"The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion. Herein lies the germ of all art and all true science. Anyone to whom this feeling is alien, who is no longer capable of wonderment and lives in a state of fear is a dead man. To know that what is impenatrable for us really exists and manifests itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, whose gross forms alone are intelligible to our poor faculties - this knowledge, this feeling ... that is the core of the true religious sentiment. In this sense, and in this sense alone, I rank myself among profoundly religious men." - Albert Einstein
In one single and brief equation, Einstein related mass and energy. Everyone knows the famous E = mc². Energy and mass are not independent and absolute. They are related to each other, in this case dependent on c, the speed of light.
Time Is Not Absolute
Einstein further proved that even time itself is not absolute - it is elastic. Depending on one's frame of reference, time can be stretched or contracted.
If I could transport a newborn infant to a star, much more massive than Earth, he might age only a few minutes while his mates still on planet earth would age as babies age.
Following this idea, if I could then transport this infant back, he might be sucking contentedly on a pacifier while his peer group perhaps already in their terrible twos would be running around their homes and possibly defying their parents.
Time is simply another dimension. It is not absolute and its behavior depends on other entities, such as mass or density. It can move slowly or quickly. An unpleasant argument would be over a lot faster if it took place on a nice, little planet like Pluto. On the other hand, if you're preparing to enjoy a great massage, it would last a lot longer on Jupiter.
Relying On Relationships
If time, itself is not independent, then what of everything else? It is the relationships that we can rely on. It is the relationships that govern the universe and beyond.
The great 20th century physicist, David Bohm saw all seemingly separate entities and events as part of a greater order of oneness. He likens it to a flowing stream.
"On this stream, one may see an ever-changing pattern of vortices, ripples, waves, splashes, etc., which evidently have no independent existence as such. Rather, they are abstracted from the flowing movement, arising and vanishing in the total process of the flow. Such transitory subsistence as may be possessed by these abstracted forms implies only a relative independence or autonomy of behavior, rather than absolutely independent existence as ultimate substances."
In addition to the importance of relationships, there is also a 'flow,' a direction. Everything is changing. Things are in flux. In fact Bohm added, "We must learn to view everything as part of undivided wholeness in flowing movement."
Bohm wrote this in 1980 in Wholeness and the Implicate Order. Decades earlier, Albert Einstein, who mentored Bohm, said "Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter." This was how he preferred to summarize the theory of Relativity.
Everything Is Related
Just as physical entities are related, so are other structures such as our own systems of thinking and organizing how we perceive the universe in non-scientific ways. Art and religion quickly come to mind. Wouldn't the spiritual world and the way we experience it also reflect similar notions?
Everything Is Moving
In his classic work, The Tao Of Physics, Fritjof Capra writes "In Indian philosophy, the main terms used by Hindus and Buddhists have dynamic connotations. The word Brahman is derived from the Sanskrit root brih - to grow - and thus suggests a reality which is dynamic and alive. The Upanishads refer to Brahman as 'unformed, immortal, moving', thus associating it with motion even though it transcends all forms."
The Rig Veda uses another term to express the dynamic character of the universe, the term Rita. This word comes from the root ri- to move. In its phenomenal aspect, the cosmic One is thus intrinsically dynamic, and the apprehension of its dynamic nature is basic to all schools of Eastern mysticism. They all emphasize that the universe has to be grasped dynamically, as it moves, vibrates and dances. ... The Eastern mystics see the universe as an inseparable web, whose interconnections are dynamic and not static. The cosmic web is alive; it moves and grows and changes continually."
One of the best representations of this is in the Hindu god Shiva, The Cosmic Dancer. He is the creator, the liberator of vital energy. The movement of his dance contains the rhythm of life and the rhythm of the universe. His dance transcends all time.
That's right, time is not absolute here either but the dance is. It is akin to Bohm's flowing river. It is interconnecting and intertwining. It is unifying and whole.
Oneness
What is inside one is connected to what is outside one. What is inside one's soul, one's mind, one's heart is inextricably linked to the rest of the universe. Indeed, at some level, they are the same.
One of the most important prayers in Judaism is the Sh'ma. It goes like this: Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad. Roughly translated into English, it means, "Listen, Israel. Adonai, our God, Adonai is One."
Judaism has many names for God, each one reflecting a different aspect of the Divine. The word Adonai literally means "my Lord." The deeper meaning of this name alludes to certain internal quality of God in people. It's the God inside. Eloheinu, which is the other name for God in the Sh'ma prayer, represents something more external, the God outside.
To say they are One proclaims the sameness of what is inside and what is outside. It is the oneness of the world. It is the cosmic dance, the flowing stream, the connectedness of everything in the universe. Everything, including us.
Perhaps it is the separation and the barriers we create in our limited views of the world that in turn create human conflict and misery. But if we pay attention to the true, mystic traditions and heed where enlightened, modern science is heading, walls may easily crumble. Perhaps there is hope for us after all.
American physicist, John Archibald Wheeler is most noted for coining the term "black hole" in space. He also had some other things to say in his characteristically uncomplicated kind of way.
"Someday we'll understand the whole thing as one single marvelous vision that will seem so overwhelmingly simple and beautiful that we may say to each other; 'Oh, how could be have been so stupid for so long? How could it have been otherwise!'
May someday come soon. Amen, Archi!