The Unspeakable Joy of Not Knowing

[MineralMan]

Most people have beliefs that deal with the beginning and end of our world and Universe.. They have faith in some sort of supernatural creator entity that started everything and could end it. They feel safe and comfortable having those boundaries of existence.

I do not know how the universe began. I do not know if it is the only universe, even. I ponder such things. I read theories of cosmology. I have no boundaries that contain my ability to think about such things. It is all open-ended, and that's absolutely marvelous.

I do not seek boundaries. I do not use faith to limit my imagination. I have no need for deities that limit the possibilities, nor books of ancient myths. I simply look outward and consider the possibilities, which have no limits.

[underpants]

1. God bless you

[vlyons]

2. Beyond the beyond

I would encourage you to learn about the Buddhist Heart of Wisdom Sutra, generally just referred to as the Heart sutra. It is about wisdom beyond all concepts. And that all phenomena are empty of self-existence. The mantra in this sutra translates as letting the mind

Go Further. Go Beyond. Go Beyond the Beyond.

[MineralMan]

4. I'm familiar with it, thanks.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā

[JenniferJuniper]

3. I've been reading up on multiverse theory lately

Fascinating - and terrifying - to ponder.

But it's always made a lot more sense to me than a bearded old man deciding to design creatures in his own image on one little mud ball in a single universe.

And why would a god need an appendix?

[MineralMan]

5. It's almost unthinkable that there is only

a single universe or even a single time frame. Cosmology is more and more interesting all the time. I doo miss Stephen Hawking, though.

[Permanut]

11. A genius for the ages..

I have read "A Brief History of Time" and "The Universe in a Nutshell" several times, and I will read them again. He should have lived a hundred years, same with Carl Sagan.

[MineralMan]

12. Yes, indeed.

He lives on in the minds of those who continue to investigate cosmology. In the minds of those of us who read and learn about those concepts, as well.

[John1956PA]

7. A related, thought-provoking question is, "Why IS there a universe, as opposed to nothingness?"

This question has come up from time to time on DU, such as in the following thread: https://upload.democraticunderground.com/122856784 .

[MineralMan]

8. Because, why wouldn't there be?

It's an interesting question, which could never be asked were there no universe. Existence is.

[guillaumeb]

9. How thoughtful.

[MineralMan]

10. Thanks.