The Living Universe (6 page)

The highly regarded physicist David Bohm explained this phenomenon by portraying the universe as a gigantic hologram that is regenerated at each moment. In Bohm's view, the entire cosmos is a dynamic projection from a deeper common ground that is holographic in nature. At every moment, every part of the universe contains information about the whole. Analogously, if you take a holographic picture of a person and then cut the plate in half, when
each half is illuminated, it will contain the entire original image, although more faintly. If each of the halves is cut in half again, each of the pieces will contain a smaller but complete version of the original. The whole is in every part and every part is in the whole.

Nonlocality exists, not because of extremely fast messaging back and forth at the subatomic level, but because separation does not exist. Bohm said that ultimately we have to see the entire universe as “a single, undivided whole.”
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Instead of separating the universe into living things and non-living things, he viewed animate and inanimate matter as inseparably interwoven with the life force that is present throughout the universe. For Bohm, even a rock has its unique form of aliveness, because the life force is dynamically flowing through the fabric of the entire universe.
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The eminent physicist John Wheeler expressed the unity of the universe in this way:

Nothing is more important about the quantum principle
than this, that it destroys the concept of the world as “sitting
out there,” with the observer safely separated from it. . . . To
describe what has happened, one has to cross out that old word
“observer” and put in its place the new word “participator.” In
some strange sense the universe is a participatory universe.
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In the earlier view of a universe composed of separate objects, we could regard ourselves as independent observers; however, in the new understanding of the universe, everything participates with everything else in co-creating reality, moment by moment. As stunning as it seems, non-locality means that we each participate in the totality of the universe. In the words of the physicist Sir James Jeans, we may think that we are “. . . individuals carrying on separate existences in space and time, while in the deeper reality beyond space and time we may all be members of one body.”
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A second key property of living systems is that energy flows through them. What about our universe? Despite the vast reaches of seemingly empty space, is there evidence of energy flowing throughout the totality of the universe?

Nearly 14 billion years after the Big Bang, the expansion of the universe is not slowing down, as we would expect with a mechanical explosion; instead, it started picking up speed roughly 5 billion years ago. Trying to account for this expansion, scientists were shocked to discover that phenomenal amounts of energy are present throughout the universe and are pushing it apart. As mentioned in the opening chapter, it is thought that invisible or dark energy is causing our universe to expand at an increasing rate. Recall that scientists estimate dark energy comprises the majority of our cosmos—an estimated 73 percent of the universe.

Scientists also know that throughout the universe there exists a sea of background energy called
zero point energy
. It is called “zero point” because it is found at the lowest temperature that can exist in the universe—absolute zero. We cannot see zero point energy because it is everywhere and through everything and, as a result, it does not stand out. Although it is not yet clear how zero point energy is connected with dark energy, it is evident that stupendous amounts of background energy constantly flow through the universe. While we are just beginning to understand the nature of these remarkable energies, their existence is not disputed.

Whatever we call it, the background energy of the cosmos is shockingly large. Physicist David Bohm calculated that a single cubic inch of “empty” space contains far more than the energy equivalent of millions of atomic bombs!
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Empty space is a dynamically
constructed transparency requiring immense amounts of energy to create and sustain. This underlying ocean of energy is the primary reality. This is not simply a theoretical abstraction; a number of scientists are working to invent technologies that can utilize this background energy.
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In recognizing the immensity of background energy in the cosmos, Bohm said that “. . . matter as we know it is . . . rather like a tiny ripple on a vast sea.”
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In a similar way, Sir James Jeans suggested that we think of the world that we see with our senses as the “outer surface of nature, like the surface of a deep flowing stream.” He said that material objects have origins that go “deep down into the stream.”
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Another key characteristic of living systems is continuous regeneration. To illustrate, consider how your body is being continuously renewed: The inner lining of your intestine is renewed roughly every five days, and the outer layer of your skin every two weeks. We receive a new liver approximately every two months, and the bones in our body are fully replaced about every seven to ten years. Clearly, an important attribute of any living creature is continuous regeneration. When we look for evidence of regeneration in the universe, what we discover is so stunning as to be virtually incomprehensible, even to the modern mind accustomed to great marvels. Simply stated, it appears that the entire universe is being continuously regenerated at an incredibly high rate of speed.

Until recently, the dominant cosmology in contemporary physics held that, since the Big Bang nearly 14 billion years ago, little more has happened than a rearranging of the cosmic furniture. Because
traditional physicists thought of creation as a one-time miracle from “nothing,” they regarded the current contents of the universe—such as trees, rocks, and people—as constituted from ancient, non-living matter. This “dead-universe” theory assumed creation occurred only once—billions of years ago, when a massive explosion spewed out lifeless material debris into equally lifeless space; “life” then somehow mysteriously emerged as non-living atoms inexplicably organized and grew themselves into ever more complex forms (molecules, cells, organisms).

