Science & Spirituality
Warning
This is written with no scientific rigour. Just an outlet while aiming to clarity. It is mostly based on ideas that I have either read or heard from multiple sources that have made sense to me. This is a collage of concepts/ideas/reasonings I have found somewhere else but it would be difficult to find references for.
We're sons from the sun. And not in a poetic way but rather in a scientific way. We do have a mother, but our body (and our mother's body) is a complex heap of food that we have collected over time, and even the more juicy, medium rare stake comes from some sort of grass which owes its existence to the energy that comes from the sun. But our existence is due not only to that energy, but also to the complex pieces of organic software that transforms that energy along with nutrients and water from the soil and carbon dioxide in the air. So we're built upon the five elements, earth (soil), fire (sun), air (CO2, Nitrogen, etc), water, and ether (space) where everything takes place.
With this in mind it's not that senseless to pray to the sun and maybe ancient cultures were very close to understanding reality and the science of it. At least in a conceptual way. Granted, they couldn't take advantage of that knowledge, most probably because the absence of a way to quantify and predict outcomes with high precision, which we have now. Although they had the sort of thecnological knowledge that allowed them to build impressive empires and survive their own challenges. It is senseless for those people in spirituality to heavily criticize the scientific method and neglect the profound impact that science and technology have had in the well-being of humans. But it is also senseless, and unscientific, for those in science to totally neglect the ideas and wisdom within spirituality. It is very encouraging to see conversations between physicists and The Dalai Lama. One day in the (probably far) future these will come together for a better and more complete understanding of the nature of our existence. Incorporate western knowledge for your survival and eastern wisdom to find meaning.
Something that I have always found interesting is the concept/field of consciousness and within it the traditions of eastern philosophy about the idea of the 'Ego' as an illusion and its relationship with scientific knowledge. We can all agree that we're not separate entities. Again, not in a sort of poetic or mystic way. That's easy to see, try rejecting air and stop breathing, you won't last very long. Try rejecting water and food for a handful of days and your body starts eating itself. Or removing all the microorganisms that live in our intestinal tract. So what's really this I?.
Yesterday, during yoga practice, my teacher made us hold hands with our nearest neighbours while holding Warrior III (Airplaine), she commented on the interconectedness among all of us, which is usually ignored. But holding hands with my unmet neighbors highlighted the subtlety of that interconnection. The shakiness of one of my neighbours was affected by my own imbalance when she tried to hold my hand tightly while holding the pose and softly let go so we could both land safely into a crescent lunge, and also seeing how my other neighbor tried to protect her balance by quickly releasing during the 'let go' phase. It was so interesting to see how active/passive roles came into play in such interaction and perhaps the scope of understanding we could achieve about a person if we are receptive enough and pay attention to the language that goes beyond verbal communication, not without being mindful of our own projections, which is where the outcomes from meditation come in.
So even if we do live in an illusion where we are all separate entities, we are just working pieces, the gears, the knots and ties of a bigger bundle, the biggest bundle being the one enclosing everything, the universe itself. Try to remember that the next time you feel lonely. It most probably won't make you feel better but it's good to keep it in mind. You wouldn't want to take an illusion too seriously, the same way you don't get involved in the drama of your own dreams. Daytime seems sometimes, just another form of dream.
However, this is not an invitation to believe in any sort of esoteric ideas. One thing that's enticing about science is that it is mostly easy to reproduce with experiments and test ideas and rely on its results. Look, we have bridges, automotive engines and Nuclear power plants. Ok? Not so with spirituality. Unfortunately there's many people claiming all sort of things with an underlying motive of financial gain, power, simple delusion and those claims are either hard or impossible to test/reproduce because of the lack of precision and the wide doors for interpretation, which at the same time might not be a limitation but rather a form of complementary role to our strict/precise methods in science. For now, I'll stick with science while at the same time keeping an open mind to spiritual practices that enhance my life experience. Yoga and Meditation being two of them. I'm grateful I found them. Do not close the door of your scientific mindset and make it broader to allow for some exploration and be Ok with some level of uncertainty, and even faith. As my therapist said, it is Ok to put aside your skepticism for a minute, specially if the risk is low. Give it a try and see if it works for you and if it does, place the practice in your set of tools for your well-being.
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