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Writer's pictureLeila Kincaid

Epic of the Universe

This is a discussion contribution from Leila Kincaid

As a way of broaching a science/math subject in a way that honors any trauma we might be carrying around related subjects, our pre-course evaluation will follow Joanna Macy's Spiral of the Work that Reconnects

Links to an external site., which she uses to honor our pain for the earth in order to face our current crisis.



1. Coming from Gratitude: What is the coolest thing you know about the astronomy and cosmology? Why are you excited to take this course?

What an exquisite image to hold in our psyches, as we navigate being embodied as humans on planet Earth in the Cosmos at this time, Johanna Macy has offered us! My heart is full of gratitude for her wisdom and I am thankful for this offering and invitation to “honor our pain for the earth”, Kerri. The coolest thing I know about astronomy and cosmology is that we are made of stardust that has traversed the vast chasms of cosmological time from the “first flaring forth” that Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry talk about in The Universe Story to the very breath I am taking as I type these words and we read each other’s posts. My evangelical Christian inlaws shared a beautiful movie called A Star Breathing God with me and my husband a few Christmases ago, and it captured an essence of this idea of the beginnings of time, of the flaring forth, the big bang that ushered forth all known (and unknown) existence throughout time to the present and beyond. This image of a star breathing being stays with me and feels rich with a magical realism; it gives me a sense that I am breathed out by God and part of this breath of the Cosmos. It’s a simply awesome notion and thing to sit with as reality. I am excited to take this course to delve more into these ideas and learn about all of your takes on the nature of and our place in the Cosmos.


2. Honoring our Pain: What is your relationship to math/science/physics/astronomy like?


I’ve been traumatized by an aspect of math that feels like a diminutive degradation into measured, exploited commodity, capitalized upon and into mere monetary value, chained to numbers, social security, credit score, bank account, age, IQ, and all things quantitatively evaluated as less than or greater than or equal to. I’ve been told I’m not enough, don’t have enough, make enough, am too old, too young, not smart enough, overqualified, do not qualify, and dehumanized and desacredized by the machinations of humans exploiting and abusing math to gain and capitalize and control.


3. Seeing with New Eyes: How would you like that relationship to change, if at all? What cosmology topics are you most curious about?

Though I feel traumatized, I am also inspired, lifted up by, and enlightened by the great lovers of math who share their view of reality that brings that magic to numbers that Kerri is so good at sharing in her courses -people like Plato, Einstein, Sagan, deGrasse Tyson, and Swimme! We are not mere numbers, and yet, and yet, all the world is a precious mathematical equation playing itself out over the orchestrations of being and time – the Cosmic dance. I am curious to peer more deeply into the heart of reality with all of you, with reverence and joy!


4. Going Forth: What are your goals for this class?

To be present. To be real. To honor. To learn. To witness. To love.

My goal for this class is to witness, learn about, and honor the experiences of being in the Cosmos of my fellow classmates and the teachers, as well as those whose books and written and spoken words of wisdom and insight we study. I hope to grow my understanding and compassion as a member of the Cosmos. Thank you!


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