Is the Universe Friendly?
¿ES EL UNIVERSO UN LUGAR AMABLE?“Opino que la cuestión más importante a la que se enfrenta la humanidad es la siguiente: ‘¿es el universo un lugar amable?’ Esta es la primera y más básica pregunta que nos hemos de responder cada uno. Pues si decidimos pensar que el universo es un lugar hostil, entonces emplearemos nuestra tecnología, nuestros descubrimientos científicos y nuestros recursos naturales para protegernos y tener el control, creando muros más altos que pongan freno a la hostilidad, y armas más contundentes que destruyan todo lo que nos resulte desagradable, y creo que estamos alcanzando un punto en que la tecnología es tan poderosa, que en este proceso podríamos llegar a quedar aislados, o incluso a destruirnos completamente.”
“Si decidimos pensar que el universo no es ni amable ni hostil y que Dios básicamente ‘juega los dados’ con el universo, entonces simplemente seremos víctimas de la aletoriedad de cada lanzamiento, por lo que nuestras vidas carecerían de propósito o significado real.”
“En cambio, si decidimos pensar que el universo es un lugar amable, entonces usaremos nuestra tecnología, nuestros descubrimientos científicos y nuestros recursos naturales para crear herramientas y modelos que nos permitan comprender su funcionamiento. Porque el poder y la seguridad vendrán como resultado de la comprensión de su diseño y de sus mecanismos.”
“Dios no juega a los dados con el universo.”
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90 Past Reflections
On Jan 25, 2024 Deb.be wrote :
Agreeing that this is a friendly universe releases its power to cause it to be so. Free will provides us with the opportunity to create our own reality. The universe is composed of energy so why not use it to create peace, love and harmony? It's my choice and I believe that it lifts up all of humanity to make that same choice so we can live in harmony with each other, with Earth Mother and all of creation.
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On Jun 30, 2023 Vik Ponza wrote :
I think this is a friendly Universe ,I asked this simple question and all of them said is unfriendly,I keep thinking is friendly otherwise at the end we will be our own enemies
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On May 1, 2023 Brent wrote :
This passage describes well the results of a fear-driven perception. Having lived for some time on faith in a benevolent Creator who wants what’s best for me, I now have a body of evidence to back it up. The great fact for me is that it works, and I like the results.
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On Feb 15, 2023 Tesha Sherwin wrote :
Hi awakin.org webmaster, Keep the good content coming!
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On Feb 15, 2023 Princess Shaley Wanda Harlan Walters wrote :
Here's the thing. I believe in World Peace. My whole life ONLY. Never war destruction. Or unrulyness acting out in Common persons. I'm not allowed near... Torturist nor do I negotiate with terriost. It's highly illegal for anyone to even know details about me unless a group of fully capable trusting persons unknowing in all ways of any persons existence that I have issues with. So it's inappropriate and considered surpassing abusive to any and all persons or beings connected to the grounds I walk. And the thing is when I report something like email,. The universe is NOT a friendly place because there is an Issue. BUT worst thing ever is the unknowing or unlaw following from the other party. It's more than a lower level Countries King or Common Person. It's simple persons law that's being failed to be implemented. That's money and sex transactions with technology. So many people NOT allowed to run things are and have money or like means or Currency and do. So even a wron... [View Full Comment]
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On Feb 6, 2023 Catalina Weedon wrote :
Hello awakin.org webmaster, You always provide clear explanations and step-by-step instructions.
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On Jan 30, 2023 Rebecca wrote :
The universe was created for Gods pleasure. If you are friends with God then the universe is a friendly place for you.
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On Oct 23, 2022 Gil wrote :
This quote about the friendliness of the universe is never attributed which makes me doubt Einstein ever said this. Nowhere can you find where the quote came from. Sounds like folkloric BS!
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On Sep 30, 2022 Jaden wrote :
I believe that the universe is friendly if you do the right kind of changes to the world.
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On Sep 26, 2022 vaughn.lauren wrote :
I believe that the universe is friendly, I understand that some people would be scared or afraid of the unknown but there will be other "people" in the universe thinking the same about us on Earth. While we don't know what other "people" in the universe have or are planning to do, but as I was saying the idea of other "people" being out there is just new as it's only being thought of recently, but 50 years from now celebrities might be traveling to the Moon for vacation.
