{"id":227350,"date":"2023-01-16T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=227350"},"modified":"2023-01-25T03:34:20","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T03:34:20","slug":"hope-an-implacable-cosmos-endowed-vitalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/01\/hope-an-implacable-cosmos-endowed-vitalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope . . . An Implacable Cosmos-Endowed Vitalism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.\u201d<\/em>
\n— Martin Luther King, Jr.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Infinite, Elemental, Omnipresent, Implacable . . . \u201cHope\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

12 Jan 2023 – <\/em>Martin Luther King, Jr., understood the immense power of hope in human lives, and the need to never dismiss it or lose hope\u2019s \u201cinfinite\u201d presence. Reverend King inspired billions of people with his message, urging them to continue in the face of suffering, loss, and disappointment by continuing to rely on that most human of words, feelings, and experiences . . . \u201chope.\u201d<\/p>\n

The human condition is a constant struggle for survival. Evolution brings changes facilitating survival for some having privileges of wealth, power, position; for most of humanity, however, struggles of daily life are eroding hope for survival.<\/p>\n

A recent national Gallup Poll (2023) in the USA revealed Americans are very pessimistic regarding the coming year of 2023.\u00a0 Across all demographic markers, a majority of Americans \u201cpredict negative conditions in 12 of 13 economic, political, societal and international arenas.\u201d These areas represent the spectrum of life\u2019s activities. \u201cHope\u201d appears to be absent or insufficient for mediating or mollifying pessimism.<\/p>\n

Past years of denial have now caught up with the harsh realities of life bordering on national collapse (Brenner, 2022). Economic failure, political partisanship, widespread multi-level corruption, and an omnipresent sense of personal and societal distrust, are widespread. \u00a0Fear, anxiety, and trauma tensions are omnipresent. Faith in government, corporate, and military institutions is now non-existent, as poverty, lawlessness, substance abuse, homelessness, and ethnic and racial minority deprivations and injustice run rampant.<\/p>\n

Moments of meaningful happiness are fleeting, limited in time and presence. Happiness may never be known or experienced by many because of circumstance. Only \u201cHope\u201d offers an anchor for survival. \u201cHope\u201d cannot guarantee safety and security, health and wellbeing, comfort, and convenience, but \u201cHope\u201d may be the last arbiter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHope\u201d is more than a word. It is a force offering infinite power to sustain life, to press forward with survival, even amid the immensity of death. Within \u201cHope\u2019s\u201d psychological, physical, and spiritual experience resides an almost primitive human and nature impulse to endure the abuses and stains of life . . . to survive.<\/p>\n

Recent research in genetics reveals that all humanity are related. Researcher Gil McVean, Oxford University, unveils \u201c. . . <\/em>a family tree of humanity<\/em><\/a>,\u201d based on analyzing 3601 modern genomes and eight ancient genomes. This research supports the view that not only humanity is humanity characterized by common and shared relationships, but also that \u201cHope,\u201d is not specific to different groups of humanity. \u201cHope\u201d is part of universal inheritance. \u00a0While ethno-cultural and racial variations in \u201cHope\u201d exist, these differences are demonstrations of diversity in alternative living and socialization contexts\u00a0 (https:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/mg25634174-900-a-family-tree-of-humanity-released-in-2022-shows-how-were-all-related\/<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Why \u201cHope?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is hope\u2019s \u201cinfinite\u201d presence and power that has captured my imagination, motivating me to grasp \u201chope\u2019s\u201d origins, nature, and implications. \u201cHope\u201d is infinite in its capacity for enduring and mediating life\u2019s burdens. One can find in \u201chope,\u201d comfort, contentment, and consolation in the reconciliation process for all life\u2019s struggles.<\/p>\n

What is it about hope\u2019s origins, nature, and consequences, which make \u201cHope\u201d universal in presence, experience, value? \u00a0I propose \u201cHope\u201d is more than a universal resource for human experience: \u201cHope\u201d is an inherent \u00a0quality of the cosmos. \u201cHope\u201d is inscribed in all things, released from an infinitely minuscule point of compressed energy and matter to a universe.<\/p>\n

