Thomas Berry / Briann Swimme  [also:  based on writings of  Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]

The Universe Story To extract ourselves from this cultural pathology of alienation from one another and destruction of the earth, Berry calls for a New Story of the universe. By evoking such a deep poetic wisdom he feels we may be able to create a sustainable future. He calls for reinventing the human at the species level which implies moving from our cultural coding to recover our genetic coding of relatedness to the earth. By articulating a new mythic consciousness of our profound connectedness to the earth we may be able to reverse the self-destructive cultural tendencies we have put in motion with regard to the planet. ...    In so doing we will create the basis for long range economic and ecological sustainability. This is, no doubt, the best hope for moving toward more equitable and just societies. This coming together of environmental concerns with social justice issues is at the heart of the broadened perspective of the New Story. Without such an enlarged picture of our historical past and our planetary roots it is more difficult to chart our way into a viable future. In the west, especially in the twentieth century, individual alienation, despair, ennui, and destructiveness has continued to spread with a deteriorating sense of communal ties or ethical responsibilities to the natural or human worlds.   Above all, then, the New Story provides context and perspective for implementing the specific kinds of social, political, and economic changes that will be needed to sustain and foster life on the planet. Its intent is not simply to tell a story that is comprehensive and personally enriching. It is also to provide a basis for change. The assumption is that when one's world view shifts to understand the interrelatedness of all life one's ethics likewise will be effected to work for human justice and environmental sustainability.     [[[Re:  periodization of our history ...]]]  ...He observes that we are currently moving into the ecozoic era which he feels will be characterized by a new understanding of human-earth .   Confucianism saw the interplay of cosmic forces as a single set of intercommunicating and mutually compenetrating realities. These forces, whether living or non-living, were so present to each other that they could be adequately seen and understood only within this larger complex... Because of the intensity with which the Chinese experienced this interior, feeling communion with the real, they set themselves on perfecting humans themselves and the universe by increasing this sympathetic presence of things to each other within a personal and social discipline rather than by intellectual analysis and understanding. Indeed, the Confucian ideal of knowledge was that of an understanding heart rather than a thinking brain."(13)           =-   1.    The Universe Store – Thomas Berry / Brian Swimme and deeply influenced by the works of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin   (c)1990, 1997 by Context Institute Last Updated 29 June 2000. URL: http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC24/MacGllis.htm     Thomas Berry and the New Story   An Introduction to the Work of Thomas Berry By Professor Mary Evelyn Tucker   Bucknell University Department of Religion Lewisburg , PA. 17837   To fully understand Thomas Berry's presentation of the New Story it is helpful to highlight some of the major intellectual influences on his life and thinking. In this way we can more fully appreciate the nature and significance of the New Story itself. In this paper we will first discuss Berry 's studies of western history, Asian traditions, and indigenous religions. We will then describe the early and sustained influence of Teilhard de Chardin on Berry 's philosophy of evolutionary history. Finally, we will outline some of the major features of the New Story as Berry has described it.   From human history to earth history   It is significant to see Berry's contributions initially as a cultural historian whose interests have spanned both Europe and Asia . He did his graduate studies in western history and spent several years living in Germany after the second world war. In addition, he read extensively in the field of Asian religions and history. He lived in China the year before Mao came to power and published two books on Asian religions which have recently been reprinted (Buddhism and Religions of India).   From this beginning as a cultural historian Berry has moved in the last twenty years to become a historian of the earth. Berry sees himself, then, not as a theologian but as a geologian. The movement from human history to cosmological history has been a necessary progression for Berry . He has witnessed in his own life time the emergence of a planetary civilization as cultures have come in contact around the globe, often for the first time. At the same time, the very resources for sustaining such a planetary civilization are being undermined by massive environmental destruction.   It is out of these kinds of concerns for the future direction of human-earth history that Berry has developed the New Story. Indeed, The Universe Story which Berry has written with Brian Swimme represents a fruitful convergence of his interests in both human history and evolutionary history. Berry's aim is to evoke the psychic and spiritual resources to establish a new reciprocity of humans with the earth and of humans to one another. As Berry has frequently said, there can be no peace among humans without peace with the planet. This, in short, is the intent of the New Story. The underlying assumption is that with a change of worldview will come an appropriately comprehensive ethics of reverence for all life. With a new perspective regarding our place in this extraordinary unfolding of earth history will emerge a renewed awareness of our role in guiding the evolutionary process at this crucial point in history.     Historian of Western intellectual history   Thomas Berry began his academic career as a historian of western intellectual history(1). His thesis at Catholic University on Giambattista Vico's philosophy of history was published in 1951. Vico outlined his philosophy in The New Science of the Nature of the Nations which was first published in 1725 after some twenty years of research (2). Vico was trying to establish a science of the study of nations comparable to what others had done for the study of nature. Thus he hoped to make the study of history more "scientific" by focusing on the world of human institutions and causation.   At the same time, Vico intended to demonstrate how this new science should manifest a "rational civil theology of divine providence." In other words, Vico wished to show that providence was at work not only in sacred history but also in "profane" history. Consequently, pattern and order are operative and discernible in history. Moreover, in contrast to Descartes' concentration on rationalization Vico emphasized the poetic wisdom and creative imagination needed for the future.  [[[Thus far it sounds more humanistic than spiritual--in fact not so spiritual at all, which seemed to be his objective.]]]   In his study, Vico used large, sweeping categories to describe major historical periods since the time of Noah and the flood. Looking at human history from a macrophase perspective he identified three ages: the age of the gods, the age of the heroes, and the age of men. Corresponding to each age are different kinds of customs, laws, languages, arts, and economies embracing quite distinctive cultures. moreover, in each stage a different human faculty dominates, namely, sensation, imagination, and intellect.   In the first period, the age of the gods, a theocratic government supported by mythology prevails. In the second period, the age of the heroes, an aristocratic government dominates along with class conflict and slavery. In the third age, the age of men, democracies appear and the power of reason and human rights emerge. Vico sees this cycle as recurring at different points in human history as we move from myth to rationality and from savage to civilized states. In each of these periods the role of natural or poetic wisdom and intuition has been crucial in founding institutions which have given rise to the nations. Yet the movement through history is punctuated by disintegration and dissolution. Vico called these the periods of the "barbarism of reflection." In passing through such phases of entropy history moves toward a "creative barbarism of sense."   