Deepak Chopra Visits
Renaissance Unity, Discusses You are the Universe
(Crystal A. Proxmire, March 26, 2017)
Warren, MI – It’s always been a part of the human experience to gaze towards the stars and wonder what lies beyond the world people can personally touch. The instinct to connect with some large and mysterious greater force has left individuals feeling lost, religions being formed, scientists spending their lives trying to solve what may be impossible, and even war and death.
In exploring his connection to the Universe, Deepak Chopra teamed up with physicist Menas Kafatos to write “You Are the Universe,” a book that he discussed on March 21 at Renaissance Unity in Warren.
Over 1,100 people came to hear the world-famous author, speaker and teacher. He shared some of the ideas from his book, as well as introduced his upcoming TV special “You are the Universe.”
In service the following Sunday, Reverand Jim Lee said “Deepak should change his name because he’s so deep his name should just be ‘Deep.’”
The discussion left many with a feeling of wonder, and a new paradigm to consider.
What if the Universe were not some vast outside thing, but a construct of our own consciousness?
Chopra reviewed several scientific paradigms, including DeCartes’ idea that there are two worlds – a mental and a physical, Issac Newton’s view that God created the Universe but also the laws of nature, and Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity about the speed of light remaining constant even though time does not.
None of these ideas are perfect in Chopra’s eyes. He said scientists cannot even agree on a definition of Quantum Mechanics. “When you have over 20 interpretations of the same thing, what does that tell you? That no one knows what the heck is going on,” he said.
But the idea of consciousness makes sense to the New Age guru and his audience. He gave the example of closing one’s eyes and imagining their house. “When you see an image, that image is in your brain. Where does it come from? You create it,” he said. Like dreams, an image a person creates in their imagination is just as real to them as waking reality that seems external.
He pointed to his shoe and asked “What is this object? It’s a shoe. What if you’re a baby and no one tells you it’s a shoe. They what is it? It’s colors, shape, forms, and seeing…Think of your house. You can see an image, but you also feel love.”
The understanding of anything is done through our minds. “We created language to create our Universe,” he said. Examples of thing that exist simply because humans created and named them are: latitude and longitude, tribes and money. Humans also created much of what is discussed in the Universe: gravity, matter, space and time.
“We are creating the human view of the Universe,” he said.
He argued that only by human awareness do things like sound, taste, heat and light get recognized and named. But without humans to see it, does light exist?
Chopra put skepticism on the scientific studies of the Universe because scientists are looking through a human lens, mainly under the assumption that the Universe is real and physically there.
Yet his idea is that the Universe is not a distant physical realm, but something humans created as part of our collective conscience. “We are made of the same stuff as the stars,” Chopra said, referring to an idea often shared by scientist Carl Sagan.
“You are the raw material without which there would be no Universe,” Chopra said. “Where is the light from the Universe coming from? You. What is the Universe made of? You.”
Following the speech, Chopra stuck around to meet fans and autograph copies of his book.
Renaissance Unity is following up on Chopra’s presentation with a class of their own on March 29 from 7-9pm called “You Are the Universe,” hosted by Phil Moore, Jim Lee and Lisa Lee.
Learn more about Deepak Chopra at https://www.deepakchopra.com.
Learn more about Renaissance Unity at https://www.renaissanceunity.org/.