Our Universe is A Sacred Living System

[appears in the blog Humanistic Paganism, 2015]

The relationship between humans and our natural world is enshrined and encapsulated in interpretive schemes and manners of conceptualization.  Our conceptions of nature act as resources which guide our everyday practices and give us a sense of possibility.  Given our current ecological crisis, enflamed as it is by global climate change and numerous other issues, we must critically scrutinize our current conceptualization of our natural world, figure out if it is contributing to our problems and consider potential alternatives that might be able to guide us to a more sustainable way of living.  Before addressing our modern image of nature, I first review the conceptions of the natural world found among our archaic ancestors.  I conclude by arguing that we need a new way of thinking about nature—as a “sacred living system”.

“The Wisdom of the Earth”

Close examination of the conceptions of the natural world found among archaic foraging societies across the globe reveals a set of cultural framings that I call the “Wisdom of the Earth”.  These people, who lived very close to their natural worlds, deeply understood the interconnectedness of the universe.  They had intimate relationships with their natural surroundings, sustainable cultural practices and earth-centered spiritualities ground in rich ceremonies and rituals.

In a sense this is the “norm” for human communities as this way of life comprises the bulk of human existence.  It is estimated that over 90% of our time on this planet as homo sapiens was found in these pre-agricultural foraging societies.  Tribal people are attuned to the recurring cycles of nature and to the deities that animate the world of the visible living beings and that links them to the invisible realm of spirits, ancestors and dreams. They feel a deep kinship with everything animate and inanimate.

Today some indigenous tribal people across the globe still retain this close spiritual connection to the Earth.  Those whose cultures have been less influenced by “western” and “modern” ways of life continue to maintain a conception of the world as sacred and alive.  We should be thankful that this “wisdom of the earth” has not been lost and that we have rich and vibrant tribal cultures willing to teach us aspects of their worldviews so that we might achieve a sustainable way of living.

Indigenous people occupy a unified soul-filled cosmos in which there is no separation between the human and nature.  Everything flows into everything else.  Often these people talk to the animals and to the spirits, who are their equal partners weaving together the sacred web of life.

The dominant conception of the natural world in these indigenous tribal societies is that of the nurturing, yet sometimes dark and mysterious, mother who provides endless bounty, but who can also suddenly take it all away.  Knowing that the world around them is enchanted and that rocks and rivers, trees and woodland animals are imbued with spirit, they treat the world with reverence and continually express gratitude through embodied rituals celebrating this familial relationship.  A powerful ecological consciousness gives these people a strong sense of belonging to the world and supports an ethic of responsible use.

The De-Sacralization of Nature

Skipping to the beginnings of our modern era, western science and rationality exert a powerful influence upon our image of nature.  The notion that the cosmos is sacred wanes and nature becomes profane.  The soul of the world—anima mundi—largely disappears from the modern worldview.  While Newtonian science and materialism provide powerful insights into the workings of the natural world, this new conception of nature facilitates the destruction of our planet by turning it into a mere resource for humans to use.  

Modern sciences advance a “mechanistic” conception of nature which regards everything as explicable by material causes and mechanical principles.  A reductionist mindset treats nature as no more than the sum of its parts.  Rather than perceiving the world as complex living systems with emergent properties an image of nature as inert matter develops.  

In the seventeenth century there was something elegant about the mechanistic picture of the universe.  The clock was still a recent invention and comparing the universe to a clocklike mechanism showed just how wonderful the world was.  The planets and the stars revolved like the gears of a clock, set in motion by God, the cosmic clockmaker.  This provided early scientists a way to understand the universe--take it apart piece by piece, to apply the reductionist methodology of science.

Throughout the modern era humans see themselves as the measure of all things and our species feels entitled to use nature for its own self-interests.  The natural world becomes for modern humans a storehouse of value.  An extreme anthropocentrism re-enforces this “utilitarian creed”.  Domination over nature is encouraged by a technocratic mentality and certain religious beliefs.

