Week 4, Comments on Links

I have heard about sacred geometry before and while I was never fully "convinced" that there are a set up patterns that make up the universe and the natural world of our planet I have always been intrigued by patterns and shapes that come up time and time again. In the sacred geometry website, Rawles talks about the "geometrical archetypes" from which phenomena emerge. My immediate reaction to that is a dislike at the word archetype. I really have never thought of archetypes as valid because they seem to me to be a form of generalization and reductionistic thinking. I feel like if someone really wanted, he/she could fit anything into a system of archetypes that would not necessarily be true. So while I do agree there are patterns in the universe and in the natural world, I don't think they are archetypes and I feel like they are much more complex than we will ever know. But I'm interested in knowing what everyone else thinks...

Week 4, Gravity

The function of gravity seems to change according to what is being discussed. For humans, gravity is the most palpable of the forces and the one that keeps our world together. Gravity is very important to us because it sets up the boundaries around the space in which we function. We need gravity to keep our bodies healthy as well. In terms of the bigger picture, it seems as though gravity keeps the macroscopic expression of the universe together. Without gravity, the universe would not have been able to organize itself the way it did. I don’t know what the exact function of gravity is, but without it reality would be completely different.  

Week 4, Four Forces

I find it really hard to compare the four forces. Maybe that has to do with not being in class for the interesting discussion I am sure you all had. I find it really hard to relate to the weak force and the strong force because I cannot feel them holding my atoms together. And the only mental image I have of the atomic forces is the atom bomb and how powerful it is. Gravity is a part of our everyday life: it grounds, contains, and gives us boundaries. The electromagnetic force is also more commonly felt, although I find it difficult to think of it as a “force” like gravity. 

Week 4, E=MC2

E=MC2 seems to me to be the mathematical formula to the fact that everything is energy and everything has energy. I guess I don't tend to think in mathematical equations, but this equation actually seems to make a lot of sense to me...That somehow matter and energy are the same (=) just that energy is moving at the speed of light (C) sounds pretty amazing to me, and it also feels like it is true. Personally, matter is like condensed energy...When I touch my hair or arm I can feel that is is alive, that is possesses energy. But it's contained energy in a specific place, definitely not moving at the speed of light. Maybe Einstein is rolling over in his grave at my interpretation of his equation, but then again maybe he isn't. 

Week 3, Impressions on Links

I really enjoyed looking at the crackpot theory of everything and nothing. The part I enjoyed the most was the discussion of nothingness and everythingness. I guess it had never struck me how nothingness, which personally feels like such a crucial aspect of creation and existence, really is not talked about in Judeo-Christian religions. And even if it is, how little importance it is given or how scared we are taught to be of it, as if it were almost a sin to think about it. I also enjoyed the discussion on how everything doesn't exist by itself, but rather everything comes into existence because of its relationship with everything around it. This almost touches on synchronicity. If we all exist because we are in relation to other things and people, then synchronicity seems like an obvious outcome. 

Week 3, Connectivity

My personal definition/description of connection stems from my belief in something far greater than anything in existence that gives rise to all of manifest reality. I believe that before the big bang, everything that we know of was compressed into a single point of infinite density that was uniform in quality. That is, a single point of the most incredible amount of potential that was not yet fully expressed. At the moment of the big bang, that infinite point expanded and diversified into what we define as the universe. Everything emerged from that single point. Thus, while everything that exists is unique and different, that foundational energy or matter from which everything expanded and from which everything material is congealed connects us all. And that connection can do really amazing things and prevails at every level. At least that is what I think…it makes it easier to sleep at night, but somehow also seems very true.

Week 3, Evidence for synchronicity

I find evidence for synchronicity everyday; I just don’t chose to give it that name. I think synchronicity is one of the basic ways in which the universe, our solar system, the planet, and each unique individual have come to be. I don’t think synchronicity is a weird, off-chance coincidence. Instead, synchronicity has been going on since humans even existed and decided to catalogue it as synchronicity. In fact, cultures all over the world and in the past talked about synchronicity in their own way, either fearing, respecting, or finding the Divine in it. It is only until now that the western scientific community is beginning to accept synchronicity. So my everyday evidence is the fact that I exist, that I am who I am. No one will ever know how many things and events, whether they are synchronicity or something else, had to happen for all of us to be alive now, in this precise planet and universe.

Week 2, Impressions of Links

Synchronicity seems like a new word for and old phenomena. Although we might be unconscious of our deep connection with everything around us, we are still affecting everything and causing things to happen. We might refer to the expression in our lives of this deep connection as coincidences, chance, luck, or syncronicity. Metaphysics and different branches of spirituality have been talking about this for centuries. 

