Spiral galaxy NGC 628, 32 million light-years away in the constellation Pisces.
Source: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Janice Lee (STScI), Thomas Williams (Oxford), and the PHANGS team

“Biophilia”
By Kusumita P. Pedersen

Space is vast, immeasurable –
Not empty but full of beings,
Not dark but lit with fire:
Star-flooded deep heaven, home
To galactic clouds, cosmic dust.
Meteoroids hold living grains,
Seeds of the universe;
Across immensity they come
To Earth, bringing ancestral particles.

On the sea’s floor volcanoes
Erupt in ocean deeps;
Lava blazes in dark waters
Below where sun’s light comes.
From Earth’s core molten rock
Flows out from vents boiling.
In the crucible microbes teem,
Crustaceans glowing walk and swim;
Their beauty might declare itself,
Speaking itself of itself,
O blissful living things!

A handful of earth in your palm
Holds lives innumerable:
Plants, insects, fungi, worms,
Mites and animalcules.
Of the smallest, millions die
And are born each instant.
Ever the smaller, the more their kinds;
Seeking to know them, questing
Deeper, more of them to know –
Knowledge is ever opening,
Mystery endlessly deepening.

The Collected Thoughts of Thomas Berry

Photo by Lou Niznik

We are pleased to announce a series of audio tapes from Thomas Berry!

In 1998, the cultural historian Thomas Berry released a series of perceptive reflections on our environmental crises and the Great Work of transitioning to an era of human-Earth flourishing. 

In these recordings, Berry is in conversation with Brian Thomas Swimme. The audio tapes were produced by Bruce and Pamela Bochte. We are delighted to make them available for the first time in digital form to celebrate Thomas’s inspiration for Journey of the Universe and the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, which just commemorated the 25th anniversary of its founding on October 20, 1998. 

We will be releasing approximately one part of these conversations per month. 

They can be heard from the Thomas Berry website and the Forum YouTube channel. 

Listen now to “Part 4: Psychic Energy for the Great Work Ahead” with introductions from John Grim and Sam King.

Cosmic Walk Resources

Upcoming Events

“Cosmogenesis: The Spiritual Preparation of the Teacher”
With Philip Snow Gang, Brian Thomas Swimme, and Tammy Oesting 
The Institute for Educational Studies (TIES)
February 24 (12:30 pm PST)

Enjoy this conversation with Brian Thomas Swimme and Philip Snow Gang, sharing insights from the field of cosmology on the spiritual preparation of the Montessori teacher.

This webinar includes a video and Zoom gathering, exploring how understanding cosmogenesis – the origin and development of the universe – can guide your teaching methodologies and help enrich students’ educational experiences.

Click here for more info! 

Cosmic Walk 
Yale Graduate Conference on Religion and Ecology
400 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT, USA 
February 23, 2024

On February 23, Sam King will lead a Cosmic Walk at the Yale Graduate Conference on Religion and Ecology. 

Click here to learn more about the conference!

Mepkin Abbey 75th Anniversary Symposium Series: “Contemplative Ecology,” an event with Sam King
Mepkin Abbey
1098 Mepkin Abbey Road
Moncks Corner, SC, USA
March 15, 2024

10:00 AM – Lecture 
10:45 AM – Silent reflection time
11:00 – 11:45 AM– Reflections and Q & A
Noon – 2:00 PM – Lunch break
2:00 – 3:30 PM – Journey of the Universe Film Screening and Discussion

“Contemplative Ecology” will take participants on a holistic journey into seeing the world as what Thomas Berry calls a “communion of subjects.” At a time of climate crisis and biodiversity loss, participants will reflect on how re-membering our relationship with our creaturely kin might inspire regenerative action and the emergence of eco-spiritual communities.

This event will take place in three ways: an in-person retreat, an online Saturday event, and an in-person Saturday event.

Click here for more info and to register!

Becoming Cosmos II: An Ongoing Series of Explorative Workshops for Transforming Consciousness
With Sr. Kathleen Deignan and Scott Thompson
March 16, 2024 and April 28, 2024
The Center at Mariandale
299 N Highland Ave
Ossining, NY, USA 

Join us for this second convergence to creatively explore ways to actualize this cosmic identity through the transformational vision of Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme that inspires our work.

We will be gathering monthly during Spring 2024 at Mariandale Spiritual Center to engage this creative enterprise together.  Be part of this regenerative work of "Becoming Cosmos."

Click here for more info! 

Biophilia: In Excelsis Art Exhibit
Wednesday, March 27, 2024 - 12:00pm to Thursday, May 2, 2024 - 4:00pm
Yale Institute of Sacred Music 
406 Prospect Street 
New Haven, CT, USA 
Free Admission 
Open to the General Public

Biophilia: In Excelsis is an art exhibition that focuses on the theme of sacred ecosystems, including oceans and forests, and their imminent transformation due to increased global warming. Curated by M. Annenberg, it brings together twenty-two artists who represent different cultural backgrounds, generations, and geographic locations, and who explore the concept of Biophilia, the love of life. It will be on view at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music’s Miller Hall at 406 Prospect Street, New Haven from March 27-May 2 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 12-4 p.m. A catalog will be available with essay by art critic, Eleanor Heartney. This exhibition is sponsored by the Institute of Sacred Music’s Religion, Ecology, and Expressive Culture Initiative.

Click here for more info! 

