Profile
Photos
Comments
According
to a commonly held idea, ancient cultures saw a unified creation, while
we moderns look on a fragmented and divided world. The decline of
faith has been blamed for this, as has the absence of myth, traditions,
and social bonding. But I believe the opposite is true: The ancient way
of understanding could barely explain a sliver of all the phenomena in
nature, while physics today is on the verge of a “theory of everything.” The eminent physicist John Wheeler makes a crucial point when he says
that before Einstein, human beings thought that they were looking at
nature “out there,” as if through a plateglass window, trying to figure
out what external reality was doing. Thanks to Einstein, we realize that we are embedded in nature; the
observer changes reality by the very act of observation. Therefore,
despite a widespread feeling of psychological alienation (the result of
technology’s outstripping our ability to keep meaning alive), the
duality of man and nature is shrinking with each successive generation. Nature loves efficiency, which is very odd for something supposedly
working at random. When you drop a ball, it falls straight down without
taking unexpected detours. This expenditure of least energy, also
called the the law of least effort, covers human beings, too. Cause and
effect aren’t just linked; they are linked in the most efficient way
possible. This argument also applies to personal growth–the idea that everyone
is doing the best he or she can from his or her own level of
consciousness.Adapted from The Book of Secrets, by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2004).
More on Deepak Chopra's Tips (679 articles available)
More from Deepak Chopra (688 articles available)
More from Deepak Chopra (688 articles available)
