Brian Swimme on Emptiness and the Quantum Vacuum
by Joel Pitney (German translation below)
In the production of every issue of EnlightenNext, there are difficult moments when the editor‘s job calls for some hard decisions. Whether due to space constraints, subject matter, or other factors, inevitably there are some fascinating dialogues that we are unfortunately unable to present in the pages of the magazine. The following excerpt was taken from an interview conducted for Issue 19 of EnlightenNext. This dialogue with Brian Swimme, visionary cosmologist and Core Faculty member for the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Program at theCalifornia Institute of Integral Studies, is a mind-expanding exploration of the mysteries at the interface of quantum physicsand spirituality.
EnlightenNext: Many of the greatest spiritual realizers have made a distinction between two dimensions of existence. One is the dimension of becoming. It is the dimension of the manifest world, of time, space, movement, and change. The whole movement of evolution could be said to occur within the dimension of becoming. The other dimension is usually called Being, with a capital “B.“ It is often described as emptiness, the unmanifest, the transcendent nature and Absolute ground of all that is. It is beyond time, change, and form. You often speak movingly about evolution and the creative effulgence of becoming, but I‘d like to ask you about the significance of Being“”which seems to be much less apparent in your work“”and its relationship, if any, to evolution.
sieht es jedes feine Härchen.
Ist das Ohr dem Taubsein nahe,
hört es kleinster Mücken schwirren.
Eh ´ der Gaumen völlig stumpf wird,
kennt er Wasser nach der Quelle.
Will sich der Geruch verlieren,
kennt er dürren Holzes Moder.
Ist der Körper am Erlahmen,
rastlos muss er sich bewegen.
Eh ´ im Herzen Wahnsinn dunkelt,
scheidet klar es Recht und Unrecht.
Eh ´ das Äußerste erreicht ist,
kehrt sich nichts ins Gegenteil.
Liä Dsi
Rumi - Daylight full of...
It‘s time to update Darwin‘s theory of Natural Selection with the far better theory of Natural Connection. Natural Selection, and its corollary, Survival of the Fittest, has too long been used to rationalize selfish behavior. We need a new theoretical lens.
The theory of Natural Connection posits that the engine of evolution is not the selfish drive to survive, but rather the innate impulse to connect“the impulse to be part of something bigger than ourselves. It‘s a far better explanation for evolution since everything that exists must figure out how to stay in balanced relationship with the greater whole of which it is a part.
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