Nonfiction
Is there a God? Can religion be compatible with science? Do miracles happen? Why do bad terrible things happen to good people? You are on a lifetime journey seeking answers to these questions.
You want to base your beliefs on science, reason, and logic, while still affirming purpose and meaning for human existence. You seek to value religious traditions and scriptures but want to avoid accepting obsolete dogmas and superstitions.
The author, a scientist and business leader, shares insights carefully collected and collated during his 70-year quest, and provides surprising, illuminating, and stimulating ideas to help point you in the right direction.
Is it still possible to experience and participate in spirituality like the ancients did? Yes, and it can be done with poetic flair and joy.
Introduction
It is fashionable these days to describe the
world deductively, starting with a big theory of secular materialism;
hypothesizing a multiverse with an infinite number of universes and an infinite
amount of time, in which everything that can exist does exist; and deducing
that the universe is purposeless, godless, meaningless, and indifferent to
human life. Everything is an accident.
But this theory of everything is a
theory of nothing, especially if the starting assumptions, hypotheses, and
theories are incorrect.
I prefer to begin by being grounded
in actual human experience, and using inductive reasoning to look for ideas and
meanings.
So, this book is not a mere
collection of short pieces, but rather a unified whole made up of short
vignettes, each of which is based on real human experience. Distilled over a
period of more than fifty years (from the late 1960s to 2022), it is the first
and only book published by the author.
The book reflects a life-long
concern with, and contemplation of, the mysteries and paradoxes of human
existence. Because it explores the boundary between the knowable and the
unknowable, it uses a variety of forms and styles of expression including both
versification and prose. Some may be offended in that large portions of the
book use versification, which may be viewed as obsolete and obtuse. This is not
done for ordinary, stylistic, or artistic reasons, but rather in order to
compress the information into the most compact, efficient and effective work of
communication possible.
Some major influences on the work
come from three sources: the King James Bible, translations of classical
Chinese poetry into English, and the vast and fabulous treasury of poetry
written in the English language. Other influences include the Greek and Latin
classics, the books of Teilhard de Chardin, Frank J. Tipler, Cervantes, and
Dostoevsky, as well as twentieth century popular song, especially that of Bob
Dylan.
While the order of presentation has
been carefully chosen, with a coherent thread running from beginning to end, it
does not have to be read in that order. After all, it was written in that
manner. You are encouraged to read and experience it in any way in which the
spirit moves you, and in fact it is hoped that you will come back again and
again to parts of it.
The book is made up of four parts.
"New Psalms" are lyrical poems that explore the existential questions
of human life and are similar to and somewhat inspired by the Book of Psalms in
the Bible. They are concerned with the core philosophical questions that are at
the heart of human life.
"Analects" are short
poems and aphorisms in the tradition of such poems from classical Chinese
literature, as read in translation into English. These poems delve into the
more personal and intimate aspects of ordinary life, often leading to thoughts
and emotions that are anything but ordinary. If you are short on time or
attention, read these first. Not just bits and pieces, each verse focuses
intently on an essential quintessence of reality.
"Manifesto" is similar to
"New Psalms,” but the poems are more assertive and aggressive, looking
into the same themes but with a sharper edge to them.
"Meditations" are prose
pieces including prose poems, prayers, parables, and essays. These explore
similar issues to those explored in "New Psalms", but with the kind
of added depth, clarity, and straightforwardness facilitated using prose. To
those who abhor poetry, try this section first!
Again, this is not a mere
collection of articles; rather, in order to respect the reader’s time, it is a
highly curated, collated, edited, and condensed work of communication.
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