How the universe began and what's our connection to it?

Imagine the entire Universe inside a tiny bubble that was thousands of times smaller than a pinhead, hotter and denser than anything we can imagine. This tiny miracle exploded with brutal force and from this release the basic building blocks of matter, quarks and electrons, floated free in an incredibly hot and dense soup. As the Universe expanded and cooled, the quarks bound together into the protons and neutrons that thrive today. This is the beautiful story of how our Universe began: ‘The big bang theory’. 

Scientists estimate the age of the universe to be about 14 billion years old! They also estimate that 97% of the human body is composed of stardust and we each carry at least a few million atoms of gold inside us.

It’s mind-blowing to know that we can trace back to the beginning of creation and there will be more mind-blowing discoveries made and new theories proven in the future. The James Webb telescope is working its magic and sending back incredible images like the famous picture of thousands of galaxies of different ages, including the four oldest galaxies in the universe, born just 300 million years after the Big Bang. There are now 300 million years of unexplored universal history between these galaxies and the beginning of time. 

“The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.” 

- Neil deGrasse Tyson - 

It is absolutely fascinating that everything we see around us, from a grain of sand, trees, mountains, the earth, galaxies, and the Universe were all formed after a tiny ball exploded and continued to expand forever.

 

So you, me, and everything around us are made from stardust! Pretty magical don’t you think? We may come from different parts of the world but we share a common heritage: the elements in our bodies were created in stars! From the carbon in our DNA to the calcium in our bones, nearly all of the elements in our bodies were forged in the fiery hearts and death throes of stars.

Many people dismiss the importance of understanding where we come from and our connection to everything. We don’t know much but enough to understand that being connected to both everything around us and everything billions of light years away is something we should hold dear in our hearts as for all we do, think, and voice has an impact on us, and our Universe.

Can you imagine the energy needed for this extraordinary event to materialise? Scientists cannot tell us the energy released by the Big Bang, as they don't accurately know what happened. Nevertheless, all that energy was released and became the basic building blocks of our world and of us, so it’s reasonable to assume that this energy impacts our lives in some way. An extraordinary power that is dormant in our bodies and in our minds. The legendary Albert Einstein best known for his equation E = mc2, proved that energy and mass, also known as matter, are the same thing, just in different forms.

“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics.” - Albert Einstein -

 

This quote seems like a simple thing to achieve, but how many of us manage to match the frequency of our dreams with success, only a few have mastered this great law of physics. We have yet to truly comprehend how to use energy and its benefits. The digital world is evolving faster than the human mind, the influence of technology is impairing our ability to stop and silence our minds to reconnect with our inner voice, our internal GPS that has all the answers about which way to go and what to do next. However one day or another we will understand and use this guidance for the betterment of humanity. As Newtonian thinking evolves from the three-dimensional view of the world to the quantum world, we’re progressing towards new possibilities, a beautiful promise for our future and the generations to come. We must evolve all our senses to live better lives. Some believe it’s our purpose, to learn how to manipulate energy. Since our thoughts are energy signals, the energy transmitting our thoughts has mass.

If we use this process for an idea and with this idea comes a firm belief, it has no other alternative but to come into existence. This can be applied to all inventions created since the beginning of time, from the wheel to rocket ships and everything in between. Energy and mass (matter) are interchangeable; they are different forms of the same thing. Under the right conditions, energy can become mass, and mass can become energy. Look around you, if you’re in a furnished room, your eyes are telling you that you are surrounded by solid and stationary objects, that’s true as far as visual perception is concerned but in reality, you’re looking at thoughts and ideas that materialised through the work driven by human thoughts. It was a thought that created the chair, the door, the car, and the millions of unique objects that exist today. Thought is the original source of all wealth, great discoveries, success, inventions, and achievements. With that in mind, it becomes easy to understand that a person’s thoughts either make them or break them.

 

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so”.

- Shakespeare -

 

It’s important to emphasise that hard work alone will not bring success. Creative thinking and a strong belief in your ability to execute your idea will result in the realisation of your goals.