The \u201cBig Bang\u201d was simultaneously a creation and a creative moment. The \u201cBig Bang\u2019s\u201d release included inherent principles governing relationships among all things released, including separation <\/em>(Fission), synthesis <\/em>(Fusion), re-creation<\/em> (Black Holes), gravity<\/em> (Return), time<\/em> (Speed\/Rate), transformation (Fulfillment), and HOPE. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHope\u201d <\/em>was, and is, an integral force (i.e., quality), an inborn, instinctual, reflexive, survival impulse; a resource integrated with other moments of creation and creative principles, to promote and to enhance the inherent nature of that hypothetical minuscule dot of compressed energy from which all things were and are created.<\/p>\n

I am proposing \u201cHope\u201d is an inherent quality of the cosmos, present in all cosmic things, including tangible and intangible events, forces, and matter. All things are animated with \u201cHope.\u201d In my view, \u201cHope\u201d was born in the moment of the Big-Bang\u2019s creation, as a creative drive to endure existence under the most pressing moments of risk, threat, collapse, or change in all things.<\/p>\n

All life, stemming from the creation of the universe, includes creativity as a reflexive inherent drive to fulfil, become, actualize, an existing state, present in the creation process. As I commented in 2014, psychology made an unfortunate error when referring to \u201ccreative individuals\u201d and \u201cmeasuring creativity,\u201d tragically condemning \u201ccreativity\u201d to a limited commercial topic.<\/p>\n

Creativity is inherent in the life impulse itself! It is present in all forms and expressions of life that exist across the diversity spectrum from microscopic organisms to exceptional human beings gifted with special talents and skills that enable them with each work to bring novelty, freshness, and wide-spread appeal to their \u201ccreations.\u201d <\/em>(Marsella, 2014)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Psychology\u2019s conventional views of creativity seeds \u201chopelessness,\u201d confining and perpetuating roles and statuses, a set of arbitrary categories rather than recognizing that in the face of oppression or suppression of any sort, \u201cHope\u201d looms. It is a force pressing for escape, and freedom and fulfillment, the gift of becoming all you can be. The tragedy, of course, is the need for opportunity, and too often opportunity is dictated by political, economic, and moral forces; nevertheless, \u201cHope\u201d abides! \u201cHope,\u201d as an inherent quality of the universe does not stand alone, but parallels other accompanying \u201cpowers\u201d of change. The Universe is in constant change, altering its infinite existence in creating and birthing galaxies and stars in an endless cosmic rhythm. Amid the fury, there is \u201cHope\u201d as an evolving guide.<\/p>\n

There is a mysterious balance between the power of cosmic evolution and the quality of \u201cHope\u201d as a balance. We lack words to describe and understand this \u201cmystery,\u201d beyond reflecting on the concepts of sustainable and compatible opposites. Change is omnipresent in all things! So too is \u201cHope\u201d as guide for survival.<\/p>\n

In the following pages, I discuss conventional historical, philosophical, theological, and cultural views of HOPE; subsequently, I explain and clarify my view of hope\u2019s cosmological origins, nature, connections, and consequences. I demonstrate that \u201cHope\u201d is an omnipresent word, term, state, experience, and attribution of survival across the world. It is a universal across humanity and cultures. Like so many words with extemsive use and derivatives (e.g., love, war, health, life), \u201cHope\u201d has scores of connotations and denotations. It is a \u201cmulti-meaning\u201d and a \u201cmulti-purpose\u201d word and term used in human communication as a function of user intention, purpose, and setting.<\/p>\n

CONVENTIONAL VIEWS OF \u201cHope\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Lexicon of \u201cHope\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Merriam-Webster Dictionary lists 106 synonyms and antonyms for \u201cHope\u201d (Merriam-Webster: https:\/\/www.merriam<\/a>-w<\/u>ebster.com) \u00a0Synonyms of HOPE include:\u00a0wish, dream, look, plan, mean, purpose, aim, intend<\/em>; Antonyms of HOPE: concern, pessimism, skepticism, despair, caution, apprehension. GOOGLE <\/em>emphasizes \u201cdesire\u201d <\/em>and aspiration. <\/em><\/p>\n

    \u201cHope\u201d is both a verb and a noun, indicating an \u201cexpectation\u201d something will happen. According to Strong’s Concordance, \u201cHope\u201d can be traced to an ancient Greek word, \u201cElpis<\/em>\u201d indicating expectation, trust, and confidence. It is derived from the root word \u201cElpo,<\/em>\u201d referring \u201cto anticipate\u201d (with pleasure) and \u201cto welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The development of language paralleled human evolution from uses of sounds (e.g., grunts, groans, screams) to symbols and brought evolutionary changes promoting individual and collective survival. Complex language development brought enhanced communication and application in religions, literature, songs, poetry, and in self-awareness, analysis, and interpretation.<\/p>\n

    A Google search of church and temple sermons using \u201cHope\u201d as a thematic message provides an overwhelming number, of hits suggesting that \u00a0\u201cHope\u201d is considered an essential core foundation for human purpose and identity within religion as dogma or as \u201cincontrovertibly true.\u201d Among common admonitions in times of life stress are: \u201cDon\u2019t lose hope!\u201d \u201cHave hope!\u201d \u201cBe hopeful!\u201d and \u201cI hope you get better!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cLet us hope!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWe stand for \u201chope!\u201d<\/p>\n

    The State of Rhode Island\u2019s Flag, which has undergone many changes, is adorned with an anchor and the inscribed word \u201cHope, surrounded by 13 stars for the original colonies. The anchor is symbolic of Rhode Island\u2019s ocean proximity, and \u201cHope,\u201d signifies a revolutionary aspiration for freedom from Britain\u2019s oppressive rule.<\/p>\n

    \u201cHope\u201d guides us! Change is seeded in oppression and violence, \u201cHope\u201d is seeded as a supportive counter. While \u201cHope\u201d is an essential belief and experience, in a paradoxical way, it is also an acknowledgment or recognition that you are in peril; something malevolent is threatening or will befall you in the absence of \u201chope.\u201d Thus, \u201cHope\u201d is experienced both within an individual or collective, and conceded to exist outside, perhaps as a protection from menace or risk. \u201cHope\u201d becomes an anchor for survival.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Faith (Hope & Charity) <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      For humanity, \u201cHope\u201d is the defining resource for survival under the most-dire life-threatening circumstances of life. There are countless examples of human survival from inevitable death in war, adventure, and everyday life.\u00a0 Survival is often attributed to \u201chope,\u201d and even as it is embedded in Faith. <\/strong><\/p>\n

      Faith,<\/strong> like hope, is considered a virtue to be developed, nurtured, and used.\u00a0 It may be weak or strong, present or absent, even abused. Faith, like hope, is both a \u201cnoun\u201d and \u201cverb,\u201d but is often used as an adjective and adverb.\u00a0 It may be used to describe one\u2019s religion (e.g., belief in a religion\u2019s doctrines and dogmas) or as a condition or state of loyalty and adherence (e.g., Have \u201cfaith\u201d), oftentimes in the absence of proof. Faith connotes and denotes allegiance, commitment loyalty, dedication. The USA Marine Corps quote Semper Fi (Fidelis<\/em><\/strong>), \u201cAlways Faithful,\u201d is a well-known example of \u201cfaith.\u201d<\/p>\n

