. The relative forms
are held in conjunction with their absolute counterparts for the purpose
of engendering increasing levels of complex structural relationships in
ascending and descending matrices.
Physicists have begun to see clearly that as one goes deeper into
structural complexes to the level of quarks and beyond there is a sense
in which the entire universe or cosmos is implied and miraculously present
in the most indescriminate selection of particles.
In humans we have come to know this encoding process as DNA structures.
A scientist can take any tissue sample from a person’s body and
find the DNA helix which contains all of the information for the entire
body. Likewise, every material
form and anything we could possibly imagine, from the subtleness of air
to the strength of steel, has within its structure information about and
the potentialities of the entire cosmos.
It is like universes being sandwiched upon one another and what
we happen to perceive is only a relative form appropriate to the whole.
While God maintains union in the context of multiplicity, real
differences between species and various objects in the material world
are nevertheless real. Our
common sense tells us that a piece of charcoal and an orange have considerable
variations in chemical make-up.
While such differences are not purely illusory because pragmatically
we use these substances for different purposes, namely, we eat an orange
for nourishment and use charcoal for our fires, both the orange and the
charcoal are equally God-centers. The universe we inhabit is riddled with paradox.
On the one hand there is extreme variety of form and yet on an
essential level, God is present to all forms.
The vast array of forms often combine with one another to make
novel forms. Evolution is
the coming together of diverse energies to create complex structures capable
of enjoying increasing levels of consciousness and love.
As we look back upon the evolutionary developments that have shaped
our world we notice that as complexity increases so does the quality of
love. In the primordial soup
where new forms of bacteria are emerging from the murky waters of the
distant past, we can imagine that the type of love enjoyed by these microorganisms
must be extremely limited. However,
when we look closely at these life forms through a microscope we notice
that cells are uniting with one another on a basic level.
There is attraction even among bacteria- we might call this the
emergence of love on our planet.
Among these simple life forms there is a movement towards greater
union motivated by an invisible force of love culminating in a new being.
The new creation is unleashed upon a world of wider possibilities
for enjoying love as evolution continues through the great expanses of
time.
Imagine life as a groping bacteria in an environment of hydrogen,
nitrogen, and oxygen searching relentlessly for unknown reasons through
the bubbles of the dark sea for another bacteria with which to reproduce
and bring forth a new life. You
are devoid of all consciousness, have no senses to navigate the surging
waters, but are energized from within to carry life on into a new plateau
and vista. As you are carried
through the gaseous waters you make contact with your mate, unite as time
collapses upon you in the simple embrace, and miraculously in your greatest
moment a bacteria like you merges forth.
You have no knowledge that all your work and life made future generations
possible. There may
only be some vague intuition that life in these waters is part of a larger
process and the beginnings of a grand plan.
As time rolled on through millions of years, the earth began to
see the emergence of plants. These
ancient flora were adapted to the environment in such a way as to utilize
the resources of the sun and surrounding nutrients from the seas they
inhabited. Plants enjoyed
a level of complexity and organization absent in their molecular forerunners. Instead of only a few cells uniting into a single organism,
plants incorporated hundreds and thousands of different cells into a single
life. Differences between
part and whole became increasingly necessary for functionality.
A leaf serves a purpose quite different from the stem or roots
and yet all of these critical components shared a mutual relationship
with one another and needed to combine efforts with one another for the
survival and maintenance of the entire plant. If the leaf was not able to transform solar light into energy
then the roots could not bury themselves into the coral sea beds, but
equally, if the roots were not able to adequately supply water and nutrients
to the leaves the plant would fail to grow and flourish in the environment.
Complex relationships were formed in these early days of plant
evolution. These relationships
with the surrounding environment and within the organism itself were of
an entirely higher order than those enjoyed by bacteria.
A new form of love appeared upon earth.
Copyright © 2000 GodConsciousness.com. All rights reserved.
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