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On Sep 19, 2022 richiusa.matthew wrote :
I believe the universe is a very unsafe place for anyone or anything. The biggest of my many reasons that the universe is not a safe place is that it's so mysterious and unknown. For example, many people are not scared of the dark itself. They are scared of what's in or could be in the dark. That's why you bring a light so you can see. But the universe isn't like that. No matter what you do you will never be able to know what's out there. Anot... [View Full Comment]
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On Jul 16, 2022 Dom Taylor wrote :
Einstein spent a lifetime trying to explain the universe .... while at the same time struggling with religion and claiming to be atheist. Like most people he wanted 'meaning' to it all. Maybe the trick is not to need meaning .... The universe just 'is' and we need to 'fit' into it rather than 'fight' it all the time.
The question is not 'is the universe friendly' .... the question is, 'Are we friendly'.
The question is not 'is the universe friendly' .... the question is, 'Are we friendly'.
1 reply: Ana | Post Your Reply
On Oct 9, 2021 Michael wrote :
Is it friendly? Perhaps we should Look at its ability to be friendlyv Unfriendly. Love is friendly, love is also this humans greatest resource of ability. As humans are rulers of this planet with their greatestability being love which is friendly then we should say Friendly leads Unfriendly 1-0 from what we can observe as humans
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On Sep 28, 2021 MELINDA M WOOD wrote :
I think what is more important than whether Einstein actually said this is how we answer this question. Also how our answer to this question can affect the course of our lives.
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On Sep 10, 2021 Jimena wrote :
How do we know that God does not play dice with the Universe?
Why do we need a purpose or a meaning?
Deciding that the whole Universe is friendly or unfriendly means we are judging upon whatever we decide is "friendly" or "unfriendly" (pleasant or harmful).
Why cannot be God just probability?
Why do we need a purpose or a meaning?
Deciding that the whole Universe is friendly or unfriendly means we are judging upon whatever we decide is "friendly" or "unfriendly" (pleasant or harmful).
Why cannot be God just probability?
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On Apr 17, 2021 Sue wrote :
Choose to believe we live in a friendly Universe. Makes all the difference in the world.
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On Mar 17, 2021 JR wrote :
My own opinion is that the universe is unfriendly. I say this based on my own experience of the universe. All societies that I know about are in the process of deconstructing themselves. All of the good that has been achieved in the past couple of thousand years is currently being undone by the collective evil of every Government on earth. So based purely on my direct experience of dealing with authority on earth alone, my conclusion is that the universe is hostile. If not then we can only hope that a proper benevolent alien civilization will invade earth and dispose of everyone currently helping to perpetuate the evil and claiming that "they're only doing their job". It's possibly a vain hope but we can't lose hope.
2 replies: Jared, Alex | Post Your Reply
On Mar 5, 2021 Hasford wrote :
With the perception of every human is the frequency emittedto the Universe. The Universe is at our service , you think positively so do positive things come your way .
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On Jan 16, 2021 Harry wrote :
Our faith can sometimes be tested by events. It may indeed seem like God is playing dicebut we must reaffirm our belief in a benevolentGod whose work is manifest love.
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On Dec 13, 2020 Richard wrote :
Is the universe friendly? How you answer that question will determine how you live the rest of your life.
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On Sep 28, 2020 Jonathan wrote :
Einstein, as one of the most brilliant minds this world has ever seen, clearly understood the importance of interpretation and how it affects each individuals perception of the world. I don't think Einstein was suggesting that there is one answer to this question for the one universe we all exist in rather suggesting that each person must choose for themselves how to see their own universe and that this choice will essentially determine how their life will unfold. If a person decides that the universe they live in is friendly they will see the good much more than the bad, spend more time feeling positive emotions such as happiness, love, and gratitude and serve the world in a beneficial way. However if someone decides their universe is unfriendly they will feel the negative emotions such as jealousy, hatred, and fear and will make contributions to their world based on taking more for themselves or preserving what they already have.