Vico's thought has clearly been seminal for Berry . This is evident in several respects: the sweeping periodization of history, the notion of the barbarism of reflection, and the poetic wisdom and creative imagination needed to sustain civilizations. With regard to periodization, Berry has defined four major ages in human history namely, the tribal shamanic, the traditional civilizational, the scientific technological, and the ecological or ecozoic age. He observes that we are currently moving into the ecozoic era which he feels will be characterized by a new understanding of human-earth . relations. Nonetheless, he acknowledges that we are in a period of severe cultural pathology with regard to our blind yet sophisticated technological assault on the earth. In other words, we are in a time of a "barbarism of reflection". Vico's description of people in the midst of such a barbarism is uncannily reminiscent of contemporary western societies:   "... such people, like so many beasts, have fallen into the custom of each man thinking only of his own private interests and have reached the extreme of delicacy, or better pride, in which like wild animals they bristle and lash out at the slightest displeasure. Thus no matter how great the throng and press of their bodies, they live like wild beasts in a deep solitude of spirit and will...(3)   To extract ourselves from this cultural pathology of alienation from one another and destruction of the earth Berry calls for a New Story of the universe. By evoking such a deep poetic wisdom he feels we may be able to create a sustainable future. He calls for reinventing the human at the species level which implies moving from our cultural coding to recover our genetic coding of relatedness to the earth. By articulating a new mythic consciousness of our profound connectedness to the earth we may be able to reverse the self-destructive cultural tendencies we have put in motion with regard to the planet.   In so doing we will create the-basis for long range economic and ecological sustainability. This is, no doubt, the best hope for moving toward more equitable and just societies. This coming together of environmental concerns with social justice issues is at the heart of the broadened perspective of the New Story. Without such an enlarged picture of our historical past and our planetary roots it is more difficult to chart our way into a viable future. In the west, especially in the twentieth century, individual alienation, despair, ennui, and destructiveness has continued to spread with a deteriorating sense of communal ties or ethical responsibilities to the natural or human worlds.   Above all, then, the New Story provides context and perspective for implementing the specific kinds of social, political, and economic changes that will be needed to sustain and foster life on the planet. Its intent is not simply to tell a story that is comprehensive and personally enriching. It is also to provide a basis for change. The assumption is that when one's world view shifts to understand the interrelatedness of all life one's ethics likewise will be effected to work for human justice and environmental sustainability.   Influenced by Vico, then, Berry has developed a comprehensive historical perspective in periodization, an understanding of the depths of contemporary barbarism, and the need for a new mythic wisdom to extract ourselves from our cultural pathology and deep alienation. Berry has described contemporary alienation as especially pervasive due to the power of the technological trance, the myth of progress, and our own autism in relation to nature. With the New Story and the Dream of the Earth Berry hopes to overcome that alienation and evoke the energies needed to create a viable and sustainable future.     Historian of Asian thought and religions   When Berry set out for China in 1948 on the boat leaving from San Francisco he met Wm. Theodore de Bary, now considered to be one of the premier scholars in Asian studies. De Bary was on his way to China as a Fulbright scholar of Chinese studies. Berry intended to study language and Chinese philosophy in Beijing . Their time in China , while fruitful, was cut short by Mao's Communist victory in 1949. After they returned to the States they worked together to found the Asian Thought and Religion Seminar at Columbia . De Bary helped to establish one of the nation's seminal programs in Asian studies at Columbia . In addition, he supervised numerous translation projects of individual texts and edited six volumes published by Columbia University Press on the Sources of Indian, Chinese, and Japanese Traditions, respectively. The friendship between de Bary and Berry has lasted nearly 45 years with many collaborative projects and exchanges of ideas on Asian thought.   Berry began his teaching of Asian religions at Seton Hall (1956- 1960) and St. John 's University (1960-1966) and eventually moved to Fordham University (1966-1979). He also offered courses at Columbia , Drew, and the University of San Diego . Berry 's graduate program in the History of Religions at Fordham was the only one of its kind at a Catholic university in the United States . It lasted for over a decade and at its height in the early 1970s it attracted more students than any other division in the theology department. Its graduates are now teaching at colleges and universities throughout the United States . During these years Berry wrote numerous articles on Asian religions in addition to two books, one on Buddhism (1966) and the other on Religions of India (1971). Both have been recently reprinted by Anima Press.   What was distinctive about Berry's approach was his effort not only to discuss the historical unfolding of the traditions being studied, but also to articulate their spiritual dynamics and contemporary significance. This made his classes and his writings on Asian religions remarkably stimulating and memorable. Equally important in his approach has been his balance in highlighting the distinctive contributions of both the western traditions and the Asian religions. In addition, he has had a long-standing appreciation for the spirituality of indigenous traditions in both Asia and the Americas .   In a short monograph written over 25 years ago and published in 1968 Berry demonstrates the originality of his interpretations of the spiritual dynamics of Asian religious thought. Titled "Five Oriental Philosophies" (4) he describes the phenomenological essence of each tradition as well as outlines its historical unfolding. He includes Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Zen in his discussions. Before multiculturalism was fashionable he speaks of the need to include Asian thought in textbooks entitled "World Philosophy". His concern for embracing pluralism and diversity of thought is eloquently expressed:   "Diversity is no longer something that we tolerate. It is something that we esteem as a necessary condition for a liveable universe, as the source of earth's highest perfection... To demand an undifferentiated unity would bring human thought and history itself to an end. The splendor of our multicultural world would be destroyed."(5)   In describing the original impulse of the principal Asian systems of thought Berry succeeds in highlighting a significant dimension of their spiritual essence and avoiding layers of complexity which tend to obfuscate rather than clarify. A few examples will illustrate his phenomenological method which he later supplements with a historical discussion of the development of the particular tradition.   Of Hinduism he writes: "Hinduism is founded in a most intensive experience of divine being. It is an experience of the One beyond all Multiplicity..." (6)   Of Buddhism he observes: "Buddhist thought originates in an unusual experience of the sorrows of time. No abiding reality is here, no lasting peace, no fit condition for human life. The first and final wisdom is to recognize the insubstantial nature of all things."(7)   Of Confucianism he notes: "Confucian thought originates in the experience of an all-embracing harmony of the cosmic and human orders of reality. This intimate relationship between the cosmic and the human is expressed and perfected in an elaborate order of ritual and etiquette which, in a certain manner contains and harmonizes both the cosmic and the human."(8)   Of Taoism he reflects: "Taoism arises from an experience of the dynamic force immanent in the universe which gives order and life and meaning to all reality and which in China is known as the Tao. This experience is not radically different from that which produced the Confucian tradition of thought, but while the Confucian scholars gave their attention to the moral qualities of the Tao and to the social and political structure of society, the Taoist visionaries turned to the contemplation of the Tao itself and the mysterious manner in which it wrought the succession of changes in the universal order of things."(9)   Of Zen he writes: "... the total effort of Zen is to keep the intellectual and cultural life of man in a state of elemental simplicity with all the vigor that is associated with the spontaneous and instinctive."(10)   These examples may help to illustrate the breadth of historical, cultural, and religious perspective that Berry brings to the development of his idea of the New Story. He spent several decades studying both western and eastern intellectual history before arriving at his comprehensive vision of the Universe Story. He has been able to appreciate the deep spiritual impulses and devastating human sorrows which have given rise to the world's religions. From this perspective he has been able to discern what spiritual resources we need to utilize for creating a multicultural perspective within the earth community(11). Tolerance of diversity of religious ideas is comparable to protecting diversity of species in the natural world. For Berry human diversity and biological diversity are of a continuous piece.   