 

We’re in the era of a global awakening. We finally appreciate that we have more control over our lives than we were led to believe, but for this to be true, for everyone across the world, and impact our lives for the better, we need healthier minds, we need to make better choices, and we need to live better lives. With the rise of anxiety worldwide due to social media, violence, unhealed trauma, stress, war, and everything else, the resulting negativity has impacted our psyche, throwing our lives out of balance.

 

Our potential to achieve a healthier mind is within reach for all of us. The first step is to want it! We need to engage the energy of our hearts as much as the energy of our minds.

 

It has been demonstrated that the heart is the strongest source of our bio-electrical energy. It’s 40 to 60 per cent stronger than the electrical energy of our brains. The incredible part, the heart's electrical energy is so powerful, projecting beyond our skin and can be measured three to four feet outside our bodies, radiating in a 360-degree field.

 

We won’t change our world overnight, but once we appreciate the power which resides within us, we can start making better decisions and affect everything and everyone around us. This power was given to us from the beginning, so it’s time to use it for the better.  We aren’t superheroes but we all have a piece of the heavens within us and it’s waiting for us to make the connection. We’ll always have doubts and fears, that’s part of being human, the yin and the yang, but all fears can be overcome, with faith, courage, and love.

"Thinking is the hardest work there is,

which is probably the reason why so 

few engage in it." - Henry Ford -

 

Given that most of us are victims of thought overload with an average of 60,000 thoughts a day, ranging from mundane daily tasks to deeper contemplations about life, no wonder it’s hard to keep a clear mind and focus on the good things in front of us. But when our mind truly understands its great power and puts it to work, we will accomplish wonders. Everything will be within our ability to achieve, and the image created in our minds will give birth to reality in the world.

 

“Know yourself, know your power, just believe that there is a real creative magic in believing, and magic there will be, true belief will supply the power to succeed in anything you undertake.” - Claude M. Bristol - 

It’s important to accept that difficult times are part of life. Some events are predestined to happen in the course of our lives, depending on the choices we make, both willpower and bravery will be tested, and when we make a choice to go in a particular direction we must overcome and learn from tough times before gaining access to the next chapter in our story. No matter the choices we make, challenges await but with courage, faith, and the right direction, these obstacles, once overcome will give you tools to carry on!

Thank you so much for reading this piece, always remember to make good choices for yourself and to have faith in your dreams. By doing this you’re helping the world become a better place and rippling out your good vibrations to all of us.

@lifeaswegoalong

EARTH - MOTHER GODDESS, OUR HAVEN.

‘We can do better’

I once heard someone say in a podcast that humans were like mould on a sandwich, spoiling the Earth without concern for the consequences. Another metaphor I read in an article compared human beings to a virus infecting the planet. Someone suggested to me that humanity is so damaging to itself and the planet, that we need to press the reset button. Let’s just say he wasn’t an optimist! This outlook on humanity lacks faith in our ability to change and get better. It’s quite concerning to think that so many people have either lost faith or just accepted how it is. They won’t change or act to heal our planet.

Earth is our only home in the universe. The only planet in our solar system with the unique conditions that allow life to thrive. Yet too many souls are comfortable with the idea that the health of their planet doesn’t concern them. “Who cares about saving the planet” was a scary statement I heard from a young guy wearing his trousers low, like he’d wet his nappy. Perhaps he believed there’s another planet we can move to once we have effed this one up? ‘Sure, maybe we can move to Venus…’

“The universe is about 14 billion years old, Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, and humans about 200,000 years old. We’ve been here such a small amount of time, and yet we’ve wrecked a good chunk of what nature has created. Are we such barbarians? Or, baboons in suits with smart phones? Having said that - there is hope!”

‘Our solar system and a little further’

The other planets in our solar system are hazardous to humans. There is no backup planet. Let’s take a look at them to be sure. First up we have Mercury, 427°c during the daytime, and -180°c at night. The atmosphere is so thin that without a space suit you won’t survive for two minutes! Then we have Venus, named after the goddess of love, but she won’t be loving you my friend, at 462°c, she’s hot enough to melt lead. Made mainly from carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid, with acid rain, it’s so hot the rain evaporates before hitting the ground! Sounds like Lucifer’s tavern - you will die instantly!

