A New Creation Story

       

       Almost every culture and faith has a creation story (and often more than one) to explain how the world began. A good place to find the various creation myths is www.crystalinks.com/creationcountries. The most widely known creation story in the western world is the one from the Book of Genesis - well actually, even Genesis relates two creation stories. In the first story God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness . . . .  So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:26-27).

       In the second creation story "the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being." Eve was created from Adam's rib a little later, unlike the first story in which man and woman are created at the same time.

       I don't know how Bible literalists explain the difference between these two stories, but metaphysical interpreters say the first story symbolizes the creation of our spirituality - the part of humanity that is godlike. The second story deals with the creation of our physical bodies and brains which came later and still don't remember our connection to Spirit.

       Most ancient creation myths concern only the world that was known to the storyteller, and so these myths do not address the creation of the entire universe - or even the entire globe.The Genesis story describes the sky as a dome in which God placed lights to separate the day from the night. Obviously the storyteller could not imagine a world or heavens larger than what he could see. Today we need a new story, based on our expanding knowledge of the universe.

       This past Sunday the minister of the Unitarian-Universalist Society of Oneonta took The Cosmic Walk that's been all the rage among UU churches in recent years. The Walk follows a series of markers around the perimeter of the sanctuary which note the highlights of the universe and earth's evolution according to modern science. It starts with “the Great Flaring Forth of the Emerging Universe” some 15 billion years ago, and demonstrates the great expanse of time that elapsed before humanity emerged on this planet a mere seven million years ago. 

       I thought this sermon was an interesting coincidence since I am currently reading a book I received for Christmas: Journey of the Universe by Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker, which presents this same cosmic story in greater detail. The story boggles the mind with its vast stretches of time and the inconceivable sizes of supernovas and single-cell lifeforms. 

       When I read that two billion years passed before the more complex cells with nuclei appeared, I realized that I should try to be more forgiving of the human race, considering how very young it is. If it took two billion years for one cell to grow a nuclei, why do I expect the human race to recognize its oneness and be peaceful and loving after only seven million years? 

       An interesting spiritual twist on The Cosmic Walk can be found at: http://www.diarmuid13.com/the-cosmic-walk. Diarmuid O'Murchu weaves the creation of the seven chakras into the scientific creation story, reminding us that, if we believe in a Divine Spirit, it must be a part of the the cosmic journey. O'Murchu's concluding reflection is worth repeating here. The following is a quote from The Universe Story by Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry: 
       
       "What is particularly striking is the lack of repetition in the developing universe. The fireball that begins the universe gives way to the galactic emergence and the first generation of stars. The later generations of stars bring into being the living planets with their own sequence of epochs, each differentiating itself from the rest. Biological and human history, with the ever fresh expressions of creativity, continue the differentiation of time from its beginning. 

       Indeed all 15 billion years form an epic that must be viewed as a whole to understand its full meaning. This meaning is the extravagance of the creative outpouring, where each being is given its unique existence. At the heart of the universe is an outrageous bias for the novel, for the unfurling of surprise in prodigious dimensions throughout the vast range of existence." 

       The story of the universe and the cosmic walk demonstrate for us our commonality as children of the stars, and the desire of our cosmos to birth an infinite variety of creations within itself. The scientific discoveries that have led to this modern version of the creation story demonstrate our oneness, not only with one another, but with every particle of the cosmos. Now that we are aware of this I hope we can evolve a bit faster toward peaceful co-existence. 

The Beginning of Love

        This is the first chapter of my book-in-progress, The World According to Love. The introduction can be found here: In the Beginning . . . There was Love.

       Before the beginning, there was nothing but Love. Love, bubbling over with the delight of being-ness and beauty, could not contain Itself. Like a child, spinning barefoot in the grass, blowing bubbles with the wind, Love blew stars into being. These heavenly bodies, formed by the breath of Love, threw off sparks of light to create the planets and their moons. All of these bodies, whirling and dancing through space, sang praises to their Creator, and on the strains of this music, the smaller entities came to dwell on some of the planets, including the one we call Earth.  An endless variety of beings were sung into existence: from one-celled sea creatures, to intricately designed birds that flew on the winds of love and joy. Of course all this creativity took eons and eons, but there is no time where Love is concerned, and so the time that this took, whether seven days, or several billion years, is insignificant. What matters is that it happened; that every bit of life, from the dandelions in your lawn, to the trees in the wood; from the ant on a peony bud, to the person that is YOU -- every one, since the beginning of it all, was created by Love.

          Love gave all human creatures the gift of freedom to be what they wished to be and create whatever they desired. Love trusted that every creation would be composed of Love -- how could it be otherwise when Love is all there is? Love is the Truth and the foundation of the universe, and Love is the energy that birthed all beings: angels, humans, gods and goddesses, and nature elementals. When we, Love's children, were first born, we were in spirit, perfect images of our perfect Creator. But in pure and perfect form, Love is homogeneous, and we were very much alike.

          For eons, we watched and marveled at the formation of physical creations in their infinite variety: snowflakes dancing and laughing as they fell, each one as unique as it was beautiful; flowers in a vast array of shapes and colors; butterflies in every hue the light spectrum offered. Curious and bold, some of Love’s human children decided to experiment with physical incarnation, so that they, too, could manifest a multiversity of bodies and personalities. Love encouraged them to use their imaginations as they took form in a variety of material bodies: after all, the plants and animals of the world increased the joy of the Divine as they related to one another and their mother planet. Surely the interrelationships of a diversified humanity would create new and exciting expressions of Love!