Perhaps the most significant Asian tradition for Berry 's thinking has been Confucianism. He has written numerous articles on Confucianism and the Chinese tradition at large. He has noted that in East Asia : "Confucianism provided the dominant cultural form of the society, the basic human ideals, the political structure, the social discipline, the educational institutions, the comprehensive style of life."(12) Its influence is not limited to China , but has been strong in Korea , Japan , Taiwan , Vietnam , Hong Kong, and Singapore as well.   Confucianism has been important because it emphasizes the cosmological dynamics of the universe in which heaven, earth, and human form an interconnected triad. As Berry frequently says, for the Chinese, the human is the "understanding heart" (hsin) of the universe. Thus the role of the human to be in harmony with nature is critical and the responsibility of the rulers and ministers to establish benevolent government is essential.   As humans cultivate themselves they begin to affect the larger social and political order. At the heart of such moral and spiritual cultivation is education. Confucianism has an optimistic view of human nature as essentially good and capable of self improvement through education. Personal self transformation will thus result in social transformation.   For Berry , Confucianism has had significance because of its cosmological concerns, its interest in self-cultivation and education, and its commitment to improve the social and political order. With regard to cosmology Berry has identified the important understanding of the human as a microcosm of the cosmos. Essential to this cosmology is a "continuity of being" and thus a "communion" between various levels of reality- cosmic, social, and personal. (This is similar to the ideas of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Alfred North Whitehead, and other contemporary process thinkers.)   He writes:   "According to Confucian teaching, a mutual attraction of things for each other functions at all levels of reality as the interior binding force of the cosmic, social and personal life. More than most traditions, Confucianism saw the interplay of cosmic forces as a single set of intercommunicating and mutually compenetrating realities. These forces, whether living or non-living, were so present to each other that they could be adequately seen and understood only within this larger complex... Because of the intensity with which the Chinese experienced this interior, feeling communion with the real, they set themselves on perfecting humans themselves and the universe by increasing this sympathetic presence of things to each other within a personal and social discipline rather than by intellectual analysis and understanding. Indeed, the Confucian ideal of knowledge was that of an understanding heart rather than a thinking brain."(13)   Confucianism has remained for Berry a dynamic, vitalistic tradition with important implications for current environmental philosophy. Berry notes, however, that there is a disparity between theory and practice in the case of China . He recognizes that China , like many countries, has been involved in deforestation and desertification over the centuries. Furthermore, the contemporary record of China on the environment is far from ideal. Nonetheless, the comprehensive cosmological framework of Confucian thought can be a valuable intellectual resource in reformulating a contemporary ecological cosmology with implications for environmental ethics.   Indigenous Religious Traditions In addition to a remarkable ability to appreciate the diversity and uniqueness of the great "world" religions, Berry has a lively interest in and empathy for native religions. He taught several courses at both Fordham and Columbia on American Indian religions and has published a number of articles on the topic. He encouraged his graduate students to write dissertations in this area and several of them have been published(14). He has been warmly received by various native groups, including tribes on the northwest coast and the Cree and Inuit Indians in northeastern Canada who have been struggling against the massive James Bay hydroelectric project. Overseas he has spent time with the Tboli people in the southern Philippines .   In addition to his own research, writing, and teaching in the field of Native American religions, Berry 's appreciation for native traditions and for the richness of their mythic, symbolic, and ritual life has been enhanced by his encounters with the ideas of Carl Jung and Mircea Eliade. Jung's understanding of the collective unconscious, his reflections on the power of archetypal symbols, and his sensitivity to religious processes has made him an important influence on Berry 's thinking. Moreover, Mircea Eliade's studies in the history of religions has been enormously useful in Berry 's understanding of both Asian and native traditions. This is due in large part to Eliade's ability to interpret the broad patterns of meaning embedded in comparable symbols and rituals across cultures.   Within this larger framework of interpretive categories, then, Berry is able to articulate the special feeling in native traditions for the sacredness of the land, the seasons, and the animal, bird, and fish life. Native peoples respect Creation because they respect the Creator. They have a deep reverence for the gift of all life and for human's dependency on nature to sustain life. They have perfected some of the ancient techniques of shamanist, ritual fasting and prayer to call on the powers in nature for personal healing and communal strength. They have cultivated an ability to use resources without abusing them and to recognize the importance of living lightly on the earth. This is not to say that native peoples were the ideal ecologists, either. As in the Chinese case, abuses certainly have occurred. However, for Berry these two traditions (Confucian and Native American) remain central to the creation of a new ecological spirituality for our times.   The first peoples, then, are not merely to be romanticized or idealized as a segment of the past. Rather, their way of life may have much to teach us as we are learning, rather painfully, the limits of natural resources and the consequences of mindless growth. In developing a spirituality of the earth as part of the New Story clearly we will be returning to examine the rich symbols and rituals in the Native American religions. The principal question will no doubt be how to appreciate and understand these symbols and not simply appropriate them as some New Age groups have sometimes unwittingly done.     Thomas Berry and the New Story: Teilhard's Influence     In formulating his idea of the New Story Berry is much indebted to the thought of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. In particular, Berry has derived from Teilhard (and from other writers such as Loren Eiseley) an enormous appreciation for developmental time. As Berry writes frequently, since Charles Darwin's Origin of Species we have become aware of the universe not simply as a static cosmos but as an unfolding cosmogenesis. The theory of evolution provides a distinctive realization of change and development in the universe which resituates us in a huge sweep of geological time. With regard to developmental time, Teilhard suggested that the whole perspective of evolution changes our understanding of ourselves in the universe. He writes:   "For our age to have become conscious of evolution means something very different from and much more than having discovered one further fact... It means (as happens with a child when he acquires the sense of perspective) that we have become alive to a new dimension. The idea of evolution is not, as sometimes said, a mere hypothesis, but a condition of all experience."(15) For Berry the New Story is the primary context for understanding the immensity of cosmogenesis. It is similar to what Loren Eiseley refers to as "The Immense Journey" or "The Firmament of Time"(16).   From Teilhard Berry has also derived an understanding of the psychic-physical character of the unfolding universe. This implies that if there is consciousness in the human and if humans have evolved from the earth, then from the beginning some form of consciousness or interiority is present in the process of evolution. Matter for both Teilhard and Berry is not simply dead or inert, but a numinous reality consisting of both a physical and spiritual dimension. Consciousness, then, is an intrinsic part of reality and is the thread that links all life forms. There are various forms of consciousness and, in the human, self-consciousness or reflective thought arises.   Berry has also obtained from Teilhard an appreciation for his law of complexity-consciousness.  