Holistic Family Medicine • Primary Care • Eugene/Springfield

Through Love all that is bitter will be sweet, Through Love all that is copper will be gold, Through Love all dregs will become wine, through Love all pain will turn to medicine.

-Rumi

Just the other day, I asked my youngest child how are things going in school. He said he was doing great and then he told me all about the microbiome. He told me how the human body has trillions of bacteria cohabitating inside of us and some estimate bacterial cells outnumber human cells by an astonishing 10 to 1! He shared with me that authorities will identify a criminal by analyzing the microbiome cloud (in the air) left behind at the scene. I was totally impressed! When I think back to when I was an eighth grader, I did not have that kind of knowledge about science. He told me he was doing self-study because he was not taught this information in school. Furthermore, he said he could not talk to his friends about this kinda stuff. This conversation with my son sparked a deeper question. When do we lose our childlike nature of asking the deep, timeless questions? Children have this inquisitive nature, ask the simple yet deep questions. When and why do we lose this inquisitive nature? When do we lose this intellectual curiosity?

We are all born with a profound sense of wonder about the surrounding cosmos. We are all born with an incredible intellectual curiosity and thirst for knowledge. As children we all have an amazing childlike wonder about creation. Einstein famously said, “There are only two ways to live life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

The paradigm that children live by is as if everything in creation is a miracle. This inquisitiveness and intellectual curiosity is lost early on during our childhood. Can you recall a time that this wonderful characteristic was extinguished within you? Was this burning desire to learn facts about the cosmos stolen through castigation from stern parents, a rigid school system, or from peer pressure? Or was it religious dogma that suffocated you and punished you for asking questions? Perhaps it was the established Orthodoxy of that's how things have always been and that's how things will always be. Perhaps it was the stress and the daily grind of a nine-to-five job that did not allow for leisure time and the luxury of deep thinking.

Regardless of how this intellectual curiosity was stolen from us or how an institution robbed us of our innate right to question authority, we can do something about it. One solution is through self-reflection or introspection. When we engage in an inquiry into the deeper mysteries of creation, this engenders good association of like-minded individuals, contentment, and equanimity. When we realize that we are all interrelated and interdependent in this great journey we call life, we realize we all come from the same stuff. This stuff we are all made of is Stardust! When we contemplate this scientific fact that our bodies are composed of 93% Stardust, this should bring a profound sense of wonder and peace. Knowing your body is composed of mostly carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms that were once a star should bring a sense of wonder and be awe inspiring. This is a miracle! There's a saying in the Course in Miracles and I quote,  “every decision you make is a choice between a grievance or a miracle, choose the miracle.” Whenever you have a grievance or melodrama in your life, contemplate the wonder of creation and the fact that your body is Stardust. Furthermore, take a moment to contemplate these amazing facts about the human body and the universe.

The parallels of our human body and the universe are amazing. Our brain has 100 billion neurons and our Milky Way has 100 billion stars. 71% of Earth's surface is water and about 70% of human body is water. The electron cloud of atoms in our body mimics the motion of the planets. Scientists have discovered that of the trillions of atoms in our body, up to 93%, come from stardust. In fact, 98% of the atoms in your body are replaced every year and exchanged with atoms from our universe. The atoms that one year ago were in a person living in Africa, China, Mexico, etc. may now be atoms in your body today. All of humanity is connected in such a profound way. The writers of the Upanishads had a similar insight into the nature of reality thousands of years earlier:

As is the human body, so is the cosmic body.

As is the human mind, so is the cosmic mind.

As is the microcosm, so is the macrocosm.

As is the atom, so is the universe.

Our biorhythms are connected to the rhythms of nature. This natural biorhythm should be honored. There is a time to sleep, to wake, to eat, to rest, etc. When we honor this natural rhythm in life, we maintain harmony and ease in our body. When we don't honor it, we create dis-ease in our body. When you recognize that we all are made from the same stuff, namely stardust, you recognize that we are all connected at a deeper level. From this cosmic perspective, the word Namaste, “the light within me honors the light within you,” takes on a special meaning. This knowledge allows you to connect with others at a deeper level.

During this holiday season let us rekindle the burning desire we are all born with. The burning desire to question the nature of reality and thirst for knowledge. Let us rekindle the innate desire to experience pure existence and a lucid cognition unadulterated with toxins and drugs. In this holiday season, let us live the miracle of experiencing BLISS absolute from our inner well spring of resources. Children live this truth every day. Every one of us is born with the innate capacity to experience true existence, pure knowledge, and bliss absolute, which is known in Sanskrit as Satchidananda. Under this paradigm we live as though everything is a miracle.