      In implicit and explicit ways, \u201cHope\u201d and \u201cFaith\u201d are interchangeably joined in languages and implications although they are different. The phrase: \u201cHave faith!\u201d is often used as advice to not yield or give-up in the face of adversity; often faith is referenced to a religious or organizational canon. Faith has strong \u201cbelief\u201d associations. \u201cHope\u201d is more \u201camorphous\u201d having body, mind, and spirit associations in source, intent, and applicability. \u201cI hope!\u201d Think of the \u201cHope\u201d experience! \u201cHope\u201d is, a dynamic word, subject to many historical and situational determinants. But \u201cHope\u201d is always there to draw on when needed, and to offer a dutiful resource for survival.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Ethno-Cultural Diversity in \u201cHope:\u201d A Sicilian Example<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        There are also numerous variations in the ethno-cultural contexts of \u201chope.\u201d Understanding these contexts may illuminate and exemplify \u201chope\u2019s\u201d dynamics across situations, and its varying uses to mediate or mitigate problems associated with changes impacting survival. I offer a personal example.<\/p>\n

        I was raised in an immigrant Sicilian family; the words we used for \u201cHope\u201d were Speranza<\/em><\/strong> (noun) and Sperare<\/em> <\/strong>(verb). We used these words a great deal across many contexts, both implicitly and explicitly: prayers, greetings, wishes, songs, curses, and expectations for the Cleveland Indians, and Cleveland Browns, athletic teams whose identity was heavily personified.<\/p>\n

        In the oppressive suffering of poverty and abuse, my ancestors experienced in the \u201cstasis\u201d imposed by external rule from those with wealth, power, and position, \u201cHope\u201d was discovered in the possibility of journeying to a new land, \u201cAmerica\u201d (AaaaMericaaa), from rural areas of Italy, known euphemistically as the Mezzogiorno, <\/em>describing the lands from Naples and below, including Sicily. Millions of immigrants, pejoratively called \u201cTerrone<\/em>, or people from Southern Italy, braved traumatic ocean voyages, kept alive by the vision of \u201chope.\u201d\u00a0 This \u201cHope\u201d was instilled in me by ancestors impoverished, starving, and oppressed by the injustice of corrupt authorities from foreign lands. Emotion animated my ancestors, \u201cHope\u201d guided them.<\/p>\n

        Proximity to emotions, among Sicilians, as is stereotypically known and realistically justified, can easily escalate into hyper-emotionality. Reason is often seconded to emotions as a primary filter for mediating life. Trust in family, and use of your emotions (Cosi ti senti; What do you feel?) <\/em>is characteristic of my socialization.<\/p>\n

        Among my family members, Americans (WASPs) were considered cold, withdrawn, detached, restrained, and lacking in a full appreciation of life\u2019s vitality and vibrancy.\u00a0 Omnipresent \u201chope, which kept my family going, was seconded in WASPS to reason and analysis, and also privileges of empowerment; \u201cfeelings\u201d were excluded or minimized. An \u201cAmerican\u201d who married an aunt, was always referred to as \u201cOu Americano<\/em>,\u201d with a slight hint derision but \u00a0affectionate tolerance.<\/p>\n

        Interpersonal communications are sensitive to setting and to people. Tone and rate of speech, gestures, proximity of contact, become part of assumed intention and purpose, especially in arguments regarding beliefs, emotions, and identity. Cultures vary in terms of emotional expression communication.<\/p>\n

        In my Sicilian culture family, \u201cSperare<\/em>\u201d<\/strong> was a rich source of emotional expression and communication. As a frightened child trying to fathom mysteries of basic survival amid omnipresent traumas, discipline, and deprivations, \u201cSperanza<\/em>\u201d<\/strong> and \u201csperare<\/em><\/strong>\u201d were in constant use and in experienced states in everyday life; they implied life\u2019s meaning and identity.<\/p>\n

        The widely held Sicilian inclination (stereotype), toward cynicism, doubt, and distrust for anything beyond family was projected onto Government, Church, Military, and Law, and made \u201cSperare\u201d<\/em><\/strong> a resource for ameliorating tensions and stresses.\u00a0 We all lived with \u201cSperanza<\/em><\/strong>\u201d that life would someday be better for all of us. Yet, life\u2019s daily demands and its punishments kept us in a state of unfulfilled \u201chope!\u201d It was a constant, relentless, state of being, as life\u2019s tolls were imposed on our lives. Ultimately, all we had was \u201chope!\u201d<\/p>\n

