Being, Consciousness and Everything

By John Richardson

Starting from Where We Are

So ...... here we are. How did we get here? What is this situation? What happens next? What can happen? There is body, mind and senses. There is pleasure and pain, feeling good and feeling not so good. There is sky, stars, ocean, fire and wind. There are changes of season, cause and effect. There are moments of great joy, and there is sickness, old age and death. What are all these things ... really?

Where does it begin and end? For us, it begins with life and appears to end at death. And in between there is wake, dream and deep sleep. In a natural way, these things are common to all of us here. As a species on this planet, we share a global history, our collective knowledge, and the tools we use. We all have a common desire for happiness. Is there any way to be released, radiant, ecstatic and always already satisfied? Some of us seek to understand and to know. Is there something we could know, and by that, be lifted into the Heavens? If we understood the very nature of all of this, could we let go? Is there some final knowledge, the fruits of which can and should be realized by all?

Unlike religious proposition or culturally centered knowledge, scientific knowledge applies equally to everyone and everything. Science focuses its search for truth based on universal predictability and regularity, and shows little preference for anything else such as race, gender or religious belief. By understanding the causes of observed regularities, science has discovered the fundamental laws of nature. The powers of scientific discovery have been demonstrated through the achievements of modern technology. And yet, science has not arrived at its ultimate goal where it would seem to merge with religion and philosophy. For the ultimate goal of science must be to discover the absolute nature and condition of everything.

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Posted by paul at April 23, 2005 09:45 PM