This suggests that as things evolve from simpler to more complex organisms, consciousness also increases. Ultimately self consciousness or reflection emerges in the human order. The human as a highly complex mammal is distinguished by this capacity for reflection. This gives humans a special role in the evolutionary process. We are part of not apart from the earth.   For Teilhard and for Berry , then, the perspective of evolution provides the most comprehensive context for understanding the human phenomenon in relation to other life forms. This implies for Berry that we are one species among others and as self reflective beings we need to understand our particular responsibility for the continuation of the evolutionary process. We have reached a juncture where we are realizing that we will determine which life forms survive and which will become extinct. We have become co-creators as we have become conscious of our role in this extraordinary, irreversible developmental sequence of the emergence of life forms.   Yet Berry has also critiqued Teilhardþs overly optimistic view of progress and his apparent lack of concern for the devastating effect that industrial processes were having on fragile ecosystems. He has pointed out that Teilhard was heir to a western mode of thinking which saw the human as capable of controlling the natural world, usually through science and technology. Teilhard's challenge to "build the earth" reflects some of the unrestrained optimism of humans whose faith in science and technology had no bounds. This overly anthropocentric and blindly optimistic view is something Berry has frequently critiqued.   In addition, Berry has noted Teilhard's surprising lack of appreciation for Asian religions or indigenous traditions despite his long residence and extensive travel in Asia . His attachment to the unique revelation of Christianity and his criticism of Asian religions is reflective of the contemporary theology of his times. It may also be explained as the absence of the opportunity for communication with Chinese scholars of traditional Chinese religions while he resided in Beijing . This may have been due to language barriers, wartime constraints, or lack of time or interest due to other scholarly commitments.   Berry 's approach, then, has been much more inclusive in terms of cultural history and religion, while Teilhard has been remarkably comprehensive scientifically. These two approaches have come together in Berry 's book written with the mathematical cosmologist, Brian Swimme and called The Universe Story(17). Here for the first time is the narration of the story of the evolution of the solar system and the earth along with the story of the evolution of the human and of human societies and culture. While not claiming to be definitive or exhaustive The Universe Story sets forth a model for the telling of a common creation story. It marks a new era of self-reflection for humans, one that Berry has described as the "ecological age"(19) or the beginning of the "ecozoic age" (19).   In telling the story of evolution Berry has also tried to keep his language not exclusively Christocentric as Teilhard did. Berry 's intent has been to appeal not only to the Christian community but beyond. He is aware of the barriers theological language sometimes creates in the secular world, particularly among environmentalists and people of different faith commitments. He hopes to appeal to a wide variety of individuals who are responsive to the paradigm shift in worldviews that is beginning to take shape in human consciousness. It is a shift that transcends religious or national boundaries and helps to create the common grounds for the emergence of an earth community.   The Origin and Significance of the New Story   Berry 's ideas on the New Story began in the early 1970s as he pondered the magnitude of the social, political, and economic problems we were facing in the human community. His articulation of the need for a new orientation and direction was motivated by his deep concern for the almost suicidal path of humans in their destruction of the earth and in their violence and indifference to one another. The need for a New Story or a functional cosmology, then, arose not as an abstract idea, but as a response to the sufferings of humans in a universe where they saw themselves as deeply alienated(20). This alienation was, no doubt, a particular experience of the west in the post war years as expressed in existentialist philosophy, the death of God theology, and the theater of the absurd. Nonetheless, the spirit of disaffection, ennui, and alienation has spread to other parts of the world due to western cultural influences. Berry 's New Story provides an important antidote to this disillusionment and despair. It creates, above all, a new context for connection, for purpose, for action. It is an idea with direct implications for providing the human energy needed for positive social, political, and economic change.   Berry first published the "New Story" in 1978 as the initial booklet of the Teilhard Studies series in 1978. It was published nearly a decade later by Cross Currents. It was revised slightly for its publication in the Dream of the Earth in 1988. Berry originally subtitled the work "Comments on the Origin, Identification and Transmission of Values." The story, then, is intended to be a new orientation and perspective which would provide a moral basis for action. In other words, it is seen as a comprehensive basis for nurturing reciprocity between humans and for fostering reverence between humans and the earth.   Berry opens his essay by observing: "We are in between stories." He notes how the old story was functional because: "It shaped our emotional attitudes, provided us with life purpose, energized action. It consecrated suffering, integrated knowledge, guided education."(21) This context of meaning provided by the old story is no longer operative. People are turning to new age novelties or to religious fundamentalism for orientation and direction. However, neither of these directions will ultimately be satisfying. We are confronted with dysfunctionalism in both religious communities and in secular societies. Berry proposes a new story of how things came to be, where we are now, and how the our human future can be given some meaningful direction. In losing our direction we have lost our values and orientation for human action. This is what the New Story can provide.   Berry cites the Black Death of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries as a watershed in the development of western thought. On the one hand, there arose the believing redemption community while on the other there emerged the scientific creation community. The division between these two has remained strong down to the present. In fact, in our own time the split between the creationists and the evolutionists has been quite heated. On the other hand, there is also emerging a new dialogue between science and religion which is attempting to overcome this dichotomy.   With the spread of the Black Plague in Europe there arose a need to have the intervention of supernatural forces to mitigate the awesome power of death. Because of the vast numbers of people who died (between 1/3 and 1/2 of the population) Christianity embraced a strong redemption oriented theology. To be redeemed and saved out of this world of suffering was the hope held up for all believers. To be assisted in this redemption from suffering by the power of Christ's suffering and death was the aim of the Christian message. Something was lost in this exclusive focus on redemption. Creation theology was subsumed under redemption theology. As Berry wrote: "The primary doctrine of the Christian creed, belief in a personal creative principle, became increasingly less important in its functional role. Cosmology was not of any particular significance." (22) Berry claims that the Christian Story is a sectarian story. It is no longer the story of the earth or the integral story of humankind.(23)   On the other hand, the scientific, secular community sought to remedy the terror of natural events by studying the processes of the earth itself, rather than seeking supernatural intervention. The heavens and the earth were studied with the aid of the telescope and microscope. The scientific endeavor was aided by the 18th century Enlightenment philosophers' celebration of reason and the sociologists' articulation of the progress of the human mind. The biological understanding of development which began in the 19th century was a significant addition to this. It is now being completed by the astronomer's and physicist's exploration of the expanding universe.   The significance of the sense of developmental time for the New Story should be highlighted. The Copernican revolution changed our whole sense of our spatial orientation in the universe. No longer was the earth considered the center of reality. In a similar manner, the Darwinian revolution is altering our sense of time. For the first time it is dawning on human consciousness that the earth is part of an irreversible developmental sequence of time. In other words, life has evolved from less complex to more complex forms. Species did not always exist as they are now; they are derived from early life forms. In other words, the earth in all its parts, especially in its life forms, was in a state of continuing transformation." (24) This is the first implication of the New Story:  we live not simply in a cosmos but in a cosmogenesis.   