        Nightly family meals promoted Sicilian culture and language, although the latter had a \u201cSicilianish\u201d patois, a<\/em> mixing of English and Sicilian from Sicily\u2019s \u201cTermine Immerese<\/em>\u201d agricultural region, with its own unique characteristics and colloquialisms. I can never recall proper \u201cTuscan\u201d Italian being spoken in my family. \u201cProper\u201d Italian is delicate and almost musical, in sound and rhythm.<\/p>\n

        Cultural socialization is usually assigned to media, religion, schools, and friends, but these sources were no match for the unquestioned socialization forces occurring in family gatherings. There was something defining of identity amid family gatherings, often a sense of pride, and Speranze<\/em><\/strong> and Separe <\/em><\/strong>were omnipresent in talk about health, food, finances, and interpersonal relations. Talking, often simultaneously among members, was the rule! It was raucous, but joyful.<\/p>\n

        I remember \u201cHope\u201d was assumed to be present as a guardian against events and forces often considered to be from the \u201cDevil,\u201d a real, and tangible source of evil and malevolence. We wore tiny bags of salt pinned to our clothes and tiny neck chains with horns (corno\u2019s <\/em>or cornicello\u2019s<\/em>) of silver or gold. Sometimes, \u201cHope\u201d finds expression and security in objects; consider a small chain necklace with a dangling cross as both an identity marker and a source of \u201chope.\u201d Sometimes, I wore both and a pinned bag of salt. My Sicilian world view believed danger is constant and calls for every tangible protection, plus a wish for \u201chope.\u201d\u00a0 Who knows, an amulet might be that extra protection you need?<\/p>\n

        I am sure no one in my family ever considered or reflected upon the view of hope (Esperanza, Espere<\/em>) I am proposing as seeded in cosmic creation, and distributed across all aspects of the energy\/matter\/gravity of cosmic existence. They might throw up their hands and say: \u201cMaybe he\u2019s right,\u201d but then return to conventional understanding.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Sigmund Freud: Beyond the Pleasure Principle<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Sigmund Freud\u2019s early Psychoanalytic Theories (i.e., Unconscious, Tri-Partite Self) evolved to a third position, \u201cEros and Thanatos,\u201d as he sought to grasp the horrors of war and violence surrounding Europe. In his volume, \u201cBeyond the Pleasure Principle,<\/em><\/strong> perhaps first published in 1921, Freud discussed the origins of life on Earth as beginning in some primal pool of water when special biological conditions were present and a lightning strike momentarily animated life. At some moment, life existed, perhaps only for a moment, but eventually for longer periods of time. For Freud, there was an instinctual birthing, followed by a reflexive return to an inanimate state.<\/p>\n

          Freud viewed this primal process as a contest between life and death instincts, and he used the terms \u201cEros\u201d<\/em><\/strong> for the life impulse, and Thanatos<\/em><\/strong> for the death impulse, both inherent reflexes.\u00a0 I believe \u201cHope\u201d is part of \u201cEros,\u201d <\/strong>as conceived by Freud.\u201d \u201cHope\u201d is present to preserve survival, to continue life, to endure amid circumstances and vicissitudes struggling to bring death (Thanatos<\/em><\/strong>).<\/p>\n