1 reply: Jimena | Post Your Reply
On Sep 12, 2020 Keith wrote :
It seems obvious to me that it is both. Duality is ubiquitous. And the most important question for humanity is the nature and character of the Creator, for the evidence of creation is overwhelming. A Bible believer knows that the creation is good, but cursed and that there is a terrible enemy opposing the good. Evil is very real, and the curse turns the planet on us with scarcity, predation, pestilence, and many threats of the environment. If, for example, you are alone in the Amazon or the Congo, you will not imagine the universe to be friendly. You will be much too busy just trying to stay alive.
1 reply: Richard | Post Your Reply
On Jul 18, 2020 Kenneth wrote :
Looks like Einstein borrowed this saying from the German G.E. Lessing who more or less. said, "If there was one question I would like to ask the Egyptian Sphinx (who supposedly knew everything), 'Is the universe friendly?'
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On Mar 17, 2020 Gerry wrote :
Great little article. Thank you. I believe the world is a friendly place.
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On Feb 17, 2020 onee-sama wrote :
Onee-chan says that albert einsteinwatched hentai? Is that true?
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On Feb 15, 2020 Tony wrote :
I am 35 and have brain cancer. So I probably wont be alive much longer, Murphyslaw and all that. Yet I as a thinking feeling human think that the fact we can even ask this question is a proof of God, and may hint that the Universe may be sentient as it is capable of both good and evil and it loves randomness. I wouldn'tbe alive now if not for our scientific medicine and technology and its getting better and better so that hints at it being friendly as we will eventually understand the universe. .and as for God not playing dice?.....then why do dice exist. God does whatever he chooses. and his hand on all of us. I died during my first brain surgery and was conciousin another place with beings made of light. Doctors and atheists just say its chemicals released as you die. But why did I live against all odds when I called out to God. Im feeling great now so hopefully Ill beat it. But I think Einstein never said this and God has a plan and reason for everything and were not his victims... [View Full Comment]
2 replies: Kenneth, A | Post Your Reply
On Jan 22, 2020 Brenda wrote :
The response given to Einstein by his associate was, "Who am I to tell God what to do?" I may not have that precisely correct.The Universe as far as I can tell is neutral. What I have been unable to reconcile is the obvious existence of "Evil" in the world. Having worked in the ER for many years, I've simply seen too much evidence of Evils existence to say it does not exist. Evil like the Universe seems to be no respecter of persons. I have watched tragedy come through the ER to every age and social class. I've put bodies of every age into cold morgue trays. I've seen senseless accident, purposeful abuse and sheer stupidity cause loss of life and limb. I focus on working on my own darkness in a Jungian like manner, hoping Jung was right that by doing so in some small way I help to redeem the darkness that lives inside us all. I watched a show, " What the bleep?" In it experiments were done pasting various works on jars of water. It seems that w... [View Full Comment]
2 replies: Bill, Bill | Post Your Reply
On Jan 3, 2020 Thomas Cofty wrote :
Anything WORTH provIing cannot be proven nor disproven wherefore thou be wise. CLEAVE EVER TO THE SUNNIER SIDE OF DOUBT.
Lord Alfred Tennyson
Lord Alfred Tennyson
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On Nov 1, 2019 RUSSELL GORDON wrote :
I thought Einstein said the entire universe was created by A Random Act Of Violence. . My take on that which I have carried through life is that things are just random. walking down the street getting hit by a car. a plane dropping out of the sky. a black hole swallowing up stars. Getting shot. An earth quake. all random acts wrong place wrong time. being fearful will not help your situation. with mass media today. We are bombardedas humans with continual random acts of violence.. Random acts of kindness. Simply Random acts.. Now God and the teachings of the bible etc? Calculated? Random ? Debatable?
1 reply: Janelle | Post Your Reply
On Jun 10, 2019 Michael Newell wrote :
I researched to find if there is a source one can cite as validation that Einstein actually said this. It does not exist and it appears that it can instead be attributed to other people; not Einstein.
2 replies: Frank, Kg | Post Your Reply
On Mar 12, 2019 ruth - less wrote :
Are the quotations from an English language source?
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On May 21, 2018 Hannah wrote :
I think that if you are friendly to the universe, so the universe will be friendly to you.
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On May 21, 2018 Sarah wrote :
I believe Universe is order and order is peace. Everything is connected.
