In this very short reading from my new book. I summarize why the Universe is mysterious to us and always will be. For a thorough explanation of this you can find my book on Amazon.
The acceptance of a creative force or source can only bring us to a conclusion of an inherent acceptance of ourselves as being a part of the Divine itself. If the Divine energy creates the great oneness of all things; physical beings, sentient beings, universes, dimensions, even the space that exists between planets, universes and dominions, then we as human beings are an expression of the Divine and this beautiful love-energy. We are not separate from it. We are here to play our part in the work in the great oneness. This beautiful divine thought of creation. Shaolin Buddhist Temple, Slane, Co. Meath, Ireland
Therefore, the body is deeply sacred indeed. The body is a beautiful expression of the spirit come to life. This view about body and spirit has been described by Jorge N. Ferrer, professor of religious psychology as “embodied spirituality.” He wrote that:“Embodied spirituality regards the body as subject, as the home of the complete human being, as a source of spiritual insight, as a microcosm of the universe and the Mystery, and as pivotal for enduring spiritual transformation. The body is not an “It” to be objectified and used for the goals or even spiritual ecstasies of the conscious mind, but a “Thou,” an intimate partner with whom the other human dimensions can collaborate in the pursuit of ever-increasing forms of liberating wisdom.”
For Ferrer the body is the home of the complete human being. It is the physical reality in which we live. It is through the body that we both literally and metaphorically walk our own unique path. The mistake that so many religious understandings have made is that they have seen the body as the prison of the soul. Something that the spirit or soul needs to be liberated from. He claims that the mystery of incarnation never suggested that spirit entered into the body but that the spirit became flesh. To quote John’s Gospel “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh.” Through our bodies, our lives, the way we live our lives the spirit comes to life. We are here for a reason, life truly means something and it is our task to bring that something to life, through our lives, through our bodily existence.
Embodied spirituality is about fully inhabiting our lives, our thoughts, our feelings our relationships with ourselves, our lives, each other and the mystery that connects all life. It’s about being fully present in our bodies and lives and therefore fully experiencing our potential, being fully alive. The body is not just a suit that clothes our being. It is through the body that we experience what it is to be fully alive. They say “listen to your body”, sage wisdom indeed. For me the body is not a separate entity to spirit, I cannot agree with this dualistic view, it seems to me that it is through the body that spirit comes alive and further through the body that the spirit is fed.
Embodied spirituality views every aspect of our humanity, whether that be body, spirit, heart, mind and consciousness as equal partners in bringing the self, community and world into a fuller alignment with the mystery that brings into being all life, while at the same time connects all life. I suspect it’s a kind of panentheism, that sees all life as being in God and that God is in all life and that little or perhaps infinite more. It sees the full engagement of the body as being vital to spiritual growth and transformation.Rev. Danny Crosby
Today is the launch of my new book- The Garden of Eden in This Life. It is available in paperback, hardcover and kindle on Amazon. The following is the book description. With Metta, Rodger Ricketts.
What if the story of the Garden of Eden wasn’t just ancient myth, but a timeless guide to reclaiming our original wholeness? What if the “fall” from innocence was not the end, but an invitation to return—consciously—to a deeper unity with ourselves, each other, and the world?
In The Garden of Eden in This Life, Dr. Rodger R. Ricketts—a clinical psychologist, mindfulness teacher, and lifelong student of the Buddha’s teachings—unveils a profound perspective linking ancient wisdom, modern psychology, and the apophatic (negative) spiritual tradition. Drawing from over forty years of study and practice, he explores how non-dualistic teachings from Buddhism, science, and multiple faith traditions reveal the limits of language, the illusions of separation, and the path back to an integrated state of being.
You will journey through concepts like Sunyata (emptiness), the via negativa, and the psychology of transcendence—discovering how humanity’s separation from nature and spirit can be healed through direct experience, compassionate living, and expanded awareness.
This is more than a philosophical exploration—it’s a practical roadmap for living with clarity, joy, and interconnectedness. Through cross-cultural insights, reflective practices, and meditative approaches, Dr. Ricketts shows how embracing the ineffable mystery of life can dissolve division, foster ecological and social harmony, and restore our inner paradise.
Whether you are a seeker, a meditator, a student of comparative religion, or someone simply longing for a more meaningful existence, The Garden of Eden in This Life will inspire you to see beyond duality and step into a living experience of unity.
If you are ready to move beyond dogma, transcend the limits of language, and reawaken to the timeless ground of being—this book will guide you there. Open these pages and begin your journey back to the Garden… in this life.
The Age of the universe is estimated at 26.7 billion years. According to the study’s author, Rajendra Gupta, a physics professor at the University of Ottawa, their newly-devised model indicates that the universe is 26.7 billion years old, older than the previous estimate of 13.7 billion years.
And yet,In a few billion years, our sun will become a red giant so large that it will engulf our planet. But the Earth will become uninhabitable much sooner than that. After about a billion years the sun will become hot enough to boil our oceans.
The sun is currently classified as a “main sequence” star. This means that it is in the most stable part of its life, converting the hydrogen present in its core into helium. For a star the size of ours, this phase lasts a little over 8 billion years. Our solar system is just over 4.5 billion years old, so the sun is slightly more than halfway through its stable lifetime.
And life on earth has of course a much briefer existence…It is standard for every organism to burn out. The lifespan of a living organism is considered the period between its birth and death. While a few die just under 24 hours, some can outlive many generations. The biological ageing of animals involves the decline of a diverse range of bodily functions. Lifespan is marked by several conditions – one of the most prominent ones being heredity. While the upper age limit of an animal can be affected by its environmental conditions, species cannot age beyond a specific age, even under the most permissible conditions.
For example,
There are almost 8 billion (8*109) people with an average lifespan of 70 years.
There are about 130 billion (130*109) mammals in the world, with average lifespans from ~5 days (rodents) to ~200 years (whales).
There’s about 3 trillion (3*1012) trees in the world with lifespans from 50 years to several thousand years.
There are an estimated 10 quintillion (10*1018) insects in the world, with most lifespans shorter than a year.
There are an estimated five million trillion trillion (5*1030) bacteria in the world, with an average lifespan of less than a day.
We can look at these numbers based on their orders of magnitude alone, since the numbers are so large. Since there are overwhelmingly more bacteria on the planet than any other type of organism, the global lifespan average will get skewed towards the average lifespan of a bacteria, which is short.
So two things should be borne in mind. First, that all the cycles of creation since the beginning of time exhibit the same recurring pattern, so that it can make no difference whether you watch the identical spectacle for a hundred years, or for two hundred, or forever. Secondly, when the longest-and the shortest-lived of us come to die, their loss is precisely equal. For the sole thing of which any man can be deprived is the present; since this is all he owns, and nobody can lose what is not his. Marcus Aurelius
Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light?years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual. So are our emotions in the presence of great art or music or literature, or acts of exemplary selfless courage such as those of Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.–
Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
We are all Interconnected even with the Universe 