Discussion Groups--The “Powers of the Universe” A Video Series by Mathematical Cosmologist, Brian Swimme, Ph.D.

This group of Barry University faculty and staff met monthly in Fall 2006 for supper and discussion of four video segments from Brian Swimme’s “Powers of the Universe.”

Swimme, a mathematical cosmologist, notes that seamlessness is the main characteristic of the Universe. In the current age, we are challenged by what he calls, “the withering planet.”  Earth’s crisis is calling us, according to Swimme, to “creative response.” We must move completely out of the “industrial” mode of life and into a new type of living, indeed a new type of being. Swimme asserts humans are being called to a “vast transformation,” indeed, a “speciation.”

The ecological crisis prompts us to look at our identity and role in a broader sense than we have previously. According to Swimme, two of the questions we need to ask are: “What does it mean to be human?” “What is our habitat?” For Swimme, our ability to symbolize through language indicates humans “are the way in which Universe proceeds in conscious self-awareness.” This same self-awareness requires we “take responsibility for other species, other elements,” with guidance from the “numinous” powers/processes of the Universe.

The dicussion groups’ lively exploration of Swimme’s proposals regarding human identity, seamlessness, and the powers of the universe were facilitated by Sr. Pat Siemen, OP, the Center for Earth Jurisprudence, and Fr. Dave Caron, OP, D.Min., the Center for Dominican Studies. The groups took the ideas generated from their discussions and applied them at the personal, institutional, and global levels. On the personal level, participants committed to measure and reduce their carbon footprint. At the institutional level, the groups sought ways to implement recycling at Barry and discussed the role Barry University might play in educating the larger community regarding the ecological crisis. Subsequent book studies, presentations, and the well-attended Water Conference grew, in part, out of these discussions. This video series and the energy of the facilitators and participants resulted in continuing positive steps toward greening at the personal, institutional, and community levels.