Journey of the Universe

We live in a time when dark uncertainty extends so far as to make some people doubt that there is any sense in being hopeful about a good future for life, including thriving humanity. Indeed, as a professor teaching environmental studies to undergraduates at a major research university,I have looked for ways to encourage authentic hope along with the burden of truth. How can I teach the reality that people, mostly members of Western civilization, have altered the world in ways that have reversed billions-of-years-old trends--now diminishing the diversity, complexity, and fertility of Earth--in a way that still holds up the possibilities of being beautifully human? Journey of the Universe plaits scientific knowledge together with wise insights from the world's diverse cultures about the unfolding natural world and humans within it. It tells a story of creativity arising out of such tensions as despair and hope. From the "seething disequilibrium" between gravity and nuclear fusion within stars that keeps them shimmering in the sky to the ways bowerbird survival depends on females both chosing and rejecting mates to the ways human wonder draws us sometimes toward danger at the same time fear repels us leading to new inventions that allow us to experience the depths of things, the universe story shows that in the midst of destruction we have grounds for believing that something new and promising can emerge. Perhaps a new thing will be a clearer sense of human destiny as "[b]ecoming a form of human being that is as natural to the universe as the stars or the oceans; knowing how we belong and where we belong so that we enhance the flourishing of the Earth community." This book and its accompanying, gorgeous film have changed my life personally--giving me an orienting story complex and vastly more than capacious enough to hold both the data in my mind and the passions in my soul. I have used it in class for the first time this term and it is clear that it provides an open space for the myriad cultures and worldviews of my students to explore questions of life, death, and meaning. To quote one of them who spoke for many others--"I LOVE this book."

This is a very readable explanation of the un-explainable for non scientists (and most scientists) and especially for those who know still think God is a person or a being. I can now grasp the wonder of the random universe created by the dynamic tension between energy forces and self organizing particles and waves of energy. The last half of the book paints a wonderful image of the 'recreation' of our planet in a cycle of destruction and recreation several times in its 4 billion year history. I cannot comprehend the immensity of the universe or the sense of time but I can see the the egg image of the earth with its thin layers of crust and molten center constantly changing and producing new life. We read this in our men's reading group at our church -- good discussion simulator.

For those whose spiritual quest goes beyond conventional religion and orthodoxy, this is a refreshing and delightful aid to enlightenment; for those who are bio and cosmic nerds with all the blinding 'facts', stats, projections and empirical data of science, but have intuitively glimpsed the underlying mystery and loving intelligence of creation's evolutionary journey, this book will elevate your human consciousness to new and daring heights. In essence 'Journey of the Universe' in clear, poetic prose reminds us - ever so elegantly - of how we got here (on an ever-so-bumpy ride at times) and how we are, and will continue to be, a living, breathing, evolving, integral part of this multi-dimensional, ever expanding universe - a universe that (from our Earthling perspective) has to be our reference point on all matters of coexistence, human dignity, justice, interdependence, and the overall flourishing of our little planet on the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Poetry, philosophy, and science can seem like separate spheres, but each of these domains is born out of a sense of wonder. Why is there something rather than nothing? Is consciousness just an evolutionary fluke? Or is the potential for sentience woven into the fabric of the universe from the very beginning?For millennium, human have created mythic stories that purport to explain mankind's origins and our role in the cosmos. These stories have imbued our lives with meaning and value. However, the truth of these mythic and religious narratives is largely poetic; they do not tell us how life actually unfolded.Traditional scientific narratives can tell us how the universe came to be, but not why it came to be. The modern scientific paradigm provides us with the tools and knowledge to control nature, but traditional science is a morally neutral enterprise and it avoids concepts like purpose and teleology.However, Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker (along with other pioneering scientists, philosophers, and thinkers) are laying the foundations of a new scientific paradigm, one which sees sentience as an inevitable consequence of an evolving cosmos that seeking to understand itself through creatures like us. The late Princeton physicist summed up this attitude well when he wrote: what good would the universe be without creatures like us to observe it?The work of Swimme and Tucker suggests that we are on the cusp of a new way of understanding our human journey. In a sense, science and philosophy and myth are coming together, at least in the sense this new scientific paradigm will explain not only how it is we got here, but it will also provide a meaningful context for our lives. "The Journey of the Universe" is a mind-expanding and soul-stirring glimpse into this new scientific frontier. This is a book that kindled my sense of awe and made me believe that science at its best can also be an art.Scott O'ReillyAuthor of "Socrates in Cyberspace."

A fascinating but easily read story of how the universe developed - and is still developing. Even for a non-scientist like me it makes good reading - quite the best explanations I've come across in a long time.

Having just completed this wonderful short (117 pages) book, I am awestruck at the ability of the authors to tell "The Journey of the Universe" in so few pages and yet evoke a deep new awareness of what it means to be human within the Earth Community and Universe today.I have read Swimme's previous books and much of Thomas Berry's writings and perhaps the best way to describe this book is as a distillation and re-focusing of the best of this previous work. Although not as involved as "The Universe Story" by Berry/Swimme, it brilliantly captures its essence and expounds insights without bogging down in detail. I was amazed at the writing style which is so concise and informative and packs deep and thought-provoking insights into every paragraph. Yet it is a joy to read and what I would call an "easy read" probably requiring not much more than 2-3 hours! The collaboration of Mary Evelyn Tucker (editor of Thomas Berry's later books of essays) and Brian Swimme has created a book which could (and should!) well become one of the most widely read in the English-speaking world.Although the authors outline the cosmological history of our Universe it never bogs down in scientific jargon and always keeps the reader firmly focused on what this all means for us today. They do, however, paint an awe-inspiring picture of the Universe out of which we have emerged and the cosmological forces which have shaped this emergence.The essential focus of the book is not at all scientific in nature - most of it is concerned with subtly raising our awareness of the human species' place or role within Earth Community now that we understand all that modern cosmology has revealed. Note that this is subtle. Nowhere do the authors present a dogmatic or ideological agenda for what humans should now do. The book is first and foremost an awareness-raising exercise using only the most established mainstream science and cultural history.Yet, once you read the book, if you are like me, you will be stunned with the breadth and depth of what this awareness means for our personal, national and cultural lives. It is indeed quite brilliant that the authors leave so much to our own conscience and discernment without beating us over the head with their own conclusions. The wisdom contained in this book needs to be disseminated and discussed much like the sacred scriptures of the world's religions.This book is written at a level which kids in their early teens could easily assimilate. It would be my hope the "Journey of the Universe" would become a standard part of school curriculum across the globe. Everyone should read this amazing book.Highly recommended.

Riveting

Albert Einstein contended that, at their best, science and religion are not at odds, but totally complementary, mutually supportive and moreover, that Mankind needs both to make sense of Creation. Citing the explosive discoveries recently revealed by modern science (especially in astronomy) and coupling them with an expansive, unified vision of the human experience, Journey of the Universe vividly and profoundly demonstrates Einstein's argument. This is an important book that could and should be read and discussed by anyone with a sense of wonder, or who has ever asked himself "Why are we here?" Recommended for reading in conjunction with Hubble's Universe, by Terence Dickinson.

Fascinating book, it is well written and easily understood for non scientists!I am very much enjoying this book