by Duane Elgin
necessary relationships for existence of, 27
life force, foundation of existence, 117–119
life forms, alien, 215–216
lifestyles
changing to earth-friendly, 176
of simplicity, 172–176
light, nature of, 98–102
Linssen, Robert, a skilled meditator’s view of the world, 73
living, sustainable, 175, 178
Living One, recognizing the, 111
location, where are we, 2
logic, whole systems of a “living universe,” 55
love
and awareness, 105–108
impact and enduring power of, 170–172
Luthr Standing Bear, Lakota teachings, 76
Majarj, Sri Nisargadatta, your existence in the universe, 69
mass media, the collective mirror of, 179–184
Master Universe. See Mother Universe
matter
dark, 22–24, 202
designing, 28
maturity, testing our, 143
meditation
Buddhist, 72–73
experiencing flow, 108
feedback and, 48–49
practicing intense, 5
meditations
on becoming beings of light, 194
on building a universe, 190
with conscious aliveness, 192–193
on knowing, 194
on living in harmony with others, 194
looking into space, 191–192
on love, 194
on our invisible self, 191
practing flow consciousness, 193
reality surfing, 193
with reflective consciousness, 192
visualizing ourselves as giants, 190–191
Merton, Thomas, impact of life events on the soul, 113
Meta-Universe. See Mother Universe
mindfulness, balance between concentration and, 150
mindsets, evolving, 6–7
miracles, American Indian lore’s three, 19
mirror
of consciousness, 148
mass media as an effective social, 179–184
Mitchell, Edgar, observing the entire universe from space, 11
mold, slime, 44–45
molecules, primary perception of, 44
Mother Universe
description of God, 86
existence of a, 54
key attributes of, 89–90
superspace, 85
movements, retrofitting for a sustainable future, 177
Muhammad, teachings of, 66–68
Muir, John, nature’s peace, 10
Multiverse. See Mother Universe
music, body of, 102–105
Muslims, teachings of Muhammad in the Koran, 66
Nag Hammadi, ancient texts, 64–65
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), SRI psychic research project, 6
Native Americans, the Golden Rule of, 146
nature
consciously reconnecting with, 134–135
self-organizing system’s paradoxical, 112
the torus found throughout, 121
Navajo, view of the universe, 76
Nimay, Mikhail, Book of Mirdad 166–167
non-locality, instant communication, 36–37
Norbu, Namkhai, Tibetan Buddhist teacher, 72
occasionalism, continuous rebirth of the universe, 66–67
Ohlones (San Francisco to Monterey Bay), view of the universe, 76
OM, “sound body,” 104–105
opportunity, narrowing the economic disparities between wealth and, 168–169
origins, birth of the universe, 83–84
Palamas, Gregory, absorbing the wisdom within light, 99
panentheism, contemporary Western philosophy of, 79–80
paradigms
changing, 7
Newtonian vs. quantum physics, 52–53
perception of a dead universe, 7–8
replacing consumerism with ephemeralism, 174
particles, communication between subatomic, 36–37
patterns, dynamic stability of the torus, 120
perception
extrasensory, 26
primary, 43
perspective
the big picture, 134
of a living universe, 211–212
our relationship with the universe, 14–15
See also paradigms
Planck distance, cosmic scale of human existence, 21
Planck length, measure of, 202
Planck, Max, on consciousness, 43–44
plants, communication between, 45, 209
Plato
living by the golden mean, 172
on music and the universe, 104–105
pleasure, consumerism vs. relationships, 13–14
Plotinus
philosophical teachings of, 78
the universe, 117
poets, early Persian, 67–68
Pope John Paul II, creatio continua, 65
potentials, remote viewing and sending, 47
“power of now,” view of the universe, 81
Prabhasvara, clear light, 100–101
Prince Ashoka, compassionate rule of, 171–172
principle, the quantum, 37
progress, relationship between simplicity and, 173
psychokinesis, experiments with, 49–50
Puthoff, Harold and Russell Targ, psychic research experiments at SRI, 48
Pythagoras
the cosmos, 10
the human race, 159
Quakers (Society of Friends), idea of inner light, 99–100
quantum theory, 41–42
quantum vacuum, reality of the, 85
questions. See conversations
racism, healing the wounds of, 168
Radin, Dean
psi research analysis, 26
remote viewing, 47
reality
fabric of, 42
surfing, 153
reconciliation
with future generations, 169
the process of, 168
regeneration, continuous, 29, 39
relationships, fundamental wisdom, 146–147
religions
during the axial ages, 144–147
reconciliation of the world’s, 168
reproduction, black holes, 53–54
research, psychic, 48
revolution
the agricultural, 137–138
the industrial, 78–79, 137–138
rituals, the Last Supper, 211–212
Rumi
on light, 100
poetry of, 107
Sufi leader and Persian poet of the thirteenth century, 67
view of Mother Universe, 88
Sagan, Carl, view of our universe, 84
scale
our place in the cosmic, 25
Planck, 21–22
videos on the powers of “ten,” 217
Schelling, Friedrich, philosophical teachings of, 78
Schimmel, Annamarie, life’s journey, 93
Schroedinger, Erwin, barriers in quantum theory, 41
science, the meta-universe in, 84–86
