Sometimes I have to laugh at where inspirational ideas emerge. Of course, there are the predictable places, like the Bible and spiritual literature. Those are always sure bets. But there are other, less obvious or, sometimes, totally serendipitous revelations that inherently beg for reflection. Such is the one that came to me when I was reading about the 2019 winner of the Templeton Prize.
I have known about this prestigious prize for quite some time. I know Sir John Templeton founded it in 1972. He was an investor and philanthropist, who set up this foundation to honor someone typically doing work in science and spirituality. Specifically, the prize honors someone “who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works.” It is quite the prize, since about $1.5 million comes to the winner!
The 2019 winner is Dartmouth College physics and astronomy professor, Marcelo Gleiser. He is a native of Brazil. Interestingly, he considers himself to be an agnostic---one who says he does not know whether God exists or not. I was intrigued to read that “he is an avowed critic of atheism.” He was quoted, “I see atheism as being inconsistent with the scientific method as it is, essentially, belief in non-belief…” That makes sense to me!
He was presented the award by Templeton’s granddaughter, who is now president of the foundation. Heather Templeton Dill offered her view why the work of Glieser connects with the Templeton’s desire to honor people doing science and religion. She says about Gleiser, “Two values which were especially important for him, and the focus of various Foundation grants, are the pursuit of joy in all aspects of life, and the profound human experience of awe.” I was very moved when I read those two aspects of the Foundation’s emphasis.
The first aspect is “the pursuit of joy in all aspects of life.” I would be happy to describe one of the goals of my spiritual path to be this kind of pursuit. Joy is one of the consistent words Jesus used to describe the Kingdom. Joy is different than happiness. Of course, I would like to be happy, too. But happiness comes and goes. Joy can be a state of being. It is possible to have some joy even when things are not great. I think it is possible to die in a state of joy. That is my goal and hope.
The second aspect is “the profound human experience of awe.” Awe is one of the coolest spiritual words. To reads the Psalms is to read about awe. To experience the Holy One typically elicits a feeling of awe. Literally, God can be aw-ful. I have had this experience on occasion. It is indescribable, but very real. To sense awe redefines life by adding profundity, depth and confidence. I am not sure one can live in this state of awe, but the memory is seared into our minds and can be tapped into again and again.
Gleiser is quoted, “Awe is the bridge between our past and present, taking us forward into the future as we keep on searching.” Gleiser chooses the classical image of the bridge to show how awe can function much beyond its usual role of result of an experience of the Holy One. In his imagery, awe becomes a bridge. It is a bridge to understand time. Awe bridges our past and present and anticipates the future path.
I like this active image of awe as a bridge. Perhaps the most important “bridging” to take place is the move from present to the future. I think Gleiser is saying, in effect, he is always on the bridge. To be on the bridge from present to the future is to be searching. To push the image even more, the process of searching guides the direction of the bridge. In that sense, it is a movable bridge.
This may not sound very spiritual yet, but there is one more quotation from Gleiser that introduces that element. He comments, “My mission is to bring back to science, and to the people that are interested in science, this attachment to the mysterious, to make people understand that science is just one other way for us to engage with the mystery of who we are.” This sounds very spiritual to me. The bridge of awe invites all of us to step onto it and commit to our own search.
We search for that mystery which those of us doing spirituality likely call God or the Holy One or some other descriptor. The words to describe the mystery are not that important. The reality of the mystery is the crucial piece. And a key part of mystery is our own sense of identity. I am confident mystery is a key dimension that connects us to God, who is the Mystery. This Mystery is found not only in me and you, but in the universe.
Science is helping us connect with and understand something about the Mystery of God, but this mystery will never be solved. You don’t solve mysteries. They are experienced. And when experienced, we are gifted with a sense of joy and awe. Both science and religion are engaged in the same pursuit---pursuit of joy and awe. We just go about it in different ways.
I have known about this prestigious prize for quite some time. I know Sir John Templeton founded it in 1972. He was an investor and philanthropist, who set up this foundation to honor someone typically doing work in science and spirituality. Specifically, the prize honors someone “who has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works.” It is quite the prize, since about $1.5 million comes to the winner!
The 2019 winner is Dartmouth College physics and astronomy professor, Marcelo Gleiser. He is a native of Brazil. Interestingly, he considers himself to be an agnostic---one who says he does not know whether God exists or not. I was intrigued to read that “he is an avowed critic of atheism.” He was quoted, “I see atheism as being inconsistent with the scientific method as it is, essentially, belief in non-belief…” That makes sense to me!
He was presented the award by Templeton’s granddaughter, who is now president of the foundation. Heather Templeton Dill offered her view why the work of Glieser connects with the Templeton’s desire to honor people doing science and religion. She says about Gleiser, “Two values which were especially important for him, and the focus of various Foundation grants, are the pursuit of joy in all aspects of life, and the profound human experience of awe.” I was very moved when I read those two aspects of the Foundation’s emphasis.
The first aspect is “the pursuit of joy in all aspects of life.” I would be happy to describe one of the goals of my spiritual path to be this kind of pursuit. Joy is one of the consistent words Jesus used to describe the Kingdom. Joy is different than happiness. Of course, I would like to be happy, too. But happiness comes and goes. Joy can be a state of being. It is possible to have some joy even when things are not great. I think it is possible to die in a state of joy. That is my goal and hope.
The second aspect is “the profound human experience of awe.” Awe is one of the coolest spiritual words. To reads the Psalms is to read about awe. To experience the Holy One typically elicits a feeling of awe. Literally, God can be aw-ful. I have had this experience on occasion. It is indescribable, but very real. To sense awe redefines life by adding profundity, depth and confidence. I am not sure one can live in this state of awe, but the memory is seared into our minds and can be tapped into again and again.
Gleiser is quoted, “Awe is the bridge between our past and present, taking us forward into the future as we keep on searching.” Gleiser chooses the classical image of the bridge to show how awe can function much beyond its usual role of result of an experience of the Holy One. In his imagery, awe becomes a bridge. It is a bridge to understand time. Awe bridges our past and present and anticipates the future path.
I like this active image of awe as a bridge. Perhaps the most important “bridging” to take place is the move from present to the future. I think Gleiser is saying, in effect, he is always on the bridge. To be on the bridge from present to the future is to be searching. To push the image even more, the process of searching guides the direction of the bridge. In that sense, it is a movable bridge.
This may not sound very spiritual yet, but there is one more quotation from Gleiser that introduces that element. He comments, “My mission is to bring back to science, and to the people that are interested in science, this attachment to the mysterious, to make people understand that science is just one other way for us to engage with the mystery of who we are.” This sounds very spiritual to me. The bridge of awe invites all of us to step onto it and commit to our own search.
We search for that mystery which those of us doing spirituality likely call God or the Holy One or some other descriptor. The words to describe the mystery are not that important. The reality of the mystery is the crucial piece. And a key part of mystery is our own sense of identity. I am confident mystery is a key dimension that connects us to God, who is the Mystery. This Mystery is found not only in me and you, but in the universe.
Science is helping us connect with and understand something about the Mystery of God, but this mystery will never be solved. You don’t solve mysteries. They are experienced. And when experienced, we are gifted with a sense of joy and awe. Both science and religion are engaged in the same pursuit---pursuit of joy and awe. We just go about it in different ways.
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