Now Mars, its gravity is so weak it can’t hold on to oxygen, it’s mostly carbon dioxide. It has an average temperature of -81°c. Matt Damon may have survived by growing potatoes with his poo but that was Hollywood make-believe! How about Jupiter? The Big Mama of our solar system. A gas giant with no firm surface to touch down on and a persistent high-pressure region producing an anticyclonic storm. If you enjoy feeling the ground beneath your feet and the wind out of your hair, you won’t vibe with Jupiter.

Next Saturn! A sphere made almost entirely from hydrogen & helium. Saturn doesn’t want you there. It’s so inhospitable, the gas surrounding it is poisonous to humans. It’s also -178°c, a little nippy, don’t you think? Here’s cheeky Uranus, the oddball of ice and gas which rotates on its side. It hasn’t got a surface. If you tried to land on Uranus you would just sink through the upper atmosphere of hydrogen and helium, and then into the liquid icy centre. And finally, we have Neptune with an atmosphere of hydrogen, helium, and methane. It also has storm systems that circulate around the planet with wind speeds of 1000 km/h and clouds of frozen methane. Sounds like Elsa’s old home before moving to Earth. Please no one piss her off again!

The nearest planet which may have earth-like potential is just 12 light years away. Astronomers have discovered a rocky planet in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri. The only problem is it would take 137,000 years to get there. I’m sure Virgin Galactic will run out of peanuts and loo rolls within the first few days!

‘We are the problem 

but also the solution’

We live in a world where money is almost everyone’s primary ambition. As without it life can be difficult, and limited. But, at what cost do we indulge the mentality of ‘profit first’? The costs have become blindingly obvious for people who can think for themselves. It’s unacceptable to poison and destroy our planet and damage people’s health in the process. We must do our utmost, with intelligence and compassion, to live in a way that’s friendly to the environment. It’s not too late, change has already begun, and we must persist and educate those who are oblivious. Yes, millions still throw their rubbish, cigarette ends, and chewing gum on the ground, in parks, forests, and oceans. We still kill animals for sport, overconsume meat and overfish our oceans. Dangerous substances are still added to our food and drinks despite the demand for healthier alternatives at a fair price. We are over farming resulting in land degradation. Deforestation has brought the loss of habitat for millions of species. Human slavery is still practiced to satisfy the demand of consumerism. And, city air pollution is on the rise worldwide.

‘Change can only come from us’

The way we treat our planet is the way we treat ourselves. Humans are famous for their self-destructive behaviour. Just take a look around hospital exits, you’ll see people fresh from surgery puffing away on a cigarette. Look at our diets, most of us know what junk food and excessive eating does to our bodies, yet we still indulge. We understand the damage that alcohol does to us, yet we still drink too much, just like an addict seeking their next fix. Our wellbeing is secondary. Enjoyment and escapism come first. We snub self-education and self-discipline because we don’t have the time or we don’t want to. Maybe out of laziness or impoverishment. Who knows! Our planet is a reflection of who we are and the consequences of our thoughts and actions.

The equation for capitalism doesn’t include social or environmental ethics. This is what we must make good. You have a heart, listen to it. You have common sense, use it. You have wisdom, share it. We need new ideas to improve the way we live. We need to keep loving life, our own and the life we see around us. We need to love our planet and embrace a new system that gives love value. Take care of our planet. Do it for you. Do it for our children and for future generations. It’s everyone’s right to live and flourish in this beautiful world. Let’s join our efforts and take care of mother nature like she has taken care of us. Her fauna, flora, and her magnificence is everywhere: in the structure of DNA, in our own complex biology, in the sound of people’s laughter, and in the diverse environments covering our planet's surface.

“Life can be tough at times, and the well-being of the planet isn’t on everyone’s priority list, but every day is a chance to do something good which will help us live a more sustainable way of life and restore balance to our planet. Everyone can do something, even if it’s just putting your rubbish in the bin”. (that’s in the bin, not next to it!)

WE MUST TAKE CARE 
OF OUR PLANET! ❤️

READ NEXT: What on earth are we here for?