Love assigned humans to be co-caretakers of the earth. And Love decided that it would be their responsibility to guide the physical evolution of each plant and creature, while the elemental spirits directed the evolution of their ethereal bodies. Among the domains under care of human beings were the microscopic bacteria that help to maintain the health of everyone’s body. And they were to cooperate with the weather elementals to ensure the right balance of sun and rain for the nurture of planetary life. This was easily accomplished as long as they knew that their thoughts and actions affected the rest of creation of which they were a part.

          For a little while, perhaps just a few hundred-thousand years, maybe more; humans managed to do Love's will and live harmoniously in the garden of the world. Love placed certain laws into motion in order to maintain the integrity of each species of life, and harmony between them. The law that protected the fish and other sea creatures allows them to live happily in the sea, but any who leave the water will die. The law of the sky allowed winged creatures to soar and fly, but any others who attempt to leap from a cliff, fall to their death. The law of plant life required flowers and trees to remain rooted in the soil in order to flourish. The law of the insect and animal kingdoms required these creatures to care for one another; even as a tiny ant will drop its load in order to tend to another ant in trouble.

          What Love asked of human children was that they recognize their connection with each other and all of Creation; to love and care for every aspect of it. Love was so pleased with these children that more of them were allowed to incarnate into varying sizes, shapes, and hues to increase the beauty of Creation. As the range and number of individual lives grew, they started to notice the differences between them. And as they noticed the differences that Love found beautiful, they made comparisons. As the millennia passed, humans gradually forgot the Law of Oneness and Love that maintained the balance, harmony, and beauty of their planetary existence.

          Eventually this fragmentation of Love's children became known in some cultures as "The Fall."  A story would be told about how the first humans tasted a forbidden fruit, which gave them knowledge of good and evil. What they actually tasted was freedom from the will of their Creator. And just as human children glory in their freedom when they break away from the parental tethers that have kept them safe, these humans gloried in the realization that they could do absolutely anything that they pleased! The storyteller, who referred to Love as Jehovah, and a male, said that He alone should have knowledge of good and evil; if humankind knew only good, they could not commit evil deeds.

This interpretation of events was actually the first sin, because it infers that evil existed in Love's Creation before humanity chose to break the law of Oneness and Love. This tale placed the blame for evil's existence on the Creator, and so began the false belief in a god that exists separately from Creation; a god who would punish his children with eternal damnation if they did not accept his gift of love. Humans have blamed their Source of Love and Life for the creation of evil, and yet the creator has continued to love them with unconditional divine love.

          As human beings became more and more conscious of their differences, and made comparisons among themselves, the ones whose bodies were protected with soft, warm fur, admired the smooth glossy skin of those whose skin was bare.  Admiration turned to envy. The bare-skinned people noticed this and decided that they were superior beings, since after all, the furry people looked a lot like the animals that Love had certainly not created equal to humans!

          The short, stout people set themselves apart from the tall people, because they were obviously better fed, with superior abilities to harvest and prepare delectable meals. But the tall, long-legged humans could run faster, as well as look down on the short ones . . . so they knew that they were the ones Love had ordained to be Lords of the Earth.

          Humanity, who had begun life on earth with the capacity to love one another and their planetary home, lost their ability to love everyone and everything unconditionally. They focused on what they perceived to be their unique strengths and weaknesses, which made them feel either superior or inferior to others, depending on the direction of each one’s thoughts. Those who felt inferior were afraid that their "betters" would conquer and dominate them. Those who felt superior feared that their "inferiors" would attack them out of jealous rage.          

While Love continued to enjoy the differences that made all people beautiful, the sons and daughters of Love created so much friction among themselves that some of them began to fight and kill each other.  It saddened Love to see brothers and sisters rise up against each other. Love asked: "Have you become so lost in the depths of materiality, that you have forgotten the eternalness of life? Do you really believe that you can rid yourselves of those you call enemies by destroying their temporary physical bodies?" But Love's children couldn't hear; they had forgotten how to quiet their minds and listen to Love's voice.  And if they remembered how to love at all, it was only in the exclusive ways of romantic and familial love.

          As their self-centeredness grew, Love's children lost touch with the Creator, and they lost their ability and desire to care for the earth that had been provided for them to share with each other and all of Creation.  When humans didn't care properly for the earth's creatures, the animals who couldn't find enough food in the plant kingdom became hunters and ate the slower and weaker creatures. Sometimes the slower creatures were human, and so humanity grew to fear some of the animals they had once cared for. As they forgot how to maintain the proper balance of sun and rain, warm and cold weather, and how to control the winds with the energy of love, some areas of the earthly garden which had been lush and green became barren wastelands.  The desert dwellers attacked the garden inhabitants, hoping to take over the fertile parts of the earth, and so made enemies of those who had once been their brothers and sisters.

The Creator cried: "Why can't you share the fertile lands? There is still enough for all of you!" But Love's children didn't hear these thoughts. What could Love do to restore peace to the world that had been created to be a dwelling place for beings of love and beauty?