Scott-Maxwell, Florida, knowing yourself, 109
Self
encounters with your cosmic, 110–111
our sense of, 94–96, 185–186
self-awareness, our sense of, 93
self-image
collective, 3
of a maturing species, 161–162, 165–166
sentience
basic, 43
consciousness of the universe, 46–47
separation, humanity’s journey of, 134–138
Shabistari, Mahmud, poetry of, 67–68
Shao, description of Mother Universe, 87
Shintoism, the Golden Rule of, 146
Shiva, cosmic dance of, 70
shortages, energy, 139–140
Sikhism, the Golden Rule
of, 146
simplicity, living a lifestyle of, 172–176
size, humans in the Cosmic Scale, 21
slime mold, single cell consciousness, 44–45
Smith, Huston, on Hindu religious thought, 69
society, journey of awakening, 131
song-line, individual, 103
Sorokin, Pitirim, The Ways and Power of Love, 170–172
soul
existence of a, 215
identity, 94–96
impact of life events on the, 113
knowingness, 109–110
unique signature of thoughts in our, 97
“Sound,” Kabir, 103–104
space
designing, 28
empty, 38–39, 41
space-time, fabric of, 24–25
species
balancing human needs with the earth’s biosphere, 169
the cosmic nature of our, 163–166
a maturing, 161–162
SRI
participation in “futures group,” 5
psychic research conducted at, 6, 47–48
stars, engineering, 28
stories
miracle of the universe, 128
passing along wisdom, 13
suffering, healing, 170
Sufism
essense of God, 106–107
Islamic doctrine of, 67–68
superspace, theory of, 84–85
surfing, reality, 153
Suzuki, D.T., Zen scholar, 73
Swimme, Brian
our sense of self-awareness, 93
persisting pattern of the universe, 42
systems
cosmic information, 28
of the cosmos, 31
crisis of whole, 3
living, 34–35, 38–39, 54–55
self-organizing, 119–123
Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu), 74
clear light, 101
Taoism
the Golden Rule of, 146
“Great Tone of Nature,” 104
Lao tzu’s description of Mother Universe, 87
view of the world, 73–74
wisdom of simplicity, 172
Targ, Russsell and Harold Putoff, psychic research experiments at SRI, 48
technology, exposing injustice in all parts of the world, 170
temperature, zero point, 38–39
tension, creative, 104–105
test, our supreme, 138–140
texts, the Nag Hammadi, 64–65
The Encyclopedia of Religion, love and wisdom traditions, 105–106
The Gospel of Thomas
the Kingdom of God, 109
light in the teachings of Jesus, 99
recognizing ourselves, 110
teachings of the living Jesus, 64–65
The Ways and Power of Love (Sorokin), 170–172
theism, vs. atheism, 201
theories
the Big Bang, 24–25, 27
continuous creation of the cosmos, 40, 204–208
a dead universe vs. a living universe, 39–42
non-locality, 36–37
number of dimensions of the universe, 24
quantum, 41–42
quantum foam, 41–42
the quantum principle, 37
superspace, 84–85
Tiru-Mular, poetry of love in the Middle Ages, 107
Toba catastrophe, 135–136
tools, animal use of, 46
torus
in Nature, 121
significance of, 120
Toynbee, Arnold, Law of Progressive Simplification, 173
traditions, wisdom. See wisdom traditions
training, cosmic feedback, 50–52
tribal peoples, indigenous view of the universe, 75–77
truth-telling, planetary, 182
Tzu, Lao, Tao Te Ching, 73–74
universe
acknowledging a non-living, 7
Biblical references to creation of the, 61–63
composition of the, 23
contrasts between a dead and a living, 30-31
daughter perspective, 90–91
definition of a living, 12
evolution of the Cosmic Feminine, 143
exploitation of the dead, 9
friend or foe, 2–3
invisibility of the, 22–24
as a living system, 55
music of the, 104
rate of expansion of the, 27
views of various religious groups on the, 61–77, 81, 99–100
wisdom traditions, 59–60
Upanishad, Chandogya, Hindu teachings of, 69–70
vacuum, quantum, 85
Vedas
Hindu scripture, 68
sound of Brahman, 104
vibrations, music of the universe, 104
videos, powers of “ten,” 217
viewing, remote, 47, 48–49
views, dead vs. alive universe, xii
virus, a living or non-living entity, 34
Voluntary Simplicity (Elgin), 6
warfare, psychic, 48
Watts, Alan, Zen scholar, 73
wealth, narrowing the economic disparities between opportunity and, 168–169
Western thought, impact of, 77–80
Wheeler, John
quantum foam theory, 41–42
the quantum principle, 37
theory of superspace, 84–85
Whitehead, Alfred North, “occasions of experience,” 79
Whitman, Walt
colorless light, 101
the divine in nature, 19
Wiener, Norbert, pattern of the universe, 42
Wilson, E.O., biophilia, 10
wisdom
culture, 143
harvesting the human experience, 80–82
using stories to pass along, 13
wisdom traditions
the Golden Rule in, 145–146
sacred meaning and knowledge, 109
spirituality and the universe, 86–89
theme of light in, 98–102
views of the universe, 59–60
womb, cosmic, 89–90
world
intense interdependence of the, 182
solidity of the matrial, 97–98
wormholes, relationship to black holes, 53–54
wounds, healing through reconciliation, 169–170
Wright, Frank Lloyd, belief in God, 11
Yung-chia, Zen view of the universe, 88
Zen
becoming centered, 73
Buddhist wisdom traditions from the Lanbkavatara Sutra, 88
zero point, background energy, 38–39