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On Jun 27, 2017 Chip Boyd wrote :
I really enjoyed reading the comments here. There is intelligence, passion and imagination in all of them. I wish our political discourse could have some of the nuance, respectfulness and insight found here. We do not need to see important, fundamental things the same way to be enlivened and nourished by the thoughts of others. As to the question of order in the universe: In a book called "Leadership and the New Science," author Margaret Wheatley includes a photo of a "three-winged bird." It is a beautiful image of a graphed system of a million points. At a mere one-hundred thousand points, we would see nothing but an apparently random set of dots- and even at five-hundred thousand points would not see a clear pattern. Only when enough points have been graphed do we see an amazing and beautiful pattern. This may apply to directly to our understanding of the universe. We are still at the beginning in some ways, seeing onl... [View Full Comment]
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On Mar 14, 2017 gerald wrote :
1. Keep in mind that if a person is a genius in the area of physics or chemistry for example, there is no reason to assume that such a person has all the answers to all of the questions in every area of thought.
2. Can the above quotation be positively ascribed to Dr. Einstein?
3.Are we all agreed on a definition of "God"? This is important. We cannot have a discussion unless we define our terms.Until we do, the quotation means nothing and any comments on the subject mean nothing.
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On Nov 21, 2016 Terrel R. Davis wrote :
I love that quote. I have "proof" that not only is it friendly, its sum and substance is kindness. That is part of my thesis and the conclusion of my book "The Creation Code." I am looking for people to read and review my work. TRDavis
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On Aug 5, 2016 DSK wrote :
There is actually a one word answer to the question.
"Fearless"
The purpose of chaos.
The same answer to the question, If someone hits me on the right cheek why should I turn the other?
Everything is realized through understanding that word. It's the purpose of life. So yes, the universe is friendly. It keeps giving us the opportunity. to let go of the constraints of space and time and be one with it.
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On Aug 9, 2015 E. Slaske wrote :
We get what we expect. If you think negative thoughts, you will get negative responses. Guard your thoughts!
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On Feb 4, 2015 Gamini Wijesinghe wrote :
It is very clear that Einstein doesn't know either universe or man. The entire universe is a man. Don't think visible objects around you. Think first about yourself. Inside your body that entire universe is contained.
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On Aug 7, 2014 Anne wrote :
It is obvious to me that the universe is a friendly place - after all, we are living on the cushiest place in the known Universe. A system that is abundant, takes care of our needs and constantly balances and recycles Itself. What more evidence do we need? it's AWESOME.
3 replies: Xiaoshan, Anne, Paul | Post Your Reply
On Mar 12, 2014 Michael wrote :
What is the citation? I hear this quote quite often, by see no proof. If you can provide a source, please send it to me: MichaelDeanBogar@Gmail.com
2 replies: Stact, Serafina | Post Your Reply
On Nov 21, 2013 Fabrice wrote :
My point of view is to look at the universe as a home, and i am sure we all love our homes and we do everything possible to make our home a better place to live! The Universe is a Home to our home, to me it is the Mother of my home. We have to love the Home of our home as much we love our mothers
I love my Home, my mother, he provides all i need!
Let us educate our children to love and respect the universe!
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On Sep 2, 2013 Malcolm Dean wrote :
Einstein never said this. See Wikiquote, under subheading "Misattributed:"
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein#Misattributed
"[T]he idea that the most important question we can ask is "Is the universe friendly?" dates back much earlier than the attribution to Einstein, for example in Emil Carl Wilm's 1912 book The Problem of Religion he includes the following footnote on p. 114: 'A friend proposed to the late F. W. H. Myers the following question: "What is the thing which above all others you would like to know? If you could ask the Sphinx one question, and only one, what would the question be?" After a moment's silence Myers replied: "I think it would be this: Is the universe friendly?"'
2 replies: Mashael, Stacy | Post Your Reply
On May 12, 2012 Thierry wrote :
Albert Einstein, the great physicist, is saying: what the predicament we are in demands is an act of faith. Not belief, which comes from the outside, but faith. Faith! The universe through his voice is saying: Have faith!
From physics to metaphysics, a deeply challenging passage.