          I cite Freud\u2019s work in my thinking about \u201chope,\u201d because it is relevant, and because it represents yet another effort to advance knowledge amid controversy. Change in knowledge at a societal level is difficult, especially after it becomes institutionalized in academia, medicine and religion.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Viktor Frankl \u2013 The Pursuit of Meaning: Humanity\u2019s Purpose<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Viktor Frankl (1905-1997), a Jewish concentration camp survivor, became a fervent advocate for the view that the pursuit of \u201cmeaning\u201d is humanity\u2019s primary purpose. Frankl\u2019s assigned his survival to a \u201cpurpose,\u201d which he claimed was the completion of an important manuscript he was working on at the time.\u00a0 This purpose dominated his thoughts, compelling him to survive for a purpose, even as apathy and withdrawal overcame prisoners\u2019 lives. Frankl\u2019s major work, \u201cMan\u2019s Search for Meaning,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> has been continued and extended by Dr. Paul Wong, a Canadian clinical psychologist.<\/p>\n

            For Frankl, \u201cwill to meaning\u201d is a primary human motive superseding the pursuit of pleasure and power.\u00a0 Wong (1998) points out Frankl\u2019s life epitomizes Nietzsche\u2019s dictum:\u00a0\u201cHe who has a why, to live for, can bear almost anything.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Frankl\u2019s views have often been considered more of a \u201csecular religion\u201d (see Wong, 1998, p. 400) than a science. They are part of \u201cGrand Motive\u201d views (e.g., Survival, Self-Actualization, God, Becoming\/Transcendence, Personal Fulfillment, Genetic Perpetuation, Creativity), as illustrated in\u00a0 as chart I published to describe the pursuit of meaning (Marsella, A.J. (2008, 2018) in \u201cSearch of Meaning: Thoughts on Belief, Doubt, and Wellbeing\u201d (Transcend Media Service)<\/p>\n

            CHART 4: IN PURSUIT OF MEANING<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

            RETHINKING HOPE\u2019S NATURE <\/strong>. . .<\/p>\n

            Words like \u201cHope\u201d acquire numerous synonyms, and undergo contextual changes. \u201cHope,\u201d however, is generally not considered inherent in cosmic origins. I am not speaking of \u201cHope\u201d as a metaphor, but as an actual tangible inherent characteristic of that creative moment when a sub-miniscule particle, released in a massive explosion (known colloquially as the \u201cBig Bang\u201d).<\/p>\n

            In that precise moment, \u201cHOPE\u201d (<\/strong>a permanent \u00a0inherent, tangible aspiration to become, to transcend, to fulfill), was born from a miniscule dot of hyper-compressed energy, driven to fulfill its implicit nature. Guided by principles of FUSION<\/strong> (synthesis, merging, coming together) and FISSION<\/strong> (separation, division), across endless space and time (eternity), the universe was and is imbued with \u201cHope.\u201d<\/p>\n

            From its cosmic nature, all life has been instilled with \u201cHope\u201d as an inherent dimension of its existence, from the smallest particles of existence to the billions of grandiose galaxies, birthing yet more replicas, and evolving more diverse aspect, endless in all aspects: infinite (boundless), eternal (limitless).<\/p>\n

            Hope: Inherent Cosmic Vitalism<\/strong><\/p>\n

            James Lovelock (Lovelock, 2007, 2016, 2021) has hypothesized that there is a reflexive vitality quality in the world, which he named GAIA, <\/em>in honor of the ancient Greek Goddess. \u201cGAIA\u201d has become a popular term in many disciplines. GAIA refers to:<\/p>\n

            \u201cLiving and Non-living components of Earth [that] function as a single system in such a way that the living component regulates and maintains conditions (such as the temperature of ocean or composition of the atmosphere) so as to be suitable for life<\/em> (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

            I agree, in part, with Lovelock\u2019s innovative ideas of a special vitalism ordering life and non-life in the world.\u00a0 For me, however, the moment of cosmic creation inscribed the quality of \u201chope,\u201d superseding, and extending a vitalism to the entire Cosmos. Is our Earth is responding to the Anthropogenic assaults by advancing its own cosmic-inspired efforts after survival?<\/p>\n

