Essay: Your Next Eye Exam is Near

The Time for Your Next Eye Exam Is Near

I received the above message from my ophthalmologist a couple of weeks ago. I’m glad that he sent it because my outer vision has been going down hill since I was sixteen. A lot of people have vision problems. Some have outer problems like not being able to read this essay. Others have inner problems like processing and integrating what they see on this page. Ophthalmologists deal with the outer problems. Unfortunately there are not a lot of doctors who examine our inner vision and offer advice and directions on how to keep our perceptions and interpretations up to date.

A few years ago, the man whose name is synonymous with genius, Albert Einstein (1879-1955), stated that the troubling problems of planet Earth cannot be solved with the frame of reference or perspective that created them. Perspective means to see through. In other words Einstein was saying that we need new inner vision - a change or adjustment to the way we look at, interpret and explain the threatening issues that confront us and ways to deal with them.

First of all, what are these troubling problems? Overpopulation, economic mal-distribution, global warming, pollution of air, water and soil, cultural intolerance, famine, disease, child abuse, sexism, homelessness, extinction of species and cultures, war and genocide. Certainly you can add to this “weapons of mass destruction” list.

There is a new perspective or frame of reference now available that has the energy and factual evidence to constructively address these problems. We cannot be blamed, however, for not perceiving and utilizing this way of seeing through things because it has only recently been discovered. Less than ten percent of today’s population has been exposed to what science has revealed in the last few decades. Also, we have neither the experience nor the language to fully comprehend the awe and beauty that this new perspective is offering. Because we now live with an outdated and blurred frame of reference we live our lives unaware of our full identity, dignity and potential.

In scientific language this new perspective is termed a theory – a statement of truth that is supported by abundant evidence. So what is this new theory? It is impossible to sum up in a few sentences what ninety years of the most intense and comprehensive research in the history of mankind has discovered. But here is a simple attempt. “ Everything in the universe is one, alive and old.” Maybe a short reflection on these three words might help. One means that everything that exists is totally related to and totally dependent upon everything else. Alive means that everything is self-actuating, self-sustaining and self-fulfilling. Old means that everything is 13.7 billion years old.

So what do those facts say about us? Well, if everything is one that means that we come from and are embedded in the universe. We are not separate from the rest of creation. We are a very recent, sacred and evolving part of the cosmos. It means also that we have a definite and specific role to play in the great process of being.

How does the statement that everything is alive grab you? Since at least the seventeenth century we’ve looked upon the universe as a big machine, a well regulated giant clock, a massive collection of inert and dead matter that we thought we were in control of and could utilize as we saw fit. We cannot consider ourselves to be conscious and intelligent and think like that any longer. The evidence for the oneness and the ubiquity of life is overwhelming and presents a huge challenge to our current perception of reality. The way we define matter and how we deal with it has to change.

Finally, how does it feel to be 13.7 billion years old? This is not a joke. You really are that old. The Universe had a beginning that we can now see and hear. Everything that exists was created by a tremendous flaring forth or Big Bang and has evolved continuously for billions of years. Furthermore, the universe is a closed system and everything is constantly recycled, including you. For example, every seven years your living skeleton is completely replaced. And when you die you will be recycled in a most surprising and beautiful way.

So why is it important for you to familiarize yourself more extensively with this new theory? Understanding and living what this new perspective expresses is critical for the survival of our planet. Many scholars believe that our species is on the endangered list. If your life is now comfortable and you don’t want to make any changes, then you should learn about this profound discovery and its implications for your children and your grandchildren. If this new theory and its implications are ignored and we go on living with old and unsustainable myths, then soon our offspring are going to experience a severe and lasting downgrading of their freedom and lifestyle. It’s that serious.

No one has more clearly explained the purpose and the importance of a factual explanation of reality than Olympic athlete and scholar Joseph Campbell. Here’s a summary of what he had to say: “Life defining perspectives point infallibly through things and events to the ubiquity of a Presence or Eternity that is whole and entire in each. They serve four functions:

1. they awaken and maintain in the individual a sense of wonder and participation in the mystery of this inscrutable universe.

2. they convert every feature of the locally envisioned order of nature into an icon or revelatory figure.

3. they validate and maintain whatever moral system and manner of life-customs that may be peculiar to the local culture.

4. they conduct individuals through the passages of human life --- from childhood to the ultimate passage of the dark gate.”

Why don’t you reflect on those ideas for a little while and then find someone to discuss them with for an hour or two? You’ve got nothing to lose but a sense of wonder, an amazing revelation of nature, a more comprehensive understanding of your culture, and some surprising wisdom about your certain death.

Discussion Questions:
1. What are some of the global problems that trouble you?
2. What is the difference between an hypothesis and a theory?
3. What are the implications of the theory – everything is one, alive and old?
4. Why do many refuse to even consider this new theory?
Discuss Campbell’s thoughts on this new theory?

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