ALERT: Metaphysical bullsh!t to follow.
If one excepts that nothing exists, or more appropriately, that nothing is non existence
then the nature of the universe or the meaning of the universe is quite simple:
to be
WARNING TO FELLOW ATHEISTS AND NONTHEISTS:
The following contains metaphors that should not to be taken literally.
When I tossed the concept of God out the door for being the bull crap it was,
I still found it helpful to think of the universe as a 'living' entity in a simplistic
amoeba sort of way (metaphor)
I liken it to Lovelock's theory of Gaia (metaphor) which basically sees the complex interlocking systems of the biosphere as a living entity.
To consider:
Big Bang occurs for whatever reason (i.e. the M Theorists speculation that two branes touched)
universe is 'born' and cools to the point of the mass/energy spacetime reality we all know and love
'it' has only one purpose: to be, to survive
this purpose is a constant struggle and most apparent at the quantum level
'it' must struggle, because the alternative is nonexistence, or nothing
'it' does whatever is necessary to maintain 'it's' existence
in essence, there is an evolutionary process going on, all the things we see and know are the result of this evolutionary process, a 'historical' record of things attempted in 'the struggle to be, the struggle to survive'
the evolutionary process continues, stars are born, planetary systems form, and lo and behold, a few planets here and there throughout galaxies are just the right distance from a star to start a whole new aspect of 'its' evolutionary process
this new aspect of the evol-process yields something different, living creatures who can not only think for themselves, but can actually manipulate the universe with their tools
now comes the tricky part; do these new creatures use their intelligence to work in concert with the underlying purpose (to be) or do they hang around using precious resources and just genuflect to some magical supreme buddy
my best guess: those that 'harmonize' with this underlying 'survival' process go far; those that don't eventually get squashed like the bugs they are
and the bottom line: an intelligent species is an extension of the universal will to be
now for the really crazy part:
my best definition of spirituality is the 'harmonizing' with this underlying purpose; finding those things or that one thing that aids in the 'to be' process;
in essence, one with 'spirit' is one in harmony with the nature of the universe (to be, to survive)
no big whoop, no long years with shaved head and humming weird tones; just simply finding and doing that which comes naturally
those who achieve this to the greatest extent, who have a sense of awe and wonder about what they do, about where they fit in the grand scheme of things and about the universe itself can be said to have a 'whole spirit.'
some time back I remember looking at a really old blue Webster's dictionary that showed the Greek origin of the word 'holy'
as being 'whole' not 'hallowed'
if that is the case; then there's the loop hole in the Xian Holy Spirit clause.
someone can be in harmony with the simplistic 'to be' nature of the universe, can be said to have a 'Holy Spirit' and
NOT BELIEVE IN GOD
there are nights when I look up at the Milky Way and feel both small and insignificant and yet still feel the awe of being part of something bigger, knowing that if I do what I'm meant to do, then I've done my small part for the continued existence of the whole
and, yes, I do have feelings of being spiritual, and yet, I do not believe in any god, supreme being, blah, blah, blah
© 2006 Rick Lee
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