The modern era is marked by widespread alienation from nature.  The natural world has become for many merely a collection of meaningless objects to use.  We feel as though we do not really belong anywhere.  The “myth of separation” pervades the consciousness of those following the modern cosmology.  We imagine natural objects as separate, distinct entities with clear and firm boundaries between “this” and “that”.  Human existence is largely pointless in the larger scheme of things according to the modern worldview.

Copernicus created a cosmic upheaval with his heliocentric theory concerning the place of the Earth in the universe.  Since the beginning of human consciousness people assumed that the Earth was the absolute fixed center of the universe.  The scientific revolution leads to vast breakthroughs concerning the true reality of the cosmos.  Human reason applied empirically was thought to yield cosmological truths—the supposed objective reality of the universe.  Over time this lead to a total re-thinking of the place of humanity in the order of the cosmos.

In the modern worldview the human is clearly separated from the natural world.  Humans looked out at the natural world and knew that all the cherished qualities that made them human were absent in the objective world—a sense of purpose, consciousness, intelligence, the capacity for meaning and spiritual presence.  Over time the world became de-sacralized—the numinous powers, gods and goddesses, and other spiritual objects no longer assign meaning to nature.  As Max Weber proclaimed, modernity is “disenchanted”—a realm of neutral facts perceived through detached rational understanding.  The world is robbed of spiritual and symbolic meaning.  Viewed objectively, the world is denied subjectivity.  The disenchantment of the natural world allows humans to view it as a place to be shaped and as a resource to be exploited.

This radical transformation in worldviews allows for numerous other intellectual shifts which then provide for the development of modern science, individualism, democratic polity, secular civil society and industrial capitalism.

Today the modern cosmology is under attack.  The assumptions, metaphors and strategies of the modern mind are being reassessed and the outlines of a new understanding of reality are emerging.  This is a very different vision of the world, which has a deeper appreciation of the complexity of reality and a greater awareness of the limits of conventional science.  Specifically, the reappraisal of the modern cosmology acknowledges the inadequacy of reductionist, mechanistic and objectivized concepts of the natural world.  There is a revised understanding of complex living systems and a renewed religious interest in “creation spiritualities”.

The modern cosmology perceives the universe as spiritually void, impersonal and governed by random processes without meaning and purpose.  As stated, humans have no purpose in the modern cosmos.  A disenchanted and meaningless cosmos creates a mass psychology of misery marked by a spiritual hunger in which consumers fill their empty lives with more stuff, thus cannibalizing the planet.

Our conceptions of the world constitute the world.  These worldviews engender our understanding of the universe, other species and ourselves, and capture our sense of what is possible.  Underlying this contemporary revolution in our worldviews is an awakening consciousness to our spiritual connection to our living planet and to one another.

We need to change the ways we look at nature.  To “save our planet” we need new ideas.  The transition to a sustainable society requires a different conception of our natural world, a different cosmology and a different sense of what is possible.  

Our current relationship to the world is marked by alienation.  To heal this relationship we must increase our awareness of our relations with other species and the natural world.  We need to loose our arrogant anthropocentrism and accept with humility our place within the web of life.  Finally, we must acquire a new way of understanding reality that will lead to a sense of belonging to the Earth and a global ethic of responsibility.

The New Worldview

As we have seen, throughout most of human history our conception of nature was based upon the image of the sacred living cosmos, which largely supported sustainable cultural practices.  We know that aspects of this conception do not fit the facts of the world and should not be re-instated.   While I  am certainly not anti-religious and deeply respect the religious views of other people, I find no evidence of supernatural beings that would warrant building a whole scientifically-grounded cosmology around one. 

Superstitious notions about imaginary beings are best left out of the new worldview.  While there are still plenty of mysteries surrounding our natural world that leave us with wonder and awe and which provide the basis of naturalist religion (as supported by this blog), we have figured out significant aspects of how nature works and need not revert to unfounded superstitions to explain the world.