Secondly, as this reality of developmental time begins to dawn on the human community (although still fiercely resisted by creationists) a realization of the subjective communion of the human with the earth likewise begins to be felt. As Berry expresses it: "The human emerges not only as an earthling, but also as a worldling. We bear the universe in our beings as the universe bears us in its being. The two have a total presence to each other and to that deeper mystery out of which both the universe and ourselves have emerged."(25) This subjective presence of things to one another is one of the most distinctive features of Berry 's thought. In The Divine Milieu Teilhard writes of this interior attraction of things in the following passage: "In the Divine Milieu all the elements of the universe touch each other by that which is most inward and ultimate in them."(26) Berry has suggested that the importance of the awareness of the subjective dimension of the universe story cannot be underestimated. Indeed, he writes: "...the reality and value of the interior subjective numinous aspect of the entire cosmic order is being appreciated as the basic condition in which the story makes any sense at all."(27)   Berry states, then, that to communicate values within this new frame of reference of the earth story we need to identify the basic principles of the universe process itself. These are the primordial intentions of the universe towards differentiation, subjectivity, and communion. Differentiation refers to the extraordinary variety and distinctiveness of everything in the universe. No two things are completely alike. Subjectivity is the interior numinous component present in all reality also called consciousness. Communion is the ability to relate to other people and things due to the presence of subjectivity and difference. Together these create the grounds for the inner attraction of to the presence of subjectivity and difference. Together these create the grounds for the inner attraction of things for one another. These are principles which can become the basis of a more comprehensive ecological and social ethics that sees the human community as dependent upon and interactive with the earth community. only such a perspective can result in the survival of both humans and the earth. As Berry has stated humans and the earth will go into the future as one single multiform event or we will not go into the future at all.   Berry closes his essay on "The New Story" with a powerful passage evoking a confidence in the future despite the tragedies of the present. He writes:   "If the dynamics of the universe from the beginning shaped the course of the heavens, lighted the sun and formed the earth, if this same dynamism brought forth the continents and seas and atmosphere, if it awakened life in the primordial cell and then brought into being the unnumbered variety of living beings, and finally brought us into being and guided us safely through the turbulent centuries, there is reason to believe that this same guiding process is precisely what has awakened in us our present understanding of ourselves and our relation to this stupendous process. Sensitized to such guidance from the very structure and functioning of the universe, we can have confidence in the future that awaits the human venture."(28)   This then is Berry 's New Story, born out of his own intellectual formation as a cultural historian of the West, turning toward Asian religions, examining indigenous traditions, and finally culminating in the study of the scientific story of the universe itself. It is a story of personal evolution against the background of cosmic evolution. It is the story of one person's intellectual history in relation to earth history. It is the story of all of our histories in conjunction with planetary history. It is a story awaiting new tellings, new chapters, and ever deeper confidence in the beauty and mystery of its unfolding.     Notes 1. For a comprehensive discussion of Berry 's philosophy of history see John Grim, "Time, History, Vision" in Cross Currents Vol. XXXVII, Nos. 2-3, 1987, pp. 225-239.   2. The second edition was published in 1730 and the third edition in 1744 six months after Vicolþs death. The third edition is available in a revised edition translated by Thomas Goddard Bergin and Max Harold Fisch, The New Science of Giambattista Vico (Ithaca- Cornell University Press, 1970).   3. The New Science of Giambattista Vico, p. 381.   4. Thomas Berry, Five Oriental Philosophies (Albany- Magi Books, 1968).   5. Ibid. PP. 45-46.   6. Ibid. pp. 8-9.   7. Ibid. p. 1 5.   8. Ibid. p. 21.   9. Ibid. p. 28.   10. Ibid. p. 28.   11. For a comprehensive view of resources within the traditional world religions and within contemporary ecological perspectives see M.E. Tucker & J. Grim, eds. Worldviews and Ecology, Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, 1989.   12. Thomas Berry, "Affectivity in Classical Confucian Tradition," unpublished paper, p. 1.   13. Ibid. pp. 1-2.   14. See for example John Grim The Shaman (Norman- Oklahoma University Press, 1988).   15. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Science and Christ. (New York- Harper & Row, 1968) p. 193.   16. See Eiseley's books by these titles, The Immense Journey first published in 1946 and The Firmament of Time published in 1960.   17. Published in 1992 by Harper San Francisco .   18. See Berry 's essay with this title in The Dream of the Earth (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1988).   19. Berry has written an unpublished essay with this title.   20 For a discussion of Berry's project of articulating a functional cosmology see Brian Swimme, "Berry' s Cosmology" in Cross Currents Vol. XXXVII, Nos.2-3, 1987, pp. 218-224.   21. Thomas Berry, The New Story. Teilhard Studies no. 1 ( Chambersburg , PA. Anima Press, 1978), p. 1.   22. Ibid. p. 2.   23. Ibid. p. 3.   24. Ibid. p. 4.   25. "The New Story" as revised in The Dream of the Earth (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1988) p. 132.   26. The Divine Milieu (New York- Harper & Row, 1960) p. 92.   27. "The New Story" in The Dream of the Earth, p. 135.   28. "The New Story" in The Dream of the Earth, p. 137.     Return to Occasional Papers Home Page Return to Thomas Berry Archive Home Page Return to Environmental Ethics Home Page Return to CSVPL Home Page Return to Harvard Divinity School Home Page   Go to the Harvard University Home Page.     Send E-Mail to Tim Weiskel, Director, Harvard Seminar on Environmental Values     ==-   http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC24/MacGllis.htm       Living The New Story How the New Story of the universe translates to a new way of life An Interview with Sister Miriam Theresa MacGillis, by Alan AtKisson One of the articles in Earth & Spirit (IC#24) Late Winter 1990, Page 26 Copyright (c)1990, 1997 by Context Institute | To order this issue ... The New Story is the story of creation as told through both our telescopes and microscopes, as well as our advancing understanding of how evolution has brought us along this far. It is also, then, the story of our place in the universe, and it brings with it nothing short of a radical transformation in human self-understanding. (See IC #12 on "The New Story: Life From a Planetary Perspective" for a more detailed treatment.) Theologian Thomas Berry has emerged as a key teller of this tale, and Sister Miriam Theresa MacGillis is one of his foremost interpreters. Through her workshops and lectures (over 500 of them so far), she helps people to understand and embody this new understanding of what it means to be human. Miriam is the director of Genesis Farm, a center for education in earth stewardship, sponsored by the Dominican Congregation in affiliation with Global Education Associates. For information on her workshop schedule, write to Genesis Farm, Box 622 , Blairstown , NJ 07825 . Alan: What is the heart of the "New Story"? Miriam: We are now in a position, based on our scientific explorations, to understand the origin and process out of which the universe has emerged, and with it the solar system, planet Earth, all of life, and the human as well. For the first time all peoples of the Earth can understand this origin story, and it places everyone - their history, their significance, and their roles - in a whole new light. The most significant part of this scientific story is that the universe has emerged not only in its physical dimension, but also in its inner, psychic, spiritual dimension. It is an integrated evolutionary process. When we reflect on that, we can begin to understand our place in that process - which is to be that being in whom the Earth has acquired a self-reflective consciousness. That changes all the definitions that we have about ourselves and our nature. Any school child learning contemporary science and Earth studies has this information available. If we can understand that our life and human history is as much a part of the unfolding of the universe as is the natural