From physics to metaphysics, a deeply challenging passage.
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On May 12, 2012 Thierry wrote :
What I understand this great scientist to say is that you cannot conclude from studying its laws that the universe is either friendly or unfriendly. From the strictly objective point of view of the scientist the universe has no manifest intention. Mentioning randomness, the author says that he sees it as 'non essential'. Yet the randomness observable in nature, cannot be accounted for scientifically, least of all philosophically. Or can it? Present day genetics see randomness (through recombination of genetic material) as both life sustaining and life threatening (new unknown viruses , etc.) That's a long way from Darwin's theory which saw evolution as following a direction of progress.
Scientific knowledge does not answer the question of whether the univ... [View Full Comment]
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On May 8, 2012 Veena Vasista wrote :
I really valued ijourney's take on this Einstein piece - the first steer given in the seed questions for reflection, because this is the aspect of what Einstein is saying here that resonates with me the most: what we believe directs our behaviors, actions, creations. In my own work, I've grappled with the question 'What are my beliefs about human nature? After a long, challenging journey of about twenty years of conscious inquiry, I've landed with the belief that essentially says: the human spirit is intrinsically compassionate, collaborative and creative (I recently wrote about this: Our Direction is our Destination). Directed by this belief, I try to seek out and nourish the spirit in myself and in everyone around me. This belief is now a core component not just of my social change professional work, but of how I try to interact with people generally.
With the question 'Is the Universe Friendly?', the prompt for us to become aware of ou... [View Full Comment]
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On May 8, 2012 terri wrote :
The universe is a very friendly place full of love. It is just that people forget and start doing mean stuff to each other.
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On May 8, 2012 Thierry wrote :
Do we need to think in terms of an either friendly or unfriendly universe? When earthquakes and tsunamis happen on this planet, when tremendous tension and energy is released at the surface of its comparatively thin mantle. Just underneath, an abyss of magma in fusion! From such awesomely unfriendly premises life emerged and managed to sustain itself and evolve for millions and millions of years. Science, which studies measurable phenomenas, claims to know barely 2 per cent of the observable universe: are these 2 per cent friendly or unfriendly? Still, it does its best to be predictive and to find proper tools, such as a seismic alert system, to minimize the impact of 'unfriendly' natural catastrophes.
To decide that the universe is friendly is somewhat similar to the famous 'Pari de ... [View Full Comment]
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On May 8, 2012 Daryl wrote :
What we think we believe is often different from what we have internalized as our working view. An easy way to self-check how we see the universe is to inquire as to whether we would really like to escape or "get out of here" through some element of our religious view. The Judeo-Christian mindset is quite strongly escapist -- and most of the world has been deeply influenced by this perspective. I suspect that if I truly believe the universe is friendly, or even neutral, then my intent will be to more and more fully interact with such an environment. If it is not friendly, then hell yes! Let me get out of Dodge any way I can and the sooner the better!
1 reply: Bryan | Post Your Reply
On May 8, 2012 Chris wrote :
The universe is an infinite flow of creative energy that changes forms as it's usefulness diminishes or the actions of other energy around it changes it's form as it is connected to all other types of energy. Almost like a giant recycle bin. As humans, we have the choice of how we want to co-create with the energy that is present now. The amount of inner awareness of this universal energy and the principles that seem to guide it, allow the human energy force a unique opportunity to observe the difference between reality and illusion, and subsequently love and fear. As we as humans surrender to the fact that we do not control the workings of the creative universe, a sense of humility is realized and wonder that surrounds the love of what is. It is what motivates us , excites an... [View Full Comment]
2 replies: Heena, Michael | Post Your Reply
On May 8, 2012 Roberto Becerra Bereijo wrote :
The entire Einstein passage simply points to the silliness of the games the mind plays when it ponders the ineffable. The fact that one of the greatest minds of our species could not resolve the mystery of God nor transcend the illusion of "purpose" should encourage us all to abandon thinking and live in the open heart. God is not a "thing". He neither plays nor does not play dice. The Universe is not a "thing". It is neither friendly nor unfriendly. Mine is the God of Job. The unquestionable one who does not answer to you or to me. The one upon whose will peace depends upon at times enduring, and bliss upon abandonment and adoration. The Lord of Hosts. May you find him here and now.
