Astrology, astronomy, space travel, UFO’s and extraterrestrials have all been regarded as simultaneously implausible, yet fantastically exciting. Is it the glimmer of hope that is represented by another species of higher development? The possibility of discovering something new? The magnitude that is so vast, our most creative mind cannot remotely conceive of it? Or is it the sense that we are all part of a whole which is greater than and concurrently made up of, the sum of its parts?

The Hubble Space Telescope has orbited Earth for 16 years snapping photos as close as our own solar system and as far as never before seen galaxies millions of light years away. Recently a group of astronomers voted on the top 10 photos taken by the telescope in its 16 years in operation which begs

the question, what exactly are we looking at anyway?

My own experience of seeing the #1 photo was one of intense connection and total disbelief. The disbelief is based on the fact that I have no comprehension of 28 million light years. The intense connection from a deep place in my soul that knows that such a beautiful array of gases, minerals, rocks and light is present in our Universe, the same way we are present in its. Seeing the beauty of this galaxy one must ask the question, Who Am I and why am I here?

Knowing I have probably passed the first 1/3 of my possible existence as this being, in this universe, I am thrust into a realization that we must simultaneously recognize our own insignificance in the 13.7 billion year process that is currently unfolding along with the intense sense of urgency, in the words of Andrew Cohen, that it is all up to me to make a difference, NOW.

Who Am I? I am a part of that transcending and including process. Atom – Molecule – Prokaryote – Eukaryote – Organ – Organism – Planet – Solar System – Galaxy – Universe

Why Am I here? To help evolve consciousness in a way that allows us to recognize a Universal connection. Why? Because the universe will not change one bit if we blow ourselves up, but can be so beautifully realized if we pay attention to our own connected experience.

Winter is the time of rest, introspection and contemplation, so I wonder… Can we constantly live from a place that recognizes our life as the greatest gift ever bestowed upon us? How does one begin to repay that?

Ryan Diener
http://www.hhamd.com/acupuncturists.html