We are what we believe we are.
C.S. Lewis
To answer the question Who am I and why am I here? I look to someone I admire and respect. Albert Einstein was a brilliant scientist but he was also a deeply spiritual man. Beyond the theory of relativity he teaches of what it is to be human and connected to something so much greater than our little selves.
In a letter he wrote to a grieving friend he explains that who we are right now is delusional. He alludes to a need to free ourselves from this self imposed prison by changing what we believe about ourselves. We need to remove this false idea of separation and reach out with compassion to the entire universe.
A human being is a part of a whole, called by us "Universe"; a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as somehow separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons near to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. (brainpickings)
One of our roles and purposes for this human existence then...is to get beyond the delusion of self to the reality of Self.
How do Science and Spirituality Fit Together?
If you are anything like me, you probably see the spiritual and the scientific as two distinct fields of thought. One is based on the mystical and the inexplicable while the other is based on the need for observation and validation. I guess when we ponder the questions: Who am I and why am I here? We want to understand the "mystery" with "empirical knowledge". Can we do that?
To truly Know is to do so only in the unseen realm where terminology and mental construct does not necessarily fit....where time and distance isn't real; where there is no separation. There is a science that studies this. Of course the "science" I am referring to here is quantum physics.
There is a book out there that explains the connection between spirituality (Buddhism) and quantum physics entitled, "The Quantum and the Lotus" by Mathieu Ricard, a molecular biologist turned Buddhist Monk and Trinh Xaun Thuan, a Buddhist astrophysicist. I will definitely be placing that on my to-read list.
All is well!
References and recommended reads:
Popova, Maria (n.d.)Einstein on Widening Our Circles of Compassion. brainpickings. Retrieved from https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/11/28/einstein-circles-of-compassion/
Ricard, M. & Thaun, Trinh. (2004). The Quantum and the Lotus. Broadway Books. (Please note: I haven't read this yet and am only recommending it on a gut level curiosity to understand.)
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