WHAT ON EARTH ARE WE HERE FOR?

The question on everyone’s mind is - where do we come from and why are we here?  We are born and raised by people we relate to as family.  They pass on their knowledge, experience, fears, love, limitations and motivations. We inherit a nationality and we learn a language; we’re indoctrinated with values and beliefs and introduced to traditions. In theory, all of this is supposed to define us, but it’s an identity we’ll eventually question as we make our way through life. 

One extraordinary realisation is that we are living on a planet in a small solar system, that is part of a continually expanding universe. The universe is 14 billion years old and is so large that some of the stars in the sky may have died already with their light only just reaching us.  The most distant object we have detected so far is an early galaxy over 13 billion light years away. And, to understand something this large we need to study the quantum-scale building blocks of life that are so very small like photons, electrons and quarks.  It’s astonishing that we live on the only planet we have found that’s created life through a perfect relationship with our most vital star – the sun.

200,000 years of humanity and we still don’t know where we come from or why we’re here.  I believe we are not supposed to know.  We’re told by ancient books and manuscripts about an omniscient, omnipresent force with infinite power that has created us, but there is no proof or even sign of this divine existence.  Perhaps the silence is intentional to give us freewill, the freedom to believe whatever we choose. Out of nothing we have created myriad ways of living and our society has evolved throughout recorded history, from primitive to post-modern in 200,000 years by simply following our instincts, using our intelligence and building on our humanity.  We are currently seven billion strong (excluding our friends from the animal kingdom) and we have done extremely well at exploring the greatest ways to live well; however we still have work to do before we have a world that is truly united.

Still today, we let the colour of our skin, faith, tradition, class, gender, lifestyle choices, physical appearance and nationalities divide us.  Despite our progress and the effort of many good people to bring peace and fairness these inequalities remain.  We need to collectively meditate on the fact that what defines us isn't physical but spiritual -  our inner being. 

Our planet holds such diversity and possibility.  We have an infinite wealth of knowledge about our past and present and yet we still repeat the mistakes of history time and time again.  We forget the lessons from our past and eagerly continue the vicious chain of wars, violence and fear, which always leads to limitation and sorrow.  

Some governments thirst for power and money, ruled by corruption to sustain wars and conflict to keep the world divided and business profitable.  We disrespect our soil and oceans by using them as dumping grounds for destructive waste, killing wildlife and poisoning the world that sustains us. Our media spreads fear and highlights negativity instead of reminding us about human kindness and the profound beauty of our world.  And, contrary to news reports there is much more love than fear in our world.

To escape from our responsibilities and harsh realities, we have created entertainment. If we’re still struggling to escape from bad decisions, soul searching or depression then alcohol and recreational drugs become our friends to ease the pain and numb our minds of fear.  Work without passion has become the norm in exchange for financial freedom. Materialism and consumerism have become primary, leaving little room for simplicity, love and authenticity.

'We are still quite primitive despite our best efforts to make our lives better.  We’ve focused on improving our physical environment by investing in technology and civic institutions, but all of this is just one part of being human.'

We must now, more than ever focus on developing what’s inside all of us and seek to understand our gifted minds and the message in our hearts to unlock our human potential.  Many people are flourishing and have achieved incredible things in life, so what separate us from these people?  One important thing they appreciate is their internal resources - they understand their own mind and the extent of their abilities. They see every opportunity that life has to offer.  You limit yourself by believing that only a tiny percentage of people are destined to live well.

It is clear that the universe is under no obligation to answer any of our questions about our existence and how to live our lives.  But, since we are here and have free will, why not find a way to live in peace.  Why not accept that we’re all different, that we believe in different things, and that we have different ambitions.  We have written our story for 200 000 years now and we won't stop unless the universe decides to end us like the dinosaurs. Let's learn from the mistakes of our ancestors and create a world where everyone is welcome and loved. Unity should be our ultimate goal!

LIVE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT, WHERE YOU HAVE FULL CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE - THAT’S WHAT I BELIEVE OUR PURPOSE IS.

READ NEXT: Earth mother goddess, our haven.