I have just finished a book on Celtic mysticism, The Mist-Filled Path by Frank MacEowen (2017) and am in the thick of a new one, The Intelligence of the Cosmos by Ervin Laszlo and other contributors (2017). The first deals with the unique path known through mystical relationship to nature, the inner life, and the thin spaces where heaven meets earth. The second explores the mystery of science, cosmology and spirituality. Both are inspiring in their own ways. And they share a common seam, these two books do.
The thing they share, yet know differently, is a sense of the unified, purposeful, mysterious nature of the whole cosmos. Ancient traditions that lead to knowing the infinite through story, ritual and piety reflect the same awe as do those who probe the infinity and finely tuned balance of the universe. As Laszlo describes the cosmos as a mindful set of vibrations that manifest in the space of the known, MacEowen describes the spiritual energy that stands behind the shifting shape of everything. They have different languages, traditions, methods and experiences to take them there, but the reality to which they point is remarkably similar.
Interestingly, the luminary Jane Goodall wrote the Introduction for The Intelligence of the Cosmos. You will remember her from her forested study of chimpanzees and their amazing intelligence. In one portion of her introductory essay she reflects on her early Methodist upbringing and how she always believed in a God-enchanted world. What she combined with that was her own deep experience of penetrating the mysteries of nature:
"This belief was strengthened during my years in the forest as I learned about the interconnectedness of life-forms, the amazing mystery of the natural world. And I became a part of it. I learned, first-hand, that I and nature were one consciousness." (4)
Indeed, there is one consciousness - of the whole universe, a cosmic intelligence. Or as Laszlow puts it, quoting astrophysicist James Jeans, "The world is more like a big thought than like a big rock."
The introduction of John's Gospel of great mystery puts it this way, my paraphrase:
"In the beginning was the Word (Gk: Logos - the Divine Intelligence and Creating Impulse) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, in the beginning with God. All things came into being through this intelligence and not one thing came into being without it. What has come into being is life, and that life is the light of all people."
That will preach. In fact, it always has.
