Journey of the Universe

This film, by Brian Thomas Swimme, who is a professor of evolutionary cosmology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, is about the unfolding of the universe, as we have come to understand it today, and the arising of consciousness.

It traces evolution in both fields, starting from the singularity at the beginning of the universe, and eventually giving rise to homo sapiens and the self-awareness that gives them the ability to guide evolution.

Of course along with ability comes responsibility, and it seems we have been very lacking in that area so far. But there is hope that as we understand the universe better, and our part in it, we will realise that our survival requires us to live in harmony with the world.

The outlook is very much based on the work of Teilhard de Chardin and Thomas Berry, and is an attempt to reposition how we think about ourselves and our place in the universe. We need more stories like this, if we are to stop destroying the very world we need to live.

The film is actually part of a much larger course offered by Coursera called Journey of the Universe: A Story for Our Times which is a MOOC offered by Yale University, if you care to follow up on it.