What really boggles my mind is to think of all that stuff that is happening right now between everything that exists that we will never be aware of. Right now, the spin of an electron within my body might have affected the spin of an electron within your body and we might never know of it. Or we might "randomly" bump into each other at the supermarket. It's intense to think that connections like these are happening every second.

I think it is a good thing that such words are becoming part of the scientific jargon because it introduces concepts that were thought of as metaphysical and more spiritual rather than concrete and real. By allowing new language to enter into the scientific discussion, science as a whole begins to become more holisitic and intergrative. 

Week 2, Is the Universe weird?

I don’t think the Universe is weird. I think the Universe just is the way it is and it is kind of useless to ponder whether or not it is weird. We might think it is weird, but that tells us more about us than about the Universe. The Universe is chock full of stuff and phenomena that might seem to make no sense to us, but then again I think that that tells us more about ourselves and our place in the Universe

Week 2, Comments on Causality

Causality seems to me to be like karma. It’s like one of those basic laws of the universe that states because of x then comes y, and x and y can be both very logical and linear but also very illogical and circular. But it is also not the only law or phenomena that exists. There are other things going on that link everything that exists on the most basic of atomic levels, like entanglement and synchronicity, that cause things to happen without any perceivable reason. In the West, we look around and see the causal relationships among things with quite some ease. However, when something does not follow cause-and-effect we either deny its existence or classify it as an exception in an unwillingness to accept the other mysterious ways that are constantly shaping the universe. Yes, causality is real (as is karma) but there are other forces playing with us that do not fit into our rational minds.

Week 2, Reflections on Uncertainty

Uncertainty does not seem to me to be such a difficult concept to accept. The need of Western science to always know exactly where things are and exactly what they are has always struck me as kind of strange and reductionist. The need to classify leaves no room for mystery, which has always been a huge and wonderful part of the universe. It actually makes me excited to think that scientists have accepted concepts such as uncertainty (I guess they really didn’t have a choice) because it shows that, little by little, they might be opening up to not knowing. Also, the scientific method, which classifies scientists as objective observers, has seen a revolution. No longer completely separated and disconnected, scientists finally had to realize that whatever they do, want, and look for affects the outcome of their so-called controlled experiment. It seems that for very long humans considered ourselves separate from our world and now, in more ways than one, we are being forced to see the interconnectedness of everything. 

Week 1 Impressions of Links

I especially appreciated the first two links because they were simple to understand for those of us who are not mathematically inclined and who have never really studied physics at a deep level. Although physics fascinates me and I make the effort to try and read books about it, often times I find myself giving up half way into a book because i feel like i can't possibly understand what is going on. It's refreshing to see that there are sites up there that are accessible and people can turn to to understand the crazy world of physics. I think simulations and visualizations are especially impacting ways of helping people understand what is going on around and within ourselves. 

Week 1 Reflection on Class

The physics class this week was the most approachable and non-intimidating science class I have taken. While in class I thought that in reality everyone has a a little piece of a physicist in them because we all live in this universe and we all perceive it in our own way, and that could be considered everyone's personal physics. 

About the concept of time, I really enjoyed the discussion and debate part because it was a very practical way of thinking about time. Often I feel like time is talked about in either a completely mathematical way or in a "time is always the same and it is unchangeable" way, and that completely misses the way that time really functions in our life. And looking at different notions of time in the west and east also helped show that we have a choice in deciding how to view time and how to use our time.  

Week 1 Quiz Answers

1. I have always felt attracted to different types of healing modalities, but Oriental Medicine seems to be one of the most complete medical systems with many years of existence and experience. I guess why I decided to focus in on and study Oriental Medicine is because it has worked for me and my loved ones more than any other healing system. Since I was a child, I was exposed to many different ways of healing and also allopathic medicine. I am excited to be studying Oriental Medicine in such an integrative way. 

2. I love physics and find it very spiritual. I never pursued it because the math killed me...I always wanted to be able to understand the language of math, but that never happened. I think the sciences have a very deep impact on the way different societies through out time have viewed the world, the universe, and the role of humans. Often times I hear people comment on how it is not important to know anything about physics or any of the other sciences, but I think we are all affected by what the current theories say wether we are aware of it or not. I also think it is everyone's right to be able to know the basics about physics, but often times that does not happen because people think they are not capable of understanding. 

3. Now that I think about it, I experience time slowing down and speeding up everyday. Often times I am unaware of it, but other times I can notice it and it fascinates me. I am sure that all of us have these experiences, but they are such an everyday occurrence that we don't even take the time to think about it.