world, then we can see that all peoples, cultures, religious traditions, and ethnic diversities have also been part of the same process, and have therefore played a significant role in it. The Earth desperately needs the sum total of all that wisdom in order to go forward into the next stage of evolution. Alan: We're now in the process of telling ourselves this New Story, and teaching it to our children. How can we begin to live it? How can it become manifested in our lives? Miriam: I think at every level of our humanness, in the whole inner psychic structure out of which we define our sense of person and individuality. We're beginning to realize now that the self is an expression of this deeper Earth self, and the even deeper Universe self - that there are no separations. The whole is my whole self. Psychically, the sense of unity - true unity - with the inner dimension of the universe then becomes an incredibly beautiful and enticing mystery to enter into. And in terms of our emotional life, the feelings of communion, union with the whole, or oneness are no longer just the idealistic notions of poetic insight. They are empirically founded, because we know that in our very genes we are connected to the whole. Physically, it's the same idea. When we begin to identify with the whole physical being of the planet, then we can see the necessity of enhancing and conserving the integrity of the whole natural world - because it's the functioning of this part of the planet that makes it possible for humans even to exist. Without air, water, soil, vegetation, there's no human life. I mean, the Earth literally is our body. Alan: Doesn't living this New Story amount to a thoroughgoing revolution in religious life? Miriam: More of a transformation, because in a revolution one party just changes places with another party. A transformation brings everybody forward. Alan: How does a transformation relate to history? What part of the past comes with us? Miriam: I think we carry the entire past. We're not cutting ourselves off from the past, as though the past were wrong and we're making an enormous corrective that disconnects us from it. The past has made it possible to have these kinds of insights. The major shift we're making now is in our concept of time and space. In the old cosmologies, time was cyclical, and the universe fixed and static. But in this new context, the universe is a constantly emerging process. Time itself is development. Therefore, everything in the past has been essential to open up the possibilities for what is yet to develop - like the tree in the acorn. The acorn has to go through all the states of its process to bring forth a tree, and the tree is very different from the acorn. But you can't have one without the other. Alan: That leads us to some interesting questions about the relation of a people to their traditions. How will this affect Catholics and Buddhists and those of other faiths? Miriam: I believe it will deepen and re-enliven their connections. I find myself more deeply committed to my tradition than ever before. The difference is that the meanings within the meanings have changed. In other words, the forms which held meanings in the past have been opened up to much deeper meanings - so the forms have to adapt and change. I think these meanings can be inferred within the forms if the priesthood or the liturgical ministers have the vision. But without that vision, they're just going to translate them in the old ways - and then they may become problematic. Alan: If they don't have the vision, how can they get it? Miriam: That's the power of the new cosmology and the New Story - it's coming at us from all different directions. A theologian like Thomas Berry is telling it on the one hand, and a scientist like James Lovelock is telling it on the other. Thomas Berry interprets this vision in the broadest context, in a way that is very available to people in the religious communities as well as the scientific communities. He says that if we continue to tell our religious stories without this new scientific understanding, then we are trivializing the religious tradition. And similarly, if the scientific community continues to tell the story of the universe only in its material terms - without this inner/psychic/spiritual dimension - then we are trivializing science. Neither one alone can awaken the vision of our children, and their hopes for the future. So the story's available. It's out there in many, many ways. The challenge to all of us is to translate it - to translate it into the workplace, our homes, our music, our employment practices, our agricultural systems, and our economy. It needs that kind of translation. Alan: What elements of continuity are there with older understandings of the Christian tradition, for example? Miriam: Well, in the Judaic tradition there is the Exodus event. That was a historic event, and it meant what it meant. It was a true experience for those people of their ongoing salvation and vision in history. Christians, however, look back on that event and say that it was a pre-figurement of the great Exodus that the Christ took in passing through life, death and resurrection - that you can't even have the Christ without the first Exodus. The Exodus holds the possibility of the paschal mystery of Christ - but they're connected. There's a sense now in which the form of the paschal mystery of Christ was also a pre-figurement of the passage that the human species must go through - the process of life, death and resurrection, which is essential to becoming willing to die to our fears, our ignorance, our prejudices, our sense of exclusiveness, our sense of having the whole truth. And there's no deliverance, no possibility for transformation unless we see that this is an ongoing process, an everyday occurrence. Alan: There's no passing the cup. Miriam: Right. I want to use the Biblical words dying to self, dying to very old concepts or illusions about ourselves, in order to recover the deep divine nature implicit in the Christ event, which was implicit in the Exodus event. It's all one piece. We are connected to the divine. We carry this incredible mystery. That's the light that is carried through the whole process. Alan: Thomas Berry, in his essay on "The Dream of the Earth," writes that in this time of crisis we need to seek guidance from our genetic coding, from the Earth itself, and from the universe. How do we seek this guidance? Miriam: By awakening our inner consciousness. Every atom of every cell in our body - every single thread of DNA - carries the entire psychic memory of the universe. And we can have access to that through inner modes of consciousness - through dream, myth, symbol, prayer, meditation, or other altered states of consciousness. That's where we're going to find the energy and insight and psychic strength to break out of our present state of addiction. He also says that if we continue to educate and to communicate through the existing cultural coding - which is simply a rehash of the old illusions that we are separate from the Earth, that the Earth is a big material backdrop for us to exploit and redesign - then we're just spending a fortune teaching our kids how to kill themselves. That inner process is very important. But Thomas also says that the key thing about being in touch with that inner, psychic place of the spirit is to learn the skills and tools to function in the natural world. Our scientific knowledge is a disaster in terms of the natural world, and our Western spirituality has transcended it - so we don't know how to behave there. He says that we are, in fact, in a state of autism. That's the real challenge of our schools and learning centers and parenting: how do we develop those skills? Right now, we're pretty illiterate. Alan: Some people are trying to address that condition by creating new - or reviving old - rituals and shamanic forms to try to reconnect with the Earth and with the other life on the planet. How do you feel about that? How does it relate to the more traditional faith communities? Miriam: The shaman goes into the inner world and brings back power and healing - and that is a potential that all humans have. It's integral to who we are as humans, to be able to enter the world of spirit and become a blessing for life. In the past it was seen as the role of a particular caste, or a particular kind of personality, or a particular annointed person from the community. But I think it is a potential of the full human person. But also in the past, the shaman, entering into the inner life of the natural world, did so in a kind of limited form. It was an animistic world, and so the power was the power of nature. Later on, the shaman entered into the world of the goddess, and then the shaman became the priest who entered into the world of the transcendent deities. Now, we can't focus on one to the exclusion of the others. One of my worries about the return to shamanism in the natural world is that it can make the human the enemy. The sense of transcendence then becomes all wrong, because what we have to do is incorporate all of it. In other words, it's a process of recovering. The divine Father-God and the Mother-God