The Noosphere and the Extraordinary Realm
Last weekend I watched a short video entitled The Extraordinary Realm.
It was part of a series of videos cosmologist Brain Swimme has made, and continues to make, for a group he started called The Human Energy Project.
The group is focused on exploring the developing Noosphere, a term coined by French Jesuit Priest and paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
The Noosphere
The Noosphere defined briefly is the sphere of thought. It comes from the Greek words noos (mind), and the sphaira (sphere).
It is the third stage after the geosphere (rocks, air, and water) and the biosphere (all living things).
These spheres build on each other. In other words, the biosphere could not exist without the geosphere’s matter, water and air, and the noosphere could not exist without the embodied thinking creatures in the biosphere.
Swimme says the noosphere can be seen as the rise of a planetary super organism integrating all geological, biological, human and technological activities into a whole new level of planetary functioning.
The Extraordinary Realm
The video I watched on the extraordinary realm delved into the beginnings of the noosphere during the ancient classical civilizations.
As populations became denser in these cities, people were able to dwell on matters beyond the everyday needs of survival. They became aware of an extraordinary realm that existed beyond people and things.
This realm was known by a great many names like Paradise, the Transcendent, the Tao, Brahman, and Heaven.
It was an untouchable and unseeable realm beyond the five senses.
Eventually this study became formalized when individuals grouped together to create universities and temples to further their studies.
Small Groups can Devote Themselves to Study
This made it possible for a small group of people to devote themselves entirely to rational debate, meditation and prayer, and philosophical reflection.
These pursuits deepened not only their study, but their experience of the extraordinary realm, leading them to became prophets, rishis, scholars, shamans, sages, mahatmas and saints.
These people were able to devote themselves to this study because of the back breaking and crushing work of the serfs who made up 98 percent of the population at the time.
Swimme claims the spiritual development of the few led to a profound transformation.
The Small Groups Deconstruct Their Own Societies.
He says the intuitions arising in these people led them to deconstruct the inequitable societal structures that enabled them to pursue their studies.
Ironically, their revelations brought on by grossly unequal civilizations led them to question the injustice of those very civilizations. From their engagement with the extraordinary realm, they realized all humans were equal and should be treated accordingly. They called for the creation of more egalitarian societies.
They realized that spiritual and intellectual development that once was meant for the very few should be made available to everyone. We can witness the fruits of their efforts as spiritual and intellectual development is now possible for the many. This was occasioned by the vast decrease in extreme poverty that occurred over the centuries, the major impediment to human spiritual growth.
Overcoming Extreme Poverty
Swimme states that two centuries ago, eighty-four percent of the people lived in extreme poverty. Today that number has shrunk to nine percent.
If you complain that even one percent is too much, then Swimme says you are manifesting the reality of the extraordinary realm. From this realm, we can have visions and thoughts of a healthier, more just future. This is the realm where everything is interconnected. From here we have a deeper view of who we are and what can be.
If we want to fill the world with more love and wisdom, we need to enter into the extraordinary realm, and then continue to deepen our connection with it.
Following Our Fascinations and Allurements
To enter this realm Swimme says we have follow our fascinations and allurements. Mythologist, Joseph Campbell calls it, “following our bliss.”
In order to do that we have to follow Socrates’ dictum of “knowing thyself”, for how can we know what fascinates and allures us if we don’t know who we are?
How many people wander the planet today, lost, with no clue as to who they are or what they should be doing with their lives? They have no idea what fascinates and allures them at a deep level, and thus have no idea about the extraordinary realm or how to enter it.
Cosmologist Brian Swimme’s Human Energy Project
Right now Swimme’s Human Energy Project has 34 short, 5-8 minute videos that can be accessed at this link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYniMSuaum-Cs_P_9Qg6FUilLYtdvsWgj
Check them out and learn about the noosphere and the extraordinary realm. Become a participant in growing the noosphere, aiming at a more justice and equitable planet.
To learn more: Click this link: The Magical Universe.
Photo by Danist Soh on Unsplash