Yet there are also crucial aspects of the ancient image of a sacred cosmos that must be restored.  Specifically, we need to re-sacralize our natural world.  Several visionary thinkers are promoting a “New Story of the Universe” based on a new conception of nature--the evolutionary narrative of how our universe emerges from the Big Bang to our present moment.  Cultural historian Thomas Berry pioneered the framing of this “sacred cosmos” conceptualization.  Other intellectuals advancing similar images of nature including Brian Swimme, Duane Elgin, David Korean, Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow.

Industrial civilization, which is an outgrowth of the mechanistic paradigm, has nearly destroyed the biosphere.  The “New Story” shows us that we are an expression of the Earth.  Through human consciousness, the Earth, and thus the whole universe, are able to reflect on themselves. Our role as humans embodies the evolutionary dynamics from which we emerged.

The universe is not a lifeless machine but is instead a “sacred living system”.  This phrase brings together three distinct intellectual trends that are circulating within our culture—namely, movements which see nature as sacred, movements which see nature as living, and movements which see nature as a complex system.  This new conception is intended to change our relationship to the planet and even if it is built upon a somewhat mythic metaphor this radical leap of imagination can be a purposeful act which promotes ecological consciousness.

Advocates for a new conception agree that the reductionism, materialism and mechanical aspects of our current conception of nature promote massive environmental degradation.  We humans are embedded within a complex and interdependent web of life—a vast network of communities in which each and every part has a role to play and has value to the system.  The more that we become conscious of this embeddedness, the more we value all members and choose to live responsibly.  A new global ethic emerges from this increased awareness in which all objects in the universe are valued and respected.  As we awaken to this complex web we participate in the awakening of our planet to itself.

What does it mean to say that nature is sacred?  First, there is an incredible mystery at the center of our understanding of the cosmos.  So much about how our universe unfolded over 13 billion years from the Big Bang to our present moment goes beyond our comprehension.  Perhaps our brains will never be able to grasp how it all happened.  As we unravel some of its mysteries we continue to feel awe and wonder at the limitless creativity we find.  Thus, numinous qualities of nature’s majesty and mystery allow us to perceive the universe as “sacred”.

Second, nature is the absolute source of all life and we are totally dependent upon it for our sustenance and survival.  Our natural world provides everything for us and is a source of inspiration, revelation and fulfillment.  For many of us, it is the source for our religious engagement.  Third, our humble fragility in the face of nature’s powers again leads us to feel wonder and awe.

Humans seem to naturally make distinctions between what is important to us and what is not.  To say that nature is sacred is to say that it has the highest value, must be treated with respect and reverence, and that it must never be violated.  Moreover,  nature is sacred because of its transcendence—our experience of its majesty originates beyond ourselves.

In stating that all of nature is sacred, I am arguing against seeing any parts as profane.  While some places hold special importance to us—wilderness areas, consecrated grounds, ancient worship sites—even the most abused and barren lands are worthy of respect and veneration.  Otherwise we risk re-enforcing notions that some places are important while other are not, that some places should be respected while others should not.

The vision of nature as a “sacred living system” brings together the wisdom of religion and science and encourages a closer dialogue between them.  Nature is a biophysical reality which is a consequence of evolutionary processes which exhibit emergent properties and bear the sacred features of spirit.  We must remember, as stated above,  that nature is surely more wonderfully complex than our humble minds can comprehend.  Truth is neither wholly objective nor subjective and our understandings are inescapably metaphysical.

The ancient soul of the world, the Pagan notion of anima mundi, must be revived.  Our ancestors communicated with stars and water, forests and creatures, as ways to honor them in a communion of sprit.  With the rise of the mechanistic conception of nature, the world’s numinous and animating qualities receded.  Anima mundi disappeared.  How can we go forward recognizing the world as soul-filed?

Nature-As-Living System

The other part of the new conception of nature that I am advocating is “living system”.  This phrase combines two trends: the use of “systems thinking” to understand our natural world and the movement proclaiming that the universe is alive.

