The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos: Humanity and the New Story

Rating:
Summary: DEATH TO CONSUMERISM
Review: Brian Schwimme has an archaic nostalgia. For thousands, even millions, of years, people have united together to marvel at the mystery of the cosmos and contemplate the essence of it all. It was the same macrocosm that each and everyone of the primitive cave dwellers to modern man have directly experienced. But nowadays, we don't do that. We disenchant the world by scientific explanations that view the universe as a machine, to the point where the mathematical explanations of phenomena are more significant than phenomena itself. You might be thinking, no way, the majority of the world is religious, and contemplate such things regularly. He points out that the problem with modern day religious thought is that when we ponder the deep questions of meaning in the universe, we do so in a context fixed in the time when the classical scriptures achieved their written form, rather than worshiping in the context of the universe as we have come to know it over the recent centuries. Such knowledge is restricted to "science" which is at odds with religion. It shouldn't be like this. The Scientific Revolution was an age of this separation. The current cosmology calls for an age of integration. I am all for this goal of striving for a new consciousness. Within our Newtonian minds, we've built such tiny worlds like this, which resulting from the machine view of a dead universe, we apotheosize and deify consumerism. This book doesn't bicker about God or anything that people don't want to hear, it's just saying, "Wake up from this man made world, cast back the veil from your eyes, be at one with this LIVING fecund universe!" You will truly be LIVING in the world once you appreciate the heart of the cosmos, which all though is around 15 billion light years away, is also every where at once. There is no restriction to science. The new cosmology is what has mystified the men of all ages, what they spoke of as the Tao, or the Logos - the emanating source of all creation.

Rating:
Summary: DEATH TO CONSUMERISM
Review: Brian Schwimme has an archaic nostalgia. For thousands, even millions, of years, people have united together to marvel at the mystery of the cosmos and contemplate the essence of it all. It was the same macrocosm that each and everyone of the primitive cave dwellers to modern man have directly experienced. But nowadays, we don't do that. We disenchant the world by scientific explanations that view the universe as a machine, to the point where the mathematical explanations of phenomena are more significant than phenomena itself. You might be thinking, no way, the majority of the world is religious, and contemplate such things regularly. He points out that the problem with modern day religious thought is that when we ponder the deep questions of meaning in the universe, we do so in a context fixed in the time when the classical scriptures achieved their written form, rather than worshiping in the context of the universe as we have come to know it over the recent centuries. Such knowledge is restricted to "science" which is at odds with religion. It shouldn't be like this. The Scientific Revolution was an age of this separation. The current cosmology calls for an age of integration. I am all for this goal of striving for a new consciousness. Within our Newtonian minds, we've built such tiny worlds like this, which resulting from the machine view of a dead universe, we apotheosize and deify consumerism. This book doesn't bicker about God or anything that people don't want to hear, it's just saying, "Wake up from this man made world, cast back the veil from your eyes, be at one with this LIVING fecund universe!" You will truly be LIVING in the world once you appreciate the heart of the cosmos, which all though is around 15 billion light years away, is also every where at once. There is no restriction to science. The new cosmology is what has mystified the men of all ages, what they spoke of as the Tao, or the Logos - the emanating source of all creation.

Rating:
Summary: A much needed vacation from humanities molded reality
Review: I personally found this book both extremely inspiring and enjoyable to read. Swimme's method of unveiling the truth about advertisments and consumerism and how they shape our veiw of reality is ingenious. At the same time, the book takes you on a scientific journey of the universe that incorporates feelings of mystical awe and wonder that many books fail to acomplish. I have read everything from Fred Wolfe to Brian Greene. However, Swimme envokes a deeper feeling of appreciation for science, the workings of our universe, and humanity in general. All his books, especially this one, have something new to say and add a human touch to science that is long overdue. This is definitely not your run-of-the-mill new age book and I recommend it to anyone who is passionate about preservation of the environment or just plain curious about new ideas concerning reality and the world we live in.

Rating:
Summary: A decent but not outstanding book by Brian
Review: This book falls somewhere between the cerebral 'Universe Story' and the poetic 'The Universe is a Green Dragon'. Brian is struggling to bring the beauty and feeling of the universe into perspective with the consumerism which rules the day. If you had to pick a single book by Swimme, it would be 'The Universe is a Green Dragon'