Hi, I'm Steven Martin. And in this series of lectures, we're exploring how taking a cosmic view of life and death can be both inspiring and empowering. As we struggled with the challenges of navigating and finding meaning in an increasingly complex world. In the first lecture, we explored the nature of the universe as being made of change in process. More than anything else wasn't being made of matter, light or energy. We can say that the most basic nature of the universe is that it was going to change.

We can see that the forms of matter and energy around us are only temporary, having changed their forms many times over the past 14 billion years of Cosmic History. We also saw that our own lives and identities are intertwined with that universe. We are each unique individual expression involving cosmos. Knowing that the basic nature of the cosmos is to change, it should come as no surprise that our lives or circumstances are destined to change as well. It's life and death expressions of this change. In this section, we're going to explore to the cosmic dynamics around change those of centration and dissolution.

And we'll see how these are integral aspects of the cosmic evolutionary process. We'll also explore how crisis cataclysmic death are necessary in evolving universe. And we'll find that taking this larger cosmic perspective on what can be a difficult experience for many of us can provide a sense of support, trust and resiliency. As we navigate the many bumps, terms and challenges of our daily lives. We live in a planet of tremendous variety and diversity. Looking around earth we find ourselves sharing this planet with an estimated 10 million other species of life along with countless Other forms of natural beauty and variety.

Looking beyond the earth, we see a great diversity of planets, stars, galaxies, and other cosmic phenomena. Since each place in the universe is different, it seems that one of the prevalent dynamics of the cosmos is to differentiate itself into unique and specific centers of action. In other words, rather than being a homogenous blob of stuff, the universe expresses itself as a diverse arrangement of interrelated centers of action, each one a different a unique expression of the cosmos itself. So one of the primary dynamics of the universe is that of cosmic centration, or individuation, the centering of the cosmos on itself to form unique individuals that express the potentials of the universe in a specific form. This leads us to the first cosmic inside of this section, the universe sent rates on itself to create individual centers of action. Here's an example.

Shortly after the Big Bang The entire universe was filled with clouds of hydrogen and helium gas. Over the next few hundred million years, this gas began to spontaneously gather itself together to form the first stars, centers of new creativity that lit up the universe with the first starlight. Aided by dark matter, these crystals clustered together with more gas and condensed the form the first galaxies stretching across the universe in long chains. This process of centration continued for 13.7 billion years afterwards, with galaxies, stars and planets, separating from clouds of gas to produce distinct individuals over time, as the universe becomes more diverse and complex through this individuation process. Just as clouds of gas and dust century in individuated form stars, people become their own unique sales more fully over time, as they discover their own particular gifts, capacities and unique ways of expressing who they truly are.

Recognizing central As a cosmic dynamic, we can become empowered knowing that one of our cosmic roles and destiny is to center to become more fully ourselves more fully the unique cosmic expressions of the person that we are. This means that each bus is a distinctive expression of the universe that has never occurred before throughout all Cosmic History. And it's statistically extremely unlikely to ever occur again. Because the universe expresses itself individually and uniquely at each point within itself. All parts of the universe are equally valuable in their singular uniqueness. You, your neighbors, and every single thing in the world around you is therefore is unique and precious expression of cosmic existence as the most brilliant diamond, the fiery sun, or the planet Saturn.

All are equally precious and unique aspects of the universe expressed differently. recognizing our inherent preciousness as well as our inseparability from the world around us can be enlightening, helping us to see that our basic needs Nature is the same nature as everything around us. plants, animals, stars, galaxies in ourselves are all made of the very same star stuff, recycled and reorganized over eons of time, into the unique patterns and expressions we see in the world today. Everything that exists is warp and weft and the Fabric of the Cosmos that is continuously unfolding and centering at every point in itself to reveal new patterns and beauty and complexity in every moment. Rather than feeling ourselves insignificant by comparison to a vast universe, we can begin to see ourselves as full participants in something much larger than we ever thought possible. And this cosmic perspective, our lives can be seen as unique weavings in the pattern of the universe, has expressions of the central bank dynamic that seeks to become ever more fully itself over time.

With this larger view, we can hope to contribute in some small way to the evolution of the whole by perhaps adding a mark of beauty and inspiration to a corner of the cosmos. I would have otherwise sat unadorned and empty without us. We can therefore relax, knowing that ultimately there is nothing to do but be who we already are known to become better ourselves. And that being ourselves as fully as we are uniquely and naturally called to do is the fulfillment of our cosmic role and destiny. It has taken the universe 14 billion years to develop the hands, bodies, hearts and minds of ourselves, animated by the same energy and dynamism that gave birth to the sun, the stars and the universe itself. Knowing that we are empowered to express what is deepest and truest in ourselves into the world.

Knowing that in some small way, we are doing the work of the cosmos itself, in shaping the future that is being born of each moment. seeing ourselves through cosmic perspective provides a breathtaking vision of who we are and what our lives can be. We begin to see that our lives are woven into the fabric of who you In an equal way, and that the threads were existence stretch back to the beginnings of time and space, our contributions to the world around us, no matter how brief, or how small, have the possibility to embroider the cosmic patterns assistance with a little more goodness, your greater measure of truth, and perhaps a bit more beauty than before you arrived. This perspective that we are unique expressions of cosmic process can be a source of empowerment, meaning, even guidance as we navigate the complexity of daily life through times of change and transformation.

This larger perspective on ourselves and our lives, leads to another insight that can help us during times of crisis, transformation and change. Because the good side is that we are each unique centers of experience in action with the universe. On the centrism also prevents us from being too self centered or feeling about our own perspective is pretty Or anyone else's, since they too are equally the center of the universe as well. It means that each of our lives is very much like the next person's. we all struggle with similar challenges and resistance. And we all experience similar joys and triumphs.

We can extend this principle into the more than human world, to recognize that all forms of life, face similar challenges and triumphs as we do, finding enough food to eat for ourselves and our families, finding shelter and protection from the environment and providing for our offspring. Cosmic centrism in the moral realm can become the basis for universal compassion, the recognition that all living beings share the same dynamics of life. I'm going to centrism is a way of expressing our cosmic uniqueness, and shows that each of us is a personal center of the universe, unique in the sense that it is not replicated anywhere else, and personal in the sense that it is a place where the universe deepens. Its intimacy with itself. Nowhere else and the entire cosmos has mattered Energy is centered on itself in the same way as it has right here and over there, and over there as well.

Each person, place in being is a unique and precious expression of the cosmos never before seen in the entire history of the universe, and statistically unlikely to ever be seen again. recognizing this, we can cherish every expression of the cosmos as a unique reflection of His Majesty and beauty, cultivating and extending our appreciation of this uniqueness to include ourselves and all other beings. The unique potential that ominous centrism brings is not limited to specialness and space but in time as well. Since the universe is a process of continuous change, every moment in Cosmic History is also unique and special, a complete expression of the entire universe that has come before it and one which will never be seen again. Being mindful of the uniqueness of each moment, we can relax into knowing that not only wherever we are is a perfect and complete expression of the cosmos.

But so was whenever we are, each moment being completed itself as part of the seamless unfoldment of space time. In the next section we'll explore how the cosmic dynamic of Cataclysm and dissolution are essential parts of both our lives in a cosmic individuation process. So see you next time.