Key characteristics of systems thinking include the ability to shift one’s gaze from parts to wholes and between different system’s levels.  Throughout nature we find systems nesting within other systems.  In contrast to scientific reductionism systems thinking examines the entirety of systems by studying the linkages and interconnections between their composite elements.  There is a focus on features such an interdependence, emergent features, feedback mechanisms, complexity and self-organization. Systems thinking is an ecological approach to world.

Our universe is not a lifeless machine but is instead a unified living system.  While the galaxies of our vast universe are separated by millions of light years, the new physics describes a reality that is thoroughly interconnected—a single undivided whole.  Rather than separating the universe into living and non-living separate things, a life force permeates everything, running through all matter, energy and what we once considered empty space.  Life flows through the fabric of the universe.  The new conception of the universe describes a unified system that continuallly regenerates itself.  The flow of creation continually runs through the vast cosmos.

The capacity for reflection, or consciousness, is basic to life and scientists now find some form of it operating at every level.  This, of course, is not human consciousness, but is a reflective capacity appropriate to an object’s level--atoms, molecules, single cell organisms—our cosmos is responsive.

Our universe is a unified system in which interrelated parts create the conditions of the whole.  Infused with massive amounts of energy, continually reproducing itself, and making use of a reflective capacity, the universe meets the core requirements of life.  The living universe paradigm allows us to rediscover the aliveness at the core of our world and to realize our intimate connection to the world.  Our communion with a living universe demands an ethic in which our actions contribute to the well-being and harmony of the whole.  

Our new understanding of complex systems reveals that meaningful disturbances trigger feedback processes that may rapidly lead to the emergence of new order.  But the moments of systemic instability may lead to breakdowns rather than breakthrough.

Conclusion

Human beings are part of nature and therefore part of the larger evolutionary story of the unfolding of the cosmos.  We find ourselves at a critical turning point in that grand narrative, the outcome of which will be determined by the beliefs we affirm through our everyday actions.  While “the epic of evolution” typically occurs through gradual patterns of change, numerous sudden breaks in the Earth’s history have left multitudes of species extinct.  Life on Earth is currently undergoing a massive extinction equal in size to the catastrophic episodes that marked the extinction of the dinosaurs,  Sadly, human beings are the central agents behind this system-wide collapse, yet most remain grossly ignorant or indifferent to the plight of their fellow species.

As we humans move forward into the twenty-first century we face a world in which two developments are on a collision course.  First, global capitalism seeks to maximize the wealth and power of its elite, and its concerns for money-making take precedence over human concerns, social justice or ecological integrity. Second, the movement toward sustainability values a healthy planet, human dignity and all forms of justice.  To avoid ecological collapse we must change our value systems so as to make them compatible with the demand of ecological sustainability.  Centrally we living in wealthier counties must significantly decrease all material consumption.  The paradigm shift from mechanistic thinking to systems thinking supports a profound value shift.  Rather than finding fulfillment in material consumption the focus should be on finding fulfillment in nurturing relationships and meaningful lives.

For those of us who already view  the natural world as sacred and who have committed our lives to reaching a sustainable society, our work is not done and we cannot sit back complacently knowing we’re on the right side of history.  We must become evangelicals heading to the streets to spread the gospel of our sacred cosmos.  With so many of our brothers and sisters asleep to the environmental catastrophe we imminently face, we must take responsibility to wake our neighbors up.  A new worldview is emerging—novel set of assumptions about how the world works—what some call a paradigm shift.  Central to this new worldview is a new conception of nature.  The vision of our natural world as a “sacred living system” brings together the  wisdom of religion and science to change our relationship to the cosmos.

To heal our connection to the world, I believe that we must re-enchant nature and revive anima mundi.  Only when we realize that the world is sacred, that we are an intimate part of the web of life and kin to other species, will we acquire the sense of  belonging to this planet needed create a global ethic in which all objects are valued and respected and choose to live responsibly.