New Cosmology Links
Resources related to the New Cosmology
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Spitzer and Hubble Create Colorful
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It
matters what we think about evolution. Trying to understand reality without an
evolutionary worldview is like trying to understand infection without
microscopes or the structure of the Universe without telescopes. It’s not
merely difficult; it’s impossible. . . . Until we see the entire history of the
Universe as scripture, and create laws and incentives that align the self-interests
of individuals, corporations, and nations with the wellbeing of life as a
whole, we will continue to toxify the air, water, and soil, drive other species
to extinction, and be hounded by religious, political, social, and economic
crises. . . . Until we learn to see through sacred deep-time eyes, atheists and
fundamentalists will continue to blame each other for the world’s ills,
liberals and conservatives will keep trashing one another, and, collectively,
we will fail to see that enormous global challenges are divine evolutionary
drivers guiding us to greatness.
Articles:
Something
Bigger than Life is Trying to Work Through Us by Tom Atlee 8/8/09 - More and more, I
feel called to talk about crises, as creatively and usefully as I can. Evolution always speeds up in the
verges, the edges, the crises, the between-worlds spaces where anything can
happen.... Our emerging crises are a call to become wiser, collectively -- to
become the deep collective wisdom and monumental creativity of evolution,
itself, becoming conscious through us. And we, on that edge, are speeding toward a whole new identity, a whole
new Story of who we are and what we are about.
Awakening to Our
Role in The Great Work by Stephanie Kaza - Thomas Berry breaks new
ground in The Great Work, with a reassessment of "wild" as it
applies to both humans and nature. As environmental crises multiply around the
globe, Berry offers the alternative of deeply affirming the sacred quality of
the Earth. For him this is not merely an idealized goal, but a necessity, if
the present Cenozoic era is not to be a terminal phase. Berry is candid in
expressing his sense of foreboding in assessing the "extensive disarray in
the biological structure and functioning of the planet." Not only does
this threaten the stability of life on the planet, but it signals a painful
loss of human intimacy with the natural word, overridden by the primacy of the
economic order. Associated with this loss is the deterioration of a sense of
mystery and capacity for celebrating the vast wonders of the universe.
The Evolutionary Worldview by Tom Atlee - The application of the evolutionary worldview to personal and social
affairs, including social action and philanthropy, is relatively new.
This current initiative is grounded in an emerging evolutionary spiritual
movement that is part of that trend. This is an introduction to this
perspective, and how it can be applied to life, and how it fits within the
larger field of spiritual traditions.
The Big Picture: The Larger Context for All Human
Activities, by Michael Dowd (with bibliography)
Understanding Our
Moment In History: An Interview with Richard Tarnas by Scott London
What Is The New Cosmology? By Brian Swimme
The Ecozoic
Era by Thomas Berry 1991 - The
changes presently taking place in human and earthly affairs are beyond any
parallel with historical change or cultural modification as these have occurred
in the past. This is not like the transition from the classical period to the
medieval period or from the medieval to the modern period. These changes reach
far beyond the civilizational process, beyond even the human process, into the
biosystems and even the geological structures of the Earth itself.
Thomas Berry, Writer and Lecturer With a Mission for Mankind, Dies at
94 by Andrew C. Revkin 6/1/09 - Thomas Berry, a Roman Catholic priest who called himself a “geologian”
and whose influential writings were an early call to humanity to save nature in
order to save itself, died in his birthplace, Greensboro, N.C., on Monday. He was
94. Dr. Berry’s books and lectures inspired a devoted lineage of academicians
and environmentalists to explore the interface of religion, human nature and
ecology. Beginning in the 1980s,
wrote a string of books relating cultural and spiritual evolution to the
natural history of the planet and the universe.
The Great Worker by
Andrew C. Revkin 6/4/09 - Thomas Berry, who died at 94 on Monday, leaves behind a global
following of academics, environmentalists, writers, educators and other people
who found inspiration in his message: that awe for the cosmos, particularly
this pale blue dot called Earth, could foster a transition to a new way of being for
humankind, more in balance with nature’s limits. He said humanity was poised to
shift from an anthropocentric to a biocentric view. He called the effort to
make this transition “The Great Work.”
Comprehensive Compassion, an
Interview with Brian Swimme
by Susan Bridle
Cosmology
of a Living Universe Several articles by Duane Elgin
The
Evolutionary Context of an Emerging Planetary Civilization by Mary Evelyn Tucker & Brian Swimme
The
Universe Story
: A version by Patricia
Gordon
Earthdance: Living Systems in
Evolution by Elisabet Sahtouris
Read, Watch and/or Listen
Thank
God for Evolution: Michael Dowd’s
website, including blog
The Evolutionary Evangelist:
Michael Dowd’s blog archive on science, spirituality, and evolution.