In striking contrast, the living-universe theory views creation not as a one-time event but as an ongoing process. The entire universe is maintained moment-by-moment by an unbroken flow-through of energy. A regenerative perspective suggests why there is so much energy flowing through the universe—it is needed to continuously recreate the entire universe, including the fabric of space-time and matter-energy.
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If we go to the heart of an atom, for example, what we find is almost entirely empty space. If the central core or nucleus of an atom were expanded to the size of a golf ball, the electrons that circle the core would extend outwards a mile and a half. The electrons that circle the nucleus of the atom are moving so fast—several
trillion
times a second—that they manifest as a blurred cloud of motion. Beneath the solid surface of material objects, an extraordinary flow of activity is occurring. If you were to look at a yellow dress for just one second, the electrons in the retinas of your eyes would vibrate with more waves than all the waves that have beaten upon all the shores of all the Earth's oceans in the last 10 million years.
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Physicist Max Born writes, “We have sought for firm ground and found none. The deeper we penetrate, the more restless becomes the universe; all is rushing about and vibrating in a wild dance.”
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The deeper we look into the heart of matter, the less substantial it seems. Upon close inspection, matter dissolves into knots of energy and space-time whose dynamic stability gives the appearance of enduring solidity. It is amazing that this hurricane of flowing motion comes together to present itself as the ordinary world around us. As giants, it is easy for us to overlook the ongoing miracle that is taking place at a microscopic level.

If we go into the heart of space, what we find is dynamism, energy, and structure. Space is not a pre-existing emptiness waiting to be filled with matter; rather, like matter, it emerges anew at every moment. Space exists as actively as does matter. Both are infused with the all-sustaining life force. Empty space is a dynamically constructed transparency filled with immense levels of energy and motion. Einstein wrote, “We have now come to the conclusion that space is the primary thing and matter only secondary.”
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Erwin Schroedinger, father of quantum theory, stated it this way:

What we observe as material bodies and forces are nothing but shapes and variations in the structure of space. Particles are just appearances . . . Subject and object are only one. The barrier between them cannot be said to have broken down . . . for this barrier does not exist.
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Physicist John Wheeler has used the following analogy to suggest how, upon closer inspection, the fabric of space-time comes alive with motion. He imagines an aviator flying several miles above the ocean who looks down and sees what appears to be a flat and uniform surface. When he flies lower, he begins to make out rolling waves moving across the surface. Diving still closer to the water, he sees smaller waves and crests forming on the swells. Looking even closer, he sees the surface of the water boiling with foam. In a
similar way, the closer we look into the fabric of space-time, the more it appears as a complex symphony of waves and patterns; the smooth fabric of reality breaks down into “quantum foam” and our usual ideas of space and time disappear.

When we put the complete dynamism of matter together with the dynamism of space, it seems astonishing how stable and utterly dependable is the fabric of reality. We don't have to worry about “space-time storms” that might create rips and tears in the fabric of reality. It is extraordinary that complete dynamism at the microscopic scale manifests as a stable and unwavering reality at the human scale.

Given the dynamism of both matter and space, the universe is, in the words of David Bohm, “an undivided wholeness in flowing movement.”
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In this view, the entire cosmos is being regenerated at each instant in a single symphony of expression that unfolds from the most microscopic aspects of the subatomic realm to the vast reaches of billions of galactic systems. The cosmos taken altogether is the basic unit of continuous creation.

Scientists sound like poets as they attempt to describe our cosmos in its process of becoming. The mathematician Norbert Wiener expresses it this way: “We are not stuff that abides, but patterns that perpetuate themselves; whirlpools of water in an ever-flowing river.”
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Imagine water flowing over rocks in a stream. If we look at the flow over a particular rock, we can see a persisting pattern despite the continuous streaming of water. We, and the rest of the universe, are a persisting pattern that, as physicist Brian Swimme tells us, “emerges out of an all-nourishing abyss not only 14 billion years ago but in every moment.”
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All flows comprise one grand symphony in which we are all players, a single creative expression—a uni-verse.

The word
consciousness
derives from the root “con-scire” and means “that with which we know.” Some level of consciousness is basic to life; therefore, if the universe is alive, we should expect to discover evidence of consciousness operating at every level of existence. This does not mean that we should expect to encounter
human
consciousness. We humans embody the third miracle, the capacity to see ourselves in the mirror of our own self-awareness. Our scientific name as a species is
Homo sapiens sapiens
. In other words, we are the species that is not only “sapient” or wise, but “sapient-sapient” or doubly knowing or doubly wise.
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In contrast, the consciousness that we find at the foundations of the universe could be called “primary perception,” or basic sentience. This refers to the capacity for knowing, but without the ability to reflect upon the knowing process itself.

When we look along the spectrum of existence, what do we find? At the most fundamental levels we find evidence of primary perception. The respected physicist Freeman Dyson wrote the following about consciousness at the quantum level: “Matter in quantum mechanics is not an inert substance but an active agent, constantly making choices between alternative possibilities . . . . It appears that mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent inherent in every electron.”
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Again, this does not mean that an atom has the same consciousness as a human being, but rather that an atom has a reflective capacity appropriate to its form and function. In a similar vein, Max Planck, developer of quantum theory, said: “I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness.”
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In accepting the Nobel Prize, he said: “All matter
originates and exists only by virtue of a force . . . . We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter.”

Looking one step above the level of the atom, we find a rudimentary consciousness present at the level of primitive molecules. Researchers have found that molecules consisting of no more than a few simple proteins have the capacity for primary perception that is the signature of living systems. As one of the researchers who made this discovery stated, “We were surprised that such simple proteins can act as if they had a mind of their own.”
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Stepping up from molecules, we look at the smallest “living” entities, single-celled microbes that are found everywhere from inside our intestines to the scum on the surface of a pond. Scientists studying bacteria, amoebas, and yeast have discovered that they are intensely social creatures possessing unique forms of language. These single-cell creatures are not loners; instead, they are connected as a community and use chemicals to communicate with one another. This is amazing enough, but the truly remarkable finding is that the same chemical communication can have different meanings in different circumstances. Microbes are not unconscious machines but discerning organisms with a social intelligence previously considered possible only in the realm of intelligent animals such as primates.
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