and the animal spirits are all images of the divine - none of them exhausts the possibility of the divine. When you take one out and exclude all the others, that's where you have the danger. The shaman of today has to be comfortable in the whole, recovering the sense of the divine as it has been manifested in all of the images of the whole Earth story. We can't exclude anything. Alan: Do you see the shaman, by whatever name, regaining a place within the existing faith communities? Miriam: I think the whole faith community has to understand that each person is the shaman. We have to stop waiting for one special person to do it for us. Alan: What approach do you take in trying to teach people about this new way of thinking and living? How do you help them learn how to embody it, to get it at more than just the intellectual level? Miriam: First, I'm not teaching it, because I'm learning it. The workshops invite people into the learning process. I contribute a way of telling the story that makes it easier for people to grasp, and then I invite them - whatever tradition they come from - to reflect on the precious uniqueness of that tradition. The unique understanding of that tradition is absolutely critical to the unfolding of the universe, and the acquiring of the wisdom that we need. The diversity of the traditions is as important as the diversity in a forest. So it may be a rash thing to cut yourself out of your tradition, simply because you have new insights or ways of looking at things. Because you are the tradition. Judaism, for example, doesn't exist in some abstract form. There are only Jews. And the Jew is the person who has a deep sense of connection to the divine as a presence in history that is always calling forth deeper levels of human potential. Why cut off from that? Alan: Do you use any ceremonies or rituals in your workshops to help people feel the New Story more deeply? Miriam: I like to do rituals with the four elements of fire, air, earth, and water - because that's the basis of all sacramental systems, the stuff of existence. But one of the rituals I love to end the workshop with is the Evolutionary Walk. We take a very long piece of rope and make this enormous spiral in the room. That rope is the time frame of the universe; it equals 15 billion years. Then we measure off the major events that have happened - the formation of the solar system, the creation of the biosphere, the emergence of single-celled organisms, up to the whole evolution of the human, and then the very, very short time frame of human history - and we light candles to mark these significant events. Then people walk that process, and try to experience it in their being. At the beginning of the spiral is a candle which represents the divine, the creator. People light their candles from that, and then walk that spiral. It's a very moving experience to see how long the beginnings are, and how rapid life and the emergence of life all happens. Human life is at the very end, and when people come out of the spiral, they call out their names: "The Universe has become Mary!" "The Universe has become James!" Alan: Are these rituals at all in conflict with your Catholic tradition? Miriam: No, because they're not formal liturgical acts. What's happened in the Christian tradition is that there's been a lack of creativity in other dimensions of prayer and ritual. It has always been possible to explore those, and that's what families and communities traditionally did. Doing a ritual that connects us with the natural world is just another variation on that. Alan: What other things can people do in their own lives to strengthen that sense of the sacredness of the Earth and begin to - again this word - embody that understanding? Miriam: Our spirituality has to be extremely practical. We have to start right where we live - in our home, in our backyard, in our neighborhood, in our region. If those things are sick, or if what we're doing in our household is contributing to the sickness, then our spirituality is not efficacious. If we can go about reminding ourselves around the table, before going to bed, in prayers together, or in moments of gift-giving, then we can go into these deeper aspects of life. We have to just turn the television off and do these things in our homes. We also have to open up the kitchen cabinets, look at the labels and see what we're putting into our bodies and pouring down our drains. I think it's as close as what kind of clothes we're wearing. It's as close as looking at the recycling policy in our neighborhood. And we have to be active voices at the policymaking level. We have to get to know our township officials, find out who's on the planning board, understand development and zoning policies. Alan: And this is all an integral part of our spirituality? Miriam: Oh, absolutely! We've been tremendously passive about taking part in those decisions, basically because we're running around crazy, working just to survive - or to get what we think we need to survive. Alan: Many people are simply afraid when even a little bit of real meaning is brought into their lives. We become frightened by what we're going to find if we dig more deeply. How can we make it easier to deal with the depth of feeling called up when we begin to look at these issues? Miriam: I think love is the only way we can empower each other. We do hold onto what makes us secure - the way we've defined ourselves, the images we hold of ourselves or that others hold of us. Letting go of some of that is very painful and very frightening, especially when we've existed so long in this culture with these images of our value being dependent on our material wealth or our accomplishments. But who cares? I mean that literally - who really does care? Alan: Each of us believes that other people care. Miriam: Exactly. We've been culturally programmed to believe that we are not of worth in just our true self. So we've got to be compassionate and understanding of the fact that for people who have struggled to so-called "make it," it's going to be pretty scary to hear, "You know, you really don't have to make it. Who are you underneath all that?" We're talking about the deeper things that are stirring, that we're being called to. And I don't think anything can help in that process except love and acceptance and tolerance and understanding and support. We have to be loving, and not judgmental. Alan: We need to avoid making people who are less aware of these things into the enemy. Miriam: That's critical - there is no enemy. We all know what it's like to live in illusion. We all know what it's like to be frightened or threatened. And we all know how we behave when we're like that. Alan: Do you see a movement, as well as a basis now, for more community among people of different faiths? Miriam: Oh yes, definitely. We have to stick together, because our entire economic system is based on exploiting the Earth; and once we really realize that the Earth cannot sustain it, we're going to experience some severe corrections. We have to reach out and support each other, and rethink our sense of privatized wealth. Alan: Are you hopeful that we can accomplish the kind of changes you describe? Miriam: It's critical to commit ourselves to being hopeful - though not necessarily optimistic or rosy - and not to expect to see the results of our actions. The change that we're talking about has to come out of our own inner freedom, our own sense of what is true and right, and our love for the future - our love for life. We're so conditioned to quick results that we can get discouraged and give up. People need to see that there is no change so small that it doesn't matter. These things take time - but one thing builds on another, and a little act becomes a platform for something else to happen. So hope is an act of the will. It's a conscious choice to do what sometimes doesn't seem to make any sense. Alan: It sounds similar to faith. Miriam: Yes. Yes.   In The Beginning Was The Dream   A pivotal thinker in the emergence of a spirituality of the Earth, Thomas Berry is a challenging (and rewarding) writer. He is a lifelong student of cultural history, and his work integrates the broad sweep of that history in a very powerful way. The following short excerpts are from his most recent book, The Dream of the Earth. Excerpting his writing, we discovered, is difficult: each sentence seems to build on all the preceding ones, in a mirror of the biological evolutionary process. For the complete hologram hinted at by these shards, we highly recommend the book.   "We need to go to the earth, as the source whence we came, and ask for its guidance, for the earth carries the psychic structure as well as the physical form of every living being upon the planet."   "Our genetic coding determines not only our identities at birth; its guidance continues also in every cell of our bodies... We need only to listen to what we are being told through the very structure and functioning of our being."   "The human is less a being on the earth or in the universe than a dimension of the earth and indeed of the universe itself...Ultimately our guidance on any significant issue must emerge from this comprehensive source."   "What enabled the formless energies to emerge into such a fantastic variety of expression in shape, color, scent, feeling, thought, and imagination? "[O]nly out of imaginative power does any grand creative work take shape. Since imagination functions most freely in dream vision, we tend to associate creativity also with dream experience. In this context we might say: In the beginning was the dream. Through the dream all things were made, and without the dream nothing was made that has been made." From The Dream of the Earth, © 1988 by Thomas Berry. Reprinted by permission of Sierra Club Books, 730 Polk St. , San Francisco , CA 94109 . Please support this web site ... and thanks if you already are!   All contents copyright (c)1990, 1997 by Context Institute   Please send comments to webmaster   Last Updated 29 June 2000 .   URL: http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC24/MacGllis.htm   ===  create LINK to following. http://www.rsiss.net/newcosmology/universestory.html great explanation of this story   This critique stays exclusively within the bounds of history and science; not one mention of the sacred / spiritual.  Is this true of the book itself??     The Universe Story : From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era A Celebration of the Unfolding of the Cosmos by Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry Harper San Francisco , 1994 305 pages (includes Timeline, Glossary, Bibliography and Index) ISBN 0-06-250835-0       In "The Universe Story," Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry lay down a foundation for telling the complete history of our universe. While some scientists are working to unravel the mysteries of the beginning of time, other scholars work on deciphering the history of humanity. In recent time, physics and history have been viewed as separate endeavors. However, the authors envision uniting these disciplines and all the others by revealing that there can be no separation between humanity and the creative universe that brought us into being. When scientists, philosophers and, ultimately, all of humanity can come together and tell the story of the universe, we will be entering an Ecozoic era of communion with our Earth. With poetic insightfulness, Swimme and Berry challenge readers not to read the book, but "to read the story taking place all around us." After introducing the task at hand, Swimme and Berry begin with a prologue that briefly chronicles the evolution of our universe from the beginning to the present. It is told as an old sage would tell the story sitting around a campfire. The vivid descriptions are captivating and leave readers ready to devour the remaining pages of the book. Unfortunately, the entire book is not filled with as much intense imagery. The prologue alone, however, may be stirring enough to inspire others to contribute to the story and bring life to the remaining pages. Certainly the prologue could be used in the classroom to inspire the students and teachers of any discipline. The body of the book begins the story again with the inception of the universe, which the authors refer to as the "Primordial Flaring Forth," and continues on with more detail and discussion. The authors carry over the elegant language of the prologue into the chronicles of galaxy formation, stars, and supernovas. It brings life to every aspect of the tumultuous and nascent processes. The characters such as Hydrogen, which would usually be portrayed as inert or lifeless, are not personified, but nonetheless have an animated identity. The breathtaking tour shows the universe solidifying its modes of interaction, which scientists now describe with physics, and then begins to zoom in on galaxy clusters, the Milky Way and our solar system. After the story focuses in on the Earth, the writing begins to lose its initial flare. A vast portion of the story from the formation of life on Earth to the Neolithic period lacks the poetic quality that is present in the earliest and most recent descriptions of the universe. At this point, "The Universe Story" becomes less of a story and more of a textbook. While the earlier chapters are reminiscent of a physics textbook, they are still allegorical and bring perspective on the human dimension of the universe. However, the description of life evolving on Earth begins to sound strictly like a biology textbook with classical Greek names given to the different types of living cells that appear. Once the story reaches human evolution, it becomes a world history textbook. This is not to say that the events themselves are not wondrous, but there is no discussion that allows the reader to further revel in wonder. The facts are stated and the story continues down a list. While it is nice to have one book that includes the physics, biology and history of the universe, the story switches from one mode to another in series and does not bring them into one single analysis of the universe. Of course, the authors clearly state in the introduction that their intent is merely to set up a framework in hopes that other readers can fill in the details and make connections. The story regains its initial flare when the authors arrive at the rise of nations. Swimme and Berry begin to integrate some of the facts laid out earlier in the narrative. As the world population explodes and people organize into nations, myth falls behind technology in the human mind. The authors illustrate how human psychology, which evolves within the nations, begins to disconnect the mind from the earthly surroundings that created it. Nature becomes objectified so that its unpredictability is met with fear rather than wonder. This fear makes room in the human mind for subjugation of the Earth with no remorse. In the process of our Earth conquest, humans have developed an "addiction to commercial-industrial progress." As with any addiction, denial has set in and our society refuses to accept responsibility for such widespread devastation of the planet. Swimme and Berry assert that our industrial culture has brought an end to the Cenozoic era, and we are embarking on a new era. While the corporate establishment hopes to lure the Earth into a Technozoic era of continued consumerism and assault on natural resources, the authors hope to usher us into an Ecozoic era of communion and reciprocity between Earth and humanity. The goal of the Ecozoic era is not simply to stop the destruction of our environment, but to alter the mentality that is allowing society to ravish a true marvel of our universe. It is a critical realization that the Earth and its people are inseparable like an organism and its organs. Humans cannot remain healthy on a planet made ill by industrial plunder. Telling The Universe Story brings mythology back to its place in the human mind where it can affect the attitude necessary to bring in the Ecozoic era. In "The Universe Story," Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry have created a piece that could inspire educators to come together and work on an interdisciplinary story of the universe to lead us to the Ecozoic era. The authors have taken a first step toward the achievement of their vision by writing such an inspirational story, but the story is incomplete and requires as many contributions as possible. Teachers can make a significant contribution to the authors’ vision by using "The Universe Story" to set courses into a proper context that relates to every aspect of human existence, thus discouraging students to compartmentalize their knowledge as the separation of learning into subjects, courses, years and semesters naturally leads them to do.   review ©2002 by Bailey Edwards and RSiSS Palmer Trinity School Miami , Florida         MYTH  LIST   1. The phenomenon of EHEs of this age -- ultimately awakening all of us to the MORE that we are as Human, transforming us one person and one experience at a time [Rhea A. White]  2. The Universe Story [Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme; Teilhard de Chardin]  3. The Caterpillar and the Butterfly, Generation 2!  [Elisabet Sahtouris]  4. The New Isis Myth [Rudolf Steiner]  5. Reimagining the Center [David Spangler]  6. The Ten Thousand Mirrors [Paul H. Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson]  7. Incarnational Spirituality [David Spangler]  8. Something along the lines of Limitless Love and Truth's Revelations? [David Spangler]  9. We have much more creative control over our lives and so-called deaths that we ever imagined! [Mellen Thomas Benedict] 10. ?? [PMH Atwater] 11. The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily--an initiatory myth; how about a global myth on this theme? [Johann W. von Goethe] 12. The Gnostics' story so relevant to NOW! 13. The Cosmic Christ; the Earth Logos; the Sun Being who incarnated for our sakes and for the Earth [David Spangler; Rudolf Steiner, ...] 14. Oneness [Rasha; David Spangler; Rudolf Steiner, etc.] 15. We are wakening to our innate creative / co-creative powers as Self-Aware, divine beings [Abraham-Hicks; Neville; AK Mozumdar; etc.] 16. Ishtar-Tammuz [suggested by Joan Borysenko in The Fabric of the Future]       Also see, or back to The NEW Story