Zimmer, Heinrich, Hindu cosmology, 70
About the Author
DUANE ELGIN is an internationally recognized visionary, speaker, and author. He earned his MBA from the Wharton Business School and then an MA in economic history from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2001 he was awarded an honorary PhD for work in “ecological and spiritual transformation” from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. In 2006 Elgin received the Goi International Peace Award in recognition of his contribution to a global “vision, consciousness, and lifestyle” that fosters a “more sustainable and spiritual culture.”
In the early 1970s Elgin worked in Washington, D.C., as a senior staff member of a joint Presidential-Congressional Commission on the American Future. He then moved to California to work as a senior social scientist with the think tank SRI International, where he co-authored numerous studies on the long-range future. With Joseph Campbell and a small team of scholars, he co-authored the report that later became the book Changing Images of Man (1982). He co-authored other major reports as well: Anticipating Future National and Global Problems (for the President’s Science Advisor), Alternative Futures for Environmental Policy (for the Environmental Protection Agency), and Limits to the Management of Large, Complex Systems (for the National Science Foundation).
Seeing the challenges ahead,
Elgin left SRI in 1977 to focus on writing and non-partisan organizing of citizens around issues of media accountability and citizen empowerment. Elgin’s first book was published in 1981: Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich (3rd edition, forthcoming). This pioneering book is recognized as a classic in exploring more sustainable and meaningful ways of living. The idea of a living universe was at the foundation of his next book, Awakening Earth: Exploring the Evolution of Human Culture and Consciousness (1993). This is a big-picture overview of the evolution of human consciousness, both personal and social, from awakening hunter-gatherers to the modern era and then into the deep future. Elgin’s third book, Promise Ahead: A Vision of Hope and Action for Humanity’s Future (2000), explored the “adversity trends” and the “opportunity trends” that were converging at that time; it suggested ways the human family could avoid an evolutionary crash and instead realize an evolutionary leap forward. Elgin has also contributed chapters to sixteen books, and published more than seventy articles on subjects ranging from social transformation and simplicity to media accountability and a living universe.
Elgin has been researching the theme of a living universe for the past twenty-seven years, and elements of his work have been published in scholarly journals. In 1988 he published the lengthy article on the cosmology of a reflective and regenerative universe:
“The Living Cosmos: A Theory of Continuous Creation,” for the journal Revision. His article, “The Paradigm of a Living Universe,” was published in the Journal of World Futures (2000) and presents a scholarly summary of his cosmology. Two of his books—Awakening Earth and Promise Ahead—included chapters on the theme of a living cosmos. The Living Universe brings these years of inquiry together for the first time.
In addition to decades of scholarship, Elgin also brings forty years of meditation and inner inquiry to his exploration of a living universe. He has been inspired by all of the world’s wisdom traditions, especially Buddhist, Quaker, Gnostic Christian, and Hindu. Elgin has also had extensive experience with psychic research in a scientific setting. For nearly three years in the early 1970s he was one of four primary subjects who participated in numerous experiments funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to explore our intuitive potentials. These experiments were conducted at SRI International, where Elgin worked doing futures research. Results from these experiments (notably, remote viewing) have been published in major scientific journals. A portion of Elgin’s work is described in the scientific paper by Puthoff and Targ, “A Perceptual Channel for Information Transfer over Kilometer Distances,” published in the proceedings of the prestigious I.E.E.E. (1976). His work is also described in their book Mind-Reach: Scientists Look at Psychic Ability (1977).
As a speaker, Elgin has given more than 250 keynotes and workshops with audiences ranging from business executives and civic groups to college students and religious organizations. Common topics are “the world at the tipping point,” “sustainable and meaningful ways of living,” “the living universe,” and “four arche types for imagining a promising future.” A series of online courses is available through his website. Elgin has also co-produced short streaming videos for the Internet that look at key aspects of the human journey. His videos, courses and extensive writing are available on his website: