cosmic humility

One of Carl Sagan’s most famous quote says “The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff.” 

Isn’t this fascinating, but at the same time completely surreal: We know that the molecules of our body are the same than the molecules that compose the Universe created in previous generations of...Read more

One of Carl Sagan’s most famous quote says “The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of star stuff.” 

Isn’t this fascinating, but at the same time completely surreal: We know that the molecules of our body are the same than the molecules that compose the Universe created in previous generations of stars over 4.5 billion years ago. We know that we are all made of the same stuff but we still feel the disconnection? We are to be reminded of the importance of diversity, we are full of greed and knowingly destroy our planet ... 

It is Heraclitus, one of the very early Greek philosophers who first came up with the idea that beneath the apparent chaos, the Universe is unified and guided by a cosmic intelligence which he called the Logos. Humans take part in the Logos as they possess rational consciousness. 

“Thinking,” Heraclitus says, “is shared by all.” Ultimately, we are all of the same mind. Staying blind to this fact is the cause of our suffering. In order to decrease suffering and attain “cosmic consciousness” we need to overcome our own narrow egotistic concerns. 

The Stoics, the Indian Tantric philosophers and Carl Sagan all seem to agree that we are a microcosmic expression of precisely the same universal powers that create, maintain, and dissolve this whole Universe. 

Discovering our true Selves then means discovering the Cosmos in one’s own nature. 

In order to understand the Cosmos, we need to be able to grasp the Logos: a dance of opposites, each thing turning into something else. To live is to die, to be awake is to sleep, to be young is to be old, for the one thing flows into the other. Nothing ever stands still. 

In order to dive more fully into cosmic consciousness, we need to overcome our egotistic concerns, let go of attachments and aversions which divide experiences into good or bad. Indeed, from the perspective of the Logos, the cosmic intelligence, everything is in order, there is no difference between good or bad. 

Real freedom is actually experiencing the Logos in each moment, which is the same as not wanting the present moment to be any different for the way it is. It is eventually all about feeling the current.