Universal Mind

Summary: Physicist Neil Degrasse Tyson shares what he thinks is the most astounding fact in the Universe.

Why it's a Mind Blow: Tyson reminds us of that old adage, "we are all star dust." It's a scientific fact that every atom in our body, every atom in the world around us, originated in the nuclear furnace of a star. This fact, in-and-of-itself, is mind-blowing, and worthy of deep reflection.

Over the years, that consideration has led me to a particular view that I'd like to share with you now. Throughout history, major religions have pointed to a unifying force that exists in all of us, within everything. Christians call it the Holy Spirit. Buddhists, Buddha Nature. In science, it's known as the singularity - the boundless potential that existed at the moment of the big bang.

After that explosion of creation, this "universality" began doing what nature does; it began a process of diversification. What was once a single and unifying force, the stuff of the universe, began to change. "The one" began to express itself in new and awesome ways and (as Tyson points out) stars formed and eventually, us. In this way, we are all an example of that original potential, expressed.

Human consciousness and the birth of the ego leads us to believe that we are separate from the world around us. This is a necessary stage in the evolution of the universe because without self identity, we would lack the will to survive.

But in a very real and scientifically verifiable way, we are one with the universe. We are the stuff of the universe, manifested in a new way.

Enter the human imagination, and this is where it gets really mind-blowing. As we are the universe expressed, our consciousness is, in essence, the universe becoming aware of itself. This universal self-awareness, of which humanity is in the early stages of participation, is an amazing moment in the history of everything, because the universe now has the opportunity to imagine itself and to shape the nature of its own unfurling.

If your head is spinning, don't worry, so's mine! The important thing to take away is this. Your imagination is an integral part of creation, and your participation in the creative process has great meaning, because it is shaping the destiny of our universe; the destiny of us.

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