1 reply: Rebekah | Post Your Reply
On May 6, 2012 rahul wrote :
A true friend is one who acts for your benefit. So before you can answer whether the universe is friendly, you must deeply consider both the nature of what benefits you most and the question of who or what "you" are.
If your concept of self is individualistic, then achievements, ambitions, dreams, fame, power, possessions, pleasures, successes, etc are the things that seem to benefit you the most. From this lens, the universe is a decidedly unfriendly place, as all of these things come into your grasp only fleetingly, with circumstance, people, or time ultimately snatching or shattering them all. Most of us begin our journey's as true believers in an individualistic self, only to be repeatedly crushed or slowly sapped by the universe until we're thoroughly convinced that we've swallowed a flawed or incomplete picture.
If you begin with the truth that all you have will be taken from you, then you are forced to re-evaluate your notion of self and... [View Full Comment]
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On May 6, 2012 Ganoba wrote :
The essential and fundamental error is to consider the universe to be separate from us, "the other".
We try to correct this error by asking whether it is friendly or otherwise.
This question springs from a false premise and hence deserves no consideration. Any answer would be a wrong answer as the question itself is wrong.
Albert Einstein the philosopher is going against Einstein the scientist.
We are part of the universe and not apart from it.
Philosophically we can also say, in the same breath, that the universe is within us.
God is also not an entity separate from the universe.
Philosophically the universe is seen as the body of God.
We try to correct this error by asking whether it is friendly or otherwise.
This question springs from a false premise and hence deserves no consideration. Any answer would be a wrong answer as the question itself is wrong.
Albert Einstein the philosopher is going against Einstein the scientist.
We are part of the universe and not apart from it.
Philosophically we can also say, in the same breath, that the universe is within us.
God is also not an entity separate from the universe.
Philosophically the universe is seen as the body of God.
1 reply: Jimena | Post Your Reply
On May 6, 2012 David Doane wrote :
For me, the universe is friendly. That doesn't mean it is all nice, all peaches and cream. The universe is like the weather, like any person, like the unconscious, like me -- warm, cold, peaceful, sunny, violent, destructive, changing, full of surprises -- it is a mixed bag of all that is. That's its nature. It's free, uncontrolled. It is bigger than me. It's powerful. I am part of it. What's mine is to go with it, be responsive to it, work with it, appreciate it, enjoy it, respect it, learn from it. In that frame, it is friendly. It is me. I am an expression of it. To fight it is to fight me, and is to lose. To realize I am part of it and work with it is to realize it is friendly, and grow. As for randomness, I believe that all that is is interconnected -- the interconnectedness and intereffecting of all that is is beyond my ability to see, but I believe it is. Random for me ... [View Full Comment]
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On May 5, 2012 Xiaoshan wrote :
Is universe friendly? I truly do not know the answer. I will try not even come up with an answer.
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On May 5, 2012 Navin sata wrote :
GOD= GENARATES INFINITE ENERGY,O=OPERATES WITH THIS ENERGY , D= DESTROYS, in hinduism we call it brahma,vishnu,mahesh,one god three function for our limited understanding,our lord is always SAT{TRUTH} CHIT{AWERNESS} ANAND{BLISS} with this solid faith I look at universe ,enjoy Nature and beauty in everything,his hands that paints the sky ,smile on childrens faces ,every seasons of nature and Life,some wise person said look for god within,than around you in family friends,and than every where in universe , when one has faith along this belief than we want have any question .God is every where so he does not play dice with universe. as long as we have greed we will have war in and out all around us. How much money world spends on weapons and war in last one century ,half that money if we spend on needs of humanity ,?????????? Eternal can not be control by limited selfish mankind always love navin
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On May 5, 2012 Conrad P. Pritscher wrote :
The following Einstein quote says much: "A human being is a part of the whole, called by us 'Universe,' a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest of mankind an optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security."
Quoted in H Eves Mathematical Circles Adieu (Boston 1977).
My study reveals that Einstein thought the universe and God were one. That is similar to Gandhi's notion:
"If you don't see God in the next person you meet, it is a waste of time... [View Full Comment]