Showing posts with label melting ice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label melting ice. Show all posts

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Our Dynamic Universe



 Looking at a starry sky on a quiet night  there may be no hint that the universe we admire is the product of a violent event that occurred  13.75 billion years ago. The night's sky may seem tranquil and unchanging, but the beauty of a starlit sky conceals the unimaginably huge and energetic forces at work within our universe.

Science is revealing that the universe is much larger and more dynamic than we had imagined, constantly changing -- supernovas, black holes, very active galaxies, comets, asteroids, and meteors hurtling through space, new stars, old stars collapsing under their own gravity, infernos of nuclear energy releasing intense radiation across the universe.

The Earth itself rotates 1040 mi/hr (at the equator), while orbiting the sun at approx. 66,629 mi/hr, and the Earth travels at least 3,918,402,000 miles in a years time (as it also orbits around the sun). The sun orbits the galactic center at aprox. 447,000 mi/hr. Using Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation it is estimated the total motion of the Earth through space is approx. 1,342,000 mi/hr or 11,763,972,000 miles in 1 year! So actually you are always hurling through space at many thousands of miles per hour even though the world can seem calm and still.

The earth itself changes in unexpected ways. Sediments extracted from the Antarctic seafloor show the world's largest ice shelf has disintegrated and reappeared many times in the past. Frequent climate fluctuations  have been so extreme that Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf, a floating slab of ice the size of France, oscillated in size dramatically and melted dozens of times in the past few million years. This means that weather patterns and sea levels fluctuate much much more dramatically than we had thought.

Living things change too. DNA studies reveal that humans living about one million years ago were extremely close to extinction. Though primitive humans have been around for a couple of million years, the development of language proper probably began with Homo sapiens less than 200,000 years ago. It is assumed that the earliest civilizations that arose in the world developed in the late fourth and the third millennia BC in parts of Asia and north Africa. Since people like to live near the ocean, many coastal communities have been inundated in the past. Archeologists are locating indications of many submerged ruins around the globe, but we have few facts, dates, or cultural information about these long lost civilizations. How much of our own infrastructure may have the same fate?

What does seem apparent is that a long period of relatively stable climate seems to be changing dramatically and we are not only unprepared, but deep denial. Obviously we are directly responsible for vast deforestation, soil and water depletion, degradation of the atmosphere oceans and food chain, acidification,  radioactive contamination, and a long list of wars and other horrors that are illogical and downright hostile. And this strain of violence runs so deep that we inflict each other and even ourselves with escalating tragedy.

Mind over matter may be our best hope. By turning inward and managing our own emotional turmoil and animosity, we may find self respect, dignity and courage to make a difference in our interactions with others and our beautiful planet. Children who have never been shown respect have little respect to give. Caring and kindness are our most precious assets. If we withhold compassion from others, we block the natural flow of energy from the universe to ourselves and our world.

We live in a universe that evolves stars, galaxies, planets, oceans, mountains, plants and animals from pure energy. If all seahorses become extinct, they may eventually evolve again on some distant world or parallel universe. And if our own species comes to an end, perhaps eventually, in a few million years, another wiser, kinder, gentler species may occur. But for now, whatever serenity and stability there is may come only from within us. Perhaps our own consciousness is the universe becoming aware of itself. It is possible that only this kind of consciousness can bring order to chaos. Your own transcendence can stem only from your own mind and heart.

We each inhabit a miraculous body-mind electro-chemical matrix composed of trillions amd trillions of dynamic cells which are being continually renewed. It is bit like a super high definition three dimensional plasma video screen onto which we project and experience cellular consciousness. We can recall and revisit a single frame of a motion picture we can replay a poignant moment or event in our lives as if it was static, discreet or separate event. But the separateness is holographic in that it is interlaced and connected to all other moments. And in the same way we are all holographic parts of the fabric or web of all life, and cannot truly lay claim to individuation, because it is mythical.

In Buddhism and Hinduism, Indra’s Web is a profound metaphor for the structure of reality, representing the interconnectedness and interdependency of all things, describing a rich and diverse universe where infinitely repeated mutual relations exist between all its elements and entities. This idea is communicated in the image of the interconnectedness of the universe as seen in the net of the Vedic god Indra, whose net hangs over his palace on Mount Meru, the axis mundi of Vedic cosmology and Vedic mythology. Indra's net has a multifaceted jewel at each vertex, and each jewel is reflected in all of the other jewels.

Everything has frequency which is the measurable rate of electrical energy flow that is constant between any two points. The human body has an electrical frequency and the body parts may operate at various frequencies. Much about a person’s health can be determined by it. Every cell in your body is programmed to do a job which includes cell replacement which is accomplished by cell division. Trauma, fear, and stress may inhibit cellular functions. Brain frequencies can be constructive or destructive.

And it turns out that we can learn to control these since pain and suffering are optional, much more so than we has thought. To a large extent, Enlightenment means being able to accept what is and be OK with it.




  • TED Talks -Climate scientist & oceanographer, Rob Dunbar issues a compelling case for anthropogenic climate change via: 1) a very interesting analysis of sediments located beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, and 2) an equally interesting analysis of giant corals. He concludes with a discussion of ocean acidification as the biggest environmental challenge.
  • The Human Family Tree -Watch Free Documentary Online -Narrated by Kevin Bacon, The Human Family Tree travels to one of the most diverse corners of the world to demonstrate how we all share common ancestors who embarked on very different journeys.
  • Ape to Man - History Channel - YouTube-  It has long been considered the most compelling question in our history: Where do human beings come from?
  • Climate of Change -Academy Award® winner Tilda Swinton narrates this documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Brian Hill (Songbirds) focusing on the efforts of everyday people all over the world who are making a difference in the fight against global warming.
  • Advanced Ice Age Civilizations & Atlantis - examines evidence pointing to signs of progressive societies predating the last Ice Age -- including the remnants of what may be the legendary lost city of Atlantis. Featuring magnificent underwater photography and interviews with leading experts and researchers, the series sheds light on humanity's genesis and ancient cultures that understood advanced concepts such as astronomy and mathematics. 
  • Surviving Progress  - This bracing documentary considers whether human "progress" stemming from the Industrial Age could be paving the way for civilization's collapse. The film asks a range of thinkers whether the modern world might be headed for a "progress trap."
  • LEGACY -the origins of civilization: A Search for the Origins of Civilization (1992) Complete Series hosted by Michael Wood. Six one hour episodes.