Online Teacher Training
With Annick de Witt
Worldview Journeys Foundation
April 23 - June 18
Online

The Worldview Journeys Foundation is offering a new online teacher training on working with worldviews for deep, transformative change. The training takes place in five live sessions on alternate Tuesdays from April 23rd to June 18th. Participating will allow you to experience a transformative learning intervention called the Worldview Journey which you can adapt for your own teaching, training, coaching, change-making, and other group-work.

The Worldview Journey consists of short but deep ‘learning journeys’ that invite students to reflect on their worldviews (‘explore’), communicate with those with different worldviews (‘exchange’), and broaden their worldviews to include nature and the planet (‘expand’). Developed in collaboration with Utrecht University (see this publication), the program brings together the academic study of worldviews with transformative approaches that support inner exploration and deep change. 

Want to learn more? Participate in an upcoming live event offered by the foundation! And see this one on February 27th or this one on March 12th.

Earth & Soul: Reconnecting Amid Climate Chaos 
By Leah Rampy.
Bold Story Press
Released February 6, 2024

“Facing directly into the devastation of climate chaos and biodiversity loss, Rampy leads her readers on a soul journey through grief and loss to also claim the beauty, joy and possibilities available when we reconnect with Earth. As we follow the author's compelling personal experiences and engagingly lyrical stories of whales, cedars, sparrows, and more, we see the necessity and urgency of learning from the wisdom of our kin in the natural world. Writing at the intersection of spirituality, ecology, and story, Rampy charts a course for living deeply connected to Earth in ways that are both vitally important for and uniquely suited to these times. Even now when the world as we once knew it is ending and a new story lies beyond what we can envision, we hold the potential to lay stepping stones toward a diverse and vibrant world of oneness and mutual flourishing.”

Click here to order the book!

The Great Cultural Awakening: Key to an Equitable, Sustainable, and Harmonious Age
By D. Paul Schafer
Rock’s Mill Press, 2024

“In this remarkable book, noted cultural scholar D. Paul Schafer examines the great cultural awakening that is taking place all across the world--an awakening that is opening the doors to a cultural age…The author concludes by discussing various ways of opening the doors to a cultural age, strategies to harmonize crucial relationships and cultivate spirituality and compassion, the prerequisites for living in a cultural age, and, finally, an exploration of why it is so essential to make the transition from the present economic age to a future cultural age.”

Watch this short video about the book.

For more info on the World Culture Project, click here. To order the book, click here or here.

News Articles 

“How Sagittarius A* was found lurking in the center of the Milky Way”
By Ben Evans. Astronomy, February 13, 2024.

“Impact-induced initiation of Snowball Earth: A model study”
Minmin Fu et. al. Science, February 9, 2024.

“Ancient 'Arcade' of Games Played for Thousands of Years Discovered”
By Aristos Georgiou. Newsweek, February 5, 2024.

“More than 900,000 stars, galaxies and black holes revealed in most detailed X-ray map of the universe ever”
By Brandon Specktor. Live Science, February 2, 2024.

“What Do You Call a Galaxy Without Stars?”
By Dennis Overbye. The New York Times, January 26, 2024.

“As Peabody nears reopening, fossil preparators bring life to ancient beasts”
By Mike Cummings. Yale News, January 25, 2024.

“That Famous Black Hole Gets a Second Look”
By Dennis Overbye. The New York Times, January 24, 2024.

“Astronomers Discover the Oldest Known Black Hole, Breaking a Record Set Last Year”
By Will Sullivan. Science, January 19, 2024.

Listening to Other Voices: A Faith Perspective from Teilhard de Chardin and Thomas Berry
February 15, 2024
Online and in-person
Glastonbury Abbey
With Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim

Click here for more info!

“Being an Ecological Leader: A Conversation with Mary Evelyn Tucker”
February 6, 2024
Interview by Heather Eaton
Hosted by Saint-Paul University
Learn more here.

Click here to watch the recording!

“East and West Dialogue on Ecological Civilization”
With Mary Evelyn Tucker, Jinfeng Zhou, Zhihe Wang, and Julia Kim
Hosted by Earth Charter International
February 6, 2024

Click here for more info and here to watch the recording!

“Plant Intelligence, Rights & Ethics”
With Alessandra Viola
The Plant Initiative
January 31, 2024

Click here to watch a recording!

Ongoing Event

Online Learning

Living Waters: A Panpsychic co-operative inquiry with water bodies worldwide
Schumacher College 
Tuesdays from March 12 – April 30
Weekly seminars (1½ hours) on Tuesdays at 12:00 noon UK time
Course fee: £399
Online via Zoom and YouTube

Freya Mathews, Peter Reason, Andreas Weber, Stephan Harding, and Sandra Wooltorton will offer videos and weekly seminars. Stephan and Sandra will be joined by Jacqueline Kurio and Ezekiel Fugate to facilitate weekly inquiry groups.

Click here for more info and to register!

Art Sparks
With Imogene Drummond
Creation Spirituality Communities
March 5 - May 21, 2024
Cost: $225 for 12-week course

Tap into your hidden potential and ignite your personal creativity while connecting to the Universe! In Art Sparks’ 12 week holistic program, you are invited to explore and develop your creativity through artwork embedded in the context of the Cosmic Story. By aligning your imagination with the larger whole, the program helps you experience the joy of accessing your inner artist.

Click here for more info and to register!