I remember watching a short video in the 80s called Powers of 10.

It was a simple idea, really that has been copied many times since its debut in the late 70s. The video begins with an overhead view of a couple having a picnic in a park in Chicago and then zooms out by powers of ten until you see our galaxy in its cosmic context. The zooming reverses and then magnifies down into the atomic level of the man initially depicted. The remarkable thing is that the farther you zoom out, the more space there is between the objects and the more you zoom in the more space there is between the objects. We see in this that the pattern at the macro level repeats at the micro level, ergo, that the design of the body of universe is consistent with the core design of our physical bodies.

The alchemists described this well. They said, “As above, so below. As inside, so without.” I’m no mathematician, but I think this phenomenon is also described mathematically as “fractals,” a subset of Euclidian space. This pattern is referenced early in the Bible as well. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). A principle that comes to mind is this: the truth is never in conflict with itself. Design is an aspect of truth, so the consistency ought not be unexpected.

No matter how self-centered we have become as a race, it is hard to ignore the fact that the body of humanity a small, but consistent manifestation of the design of the body of the universe and that the atomic nature of man is likewise a smaller, but similarly consistent replication of the same pattern. That said, we as a race display a remarkable ignorance, though it probably manifests more as its counterpart, arrogance. We tend to think we are so different, so special, and essentially exempt from the principles and laws that govern creation. We like to think that the universe is here of your pleasure, to satisfy our needs.

But nothing else we observed in the universe seems to work on that basis.

The same principles and laws that govern at the highest levels of creation govern our function here on earth. We used to know this, but it’s very likely that we forgot. The patterns that led to that collective amnesia are well-documented in the literature of antiquity, but we like to see it a little differently. We like to see ourselves as having risen slowly, but surely out of the mists of the past, advancing civilization gradually over time. It’s a convenient way to look at ourselves, really, because implicit in it is the idea that we, now, are the best, most advanced, latest and greatest model of human beings we’ve ever been. It’s the same thinking that led us to romanticize the early explorers who came from Europe to the Americas to “civilize” the natives. History is rarely as neat and tidy as we like to make it.

So what does this mean for us, here and now, for you and me, in our day-to-day lives? To me, this means that we must apply ourselves now more than every to the discovery and revelation of truth in our living. A video like the one I referenced above could be met with: (1) a shrug of the shoulders, (2) a dismissive and intellectually lazy comment like “neat,” or (3) serious reflection, discussion, and further exploration. My vote is for “3.”

The truth is hiding in plain sight, but we will miss it if we don’t pull our heads out of our immediate circumstances from time to time. Now many have excused themselves as being too busy, too tired, or too uneducated for the pursuit of truth, but that is poppycock. What could matter more than understanding who we are, why we are here, and where we are going? If we cannot answer these fundamental questions, we’re essentially fumbling around in the dark. What good is that?

You, my friends, are here to reveal the beauty and majesty of creation, at this level of creation, on earth. We, as a race, have largely abdicated this role in pursuit of our own self-centered aims, and the universe cannot wait indefinitely for us to rediscover the reality of our purpose. If you are reading these words, you’ve probably thought along these lines already. Maybe you weren’t sure if this was your calling or perhaps you felt you were overhearing someone else’s calling by accident, but I can assure you, you are here for this reason. You came with a purpose. It’s time to learn more about it, not only so that you can be “in the know,” but so that you can reveal that which is above, below and within, without, through your living.

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash.