As Inside So Outside: the Universe in You

On September 25, 2012, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released a photo which shows the farthest view of the universe ever seen. The photo, called XDF for eXtreme Deep Field, was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and it goes back 13.2 billion years into the universe’s past. The universe, in current scientific understanding, is thought to be 13.8 billion years old.

We are the first generation to know the geometry, material composition, and evolution of the universe. Technological advances of long-distance telescopes such as Hubble and Planck have enabled us to see deeper into the cosmos than was previously possible and get a clear picture of the position of galaxies in space and time.

Emerging fields of new cosmology, neuroplasticity, superstring theory, and epigenetics are presenting a view of humankind as the eyes, ears, and mind of the cosmos with far more to discover in the world inside us than in the universe at large.

New cosmology shows that we are the offspring of supernovas, of exploding stars. We are made of star dust. The carbon in our body could not be created in the universe in any other way than through the collapse and explosion of a star. We are a further incarnation of a star. Stars go through the cycle of birth and death to allow the birth of humans. We are embedded in this evolutionary process: just as a single drop in an ocean contains in it the character of the entire ocean, so each of us contains in our body the entire information of existence.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to constantly adapt to changing circumstances throughout life. The human brain contains approximately 100 billion neurons, or nerve cells. Neuroplasticity enables the brain to regularly form new communication pathways between these cells and continuously reconfigure existing ones. This process enables us to acquire new skills, memorize new information, and generally adapt to existence through experience.

Neuroscientists believed that the brain stopped this process of neural regeneration at around the age of four. However, research since the beginning of the twenty-first century has shown that the brain’s neural connections never reach a fixed pattern that cannot change further. Rather, studies have shown that the brain is changing constantly, in response to learning, disease, exercise, and other stimuli through our entire lifespan.

This means that a person can stay active and engaged in life as long as they practice a lifestyle that stimulates both the body and the mind. This also provides the scientific evidence that we can learn from past mistakes and improve our approach to life as we go along. Tomorrow is not yesterday. We don’t have to carry forward bad habits only because we’ve done them in the past. With every thought and feeling we reshape the neural networks in our brains. The higher quality of our thoughts, the better lives we create.

Superstring theory explains the universe this way:

–          Everything is made of particles

–          Particles contain atoms and molecules

–          Molecules contain two or more atoms

–          Atoms contain protons, neutrons, and electrons

–          Protons and neutrons contain quarks

–          Quarks contain no more matter but strings of vibration – pure energy

When we divide the particles down to their tiniest ingredients to discover what they’re made of, what we’re left with is strings of probabilities, vibrations of potential. We discover that the essence of life is pure energy and information. This is the source of you and the cosmos.

Epigenetics show that contrary to the old notion of nature versus nurture, over the course of a lifetime, both these aspects play crucial complementary roles in forming a full existence.

Epigenetics reveal that our consciousness modulates our biology. Our thoughts affect our genes and not the other way around. Genes carry our particular information, but they are not fixed and final. They’re malleable, and are influenced by what we think, how we feel, and how we respond to our environment. Here’s the mental switch: instead of an unwitting instrument of the genetics you’ve inherited, you are the conscious master of your journey through life – determining your destiny by what you think and how you act.

Wisdom of the body

The human body is a well-designed machine for living with built-in mechanisms for self-healing and self-correction, provided we don’t harm it with bad habits. The body contains a natural state called homeostasis, or self-regulation, where it maintains biological processes, hormonal stability, and internal temperature within an optimal range. The body intuitively knows how to take care of itself. For example, we sweat to cool off during the hot summer days, and we shiver to produce heat during the cold winter months.

Evolution of the mind

Recent research of Harvard neuroscientist Rudolf Tanzi indicates that intuition is the next big part of the brain that is evolving, as it relates to the mind: the instinctive brain followed by the emotional brain, followed by the intellectual brain, and next, the intuitive brain.

In this understanding, intuition is not merely a reflexive behavior we’ve been conditioned for, as the early instinctive stage of our brain was. Intuition is a culmination of all our qualities of intelligence, vision, self-knowledge, and knowledge of the world – mind, body, and soul.

In conclusion, every atom in our body comes from planet Earth, which in turn is made of the same energy and information as everything else in the cosmos. When we access our innate intuition we access universal intelligence.

Remember what you represent, the infinite potential of existence.

The consciousness animating the cosmos informs every cell in your body.

About the author:

Guy is President of Lifespan Seminar and Vice President of Asia Pacific Association of Psychology. He received the Eminent in Psychological Science Award at the International Conference on Psychology 2011 “in recognition of invaluable contributions for the benefit of humanity.” Guy teaches and conducts workshops in the U.S., Europe and Asia. This excerpt is from his upcoming book, Best Version of Yourself at Every Age: Tapping the Wisdom and Wellness of Your Body. Contact Guy at info@lifespanseminar.com