Awakening the Impulse to Evolve: The Birth of
Evolutionary Spirituality – a 12-part audio seminar with pioneers in the
evolution of consciousness and new cosmology. Includes interviews with Michael Dowd, Brian Swimme, Tom
Atlee, Connie Barlow and more.
Thomas Berry reading passages from The Great Work - audio
Thomas Berry Videos on YouTube
Brian Swimme Videos on YouTube
Ecology: A New Story - beautiful lecture by Brian Swimme (2009) on the sacred dimension of the new cosmology, with slides.
Integral with the Planet with Brian Swimme, illustrated with
pictures and music
All Nourishing Abyss with
Brian Swimme on the creativity of the quantum vacuum
Radiance with
Brian Swimme – We are surrounded by beings that are just crammed with the
radiance of 14 billion years.
Global Mindshift with Brian Swimme, Duane Elgin and others.
The Darwin Project — What Darwin said about the evolution of
the human mind, and species, that has been suppressed!
Evolutionary
Life - An e-magazine for those inspired by sacred,
meaningful understandings of the evolutionary story of the universe.
The Evolutionary Times - Newsletter of Michael
Dowd and Connie Barlow on the unfolding evolutionary movement
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Barbara Marx Hubbard &
Michael Dowd
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The
Conversation of the Century – A free email newsletter from Barbara Marx Hubbard profiling her “extraordinary evolutionary colleagues.”
Humanity Ascending - A visionary film about conscious evolution with
Barbara Marx Hubbard
Evolve – a Global Community Center for
Conscious Evolution
Conscious Evolution – articles by Tom Atlee
Thomas
Berry and the Earth Community - The Earth Community website presents the far-reaching vision of
American writer Thomas Berry, a leading ecological and ethical thinker, about
the role of humanity within nature and about our relationship with the Earth
and the Universe.
Center
for Earth Jurisprudence - CEJ’s mission is to re-envision law and governance in ways that
support and protect the health and well being of the Earth community as a
whole. CEJ seeks to develop a philosophy and practice of law that respect the
rights of the natural world and recognize humans as an integral member of the
Earth community.
The Great Work: Thomas Berry slideshows
Bounce
or Crash with Duane Elgin
Living
in a Living Universe with Duane Elgin
The Great Story – Michael Dowd & Connie Barlow’s first website with many useful
resources.
Epic of Evolution – resources from the Rainforest Information Center
Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness – A Master’s and Ph.D. program at the California Institute of Integral
Studies, in which Richard Tarnas and Brian Swimme are core faculty. A growing consensus among scientists, scholars,
and visionaries is that our world is facing an unprecedented evolutionary
challenge. The ecological, political, and spiritual crisis of late modernity
calls for a fundamental reorientation of our civilization, including a
transformation of both our institutions and our own consciousness. The cultural
historian Thomas Berry has called this task the "Great Work." This program is designed to help shape
the intellectual, moral, and spiritual leadership necessary for meeting this
historic challenge.
An Emerging Universe
Story by Jennifer Morgan 2007 - Inspired by the work of Thomas Berry,
Brian Swimme, Maria Montessori, and numerous others, Jennifer Morgan studied
cosmology, evolutionary biology and anthropology, and worked with numerous
scientists to write a universe story trilogy for the children, illustrated by
Dana Lynn Andersen. Each book has a story section targeted for the elementary
level and middle school level and a science concept section in the back for
teachers and parents. The books are now used in classrooms around the world.
Carl
Sagan - Cosmos Intro
Carl
Sagan – Cosmos
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Dying Star HD 44179 - the “Red Rectangle,” Sculpts
Rungs of Gas and Dust
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[G]o back to the birth of the galaxies. There was
one moment when the galaxies could form, not before or after. That's like our
moment right now, I think. See, this is the moment for the planet to awaken to
itself through the human, so that the actual dynamics of evolution have an
opportunity to awaken and to begin to function at that level. It couldn't
happen before, you know. And the amazing thing is, it probably won't happen
afterwards. If we don't make this transition, most likely the creativity of the
planet will be in such a degraded state that we won't be able to make that
move. The chilling thing is that, in the universe, the really creative places
can lose their creativity. —
Brian Swimme, Comprehensive Compassion,
Photos
courtesy of the HubbleSite Picture Album
© 2009 Suzanne Duarte