            Hope and Cosmic Consciousness<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \u201cHope,\u201d is present in all aspects and forms of life pursuing an orderly process amidst the seeming chaos of disorder and decay. Life is creation and fulfillment at all levels of the universe. Nothing is devoid of life; seemingly lifeless objects merely await the opportunity to express their inherent life impulse.\u00a0 Cosmic consciousness is in all things in the universe.<\/p>\n

            Richard Feynman (1918-1988), a physicist, spoke of \u201catoms with consciousness.\u201d\u00a0 Inspired by Feynman, Maria Popova (2021), writes:<\/p>\n

            In his \u201cpoetic ode to the wonder of life,\u201d the physicist Richard Feynman gasped at our improbable inheritance as \u201catoms with consciousness\u201d \u2014 a lovely phrase, which in so few words intimates the immense superstructure of matter and meaning. It is the way in which the austere realities of the physical universe undergird the warm loveliness of all that makes us human: love, art, wonder, beauty, Bach . . . . There can be no genuine appreciation of consciousness \u2014 the mystery of it, the intimate fact of it \u2014 without a passionate appreciation of the abstract, remote realities of cosmic forces and subatomic particles. (Popova, 2022, my reading of Popova\u2019s Blog, The Marginalian<\/em>).<\/p>\n

            I agree with Popova and Feynman, but conclude both \u201cconsciousness\u201d and \u201chope,\u201d are functions of the precise moment of creation of the universe. Life, for me, assumes a broader meaning than its definition among bio-scientists.<\/p>\n

            The moment of cosmic creation embodies life, it is life, and with it is an implicit sense of hope. Some scholars refer to this process as \u201cSoul\u201d (e.g., Sotillos, 2022).<\/p>\n

            For human beings, fraught with the notion of their power and abilities, often inspired by Biblical admonitions (e.g., Genesis, Hebrew Bible), education remains the essential pathway for change. Conventional conceptualizations of the Macro-Social Structure of the Education Complex, however, limit possibilities of change, adaptation, and adjustment. It is not working!\u00a0 Ultimately, this failure may \u201cdoom\u201d the survival of all life. Reconsider the virtue of Horace Mann\u2019s advice, and its viability in today\u2019s times!<\/p>\n

            Hope: A Yearning for Cosmic Birth<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Perhaps \u201cHope\u201d is experienced in human lives as a yearning for a re-creation of the original cosmic dot of compressed energy. Conceptually, I propose \u201cHope\u201d is a permanently inscribed tendency to seek reconnection across all things in that infinitely compressed dot from which all things in the universe were birthed. \u201cHope\u201d is a vehicle for this process.<\/p>\n

            Varieties of Cosmic Consciousness<\/strong><\/p>\n

            In 1901, Maurice Maurice Bucke, published a volume entitled, Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind,<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0in which he proposed different forms or degrees of consciousness. He concluded there is a deeper mystical sense of \u201cCosmic consciousness<\/em>,\u201d which considered “a higher form of (experiencing) consciousness than the consciousness of everyday life among ordinary people.<\/p>\n

            As noted in Wikipedia (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cosmic_Consciousness)<\/p>\n

            \u201cThis consciousness shows the cosmos to consist not of dead matter governed by unconscious, rigid, and unintending law; it shows it on the contrary as entirely immaterial, entirely spiritual and entirely alive; it shows that death is an absurdity, that everyone and everything has eternal life; it shows that the universe is God and that God is the universe, and that no evil ever did or ever will enter into it; a great deal of this is, of course, from the point of view of self-consciousness, absurd; it is nevertheless undoubtedly true.\u201d<\/em> (Wikipedia, pp. 17-18)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

            According to numerous writers in Wikipedia (see above), Bucke’s \u201ccosmic consciousness\u201d is an interconnected way of seeing things, “which is more of an intuitive knowing than factual understanding”. Juan A. Herrero Brasas (2019), said Bucke’s \u2018cosmic consciousness\u2019 refers to the evolution of the intellect, and not to “the ineffable revelation of hidden truths”.<\/p>\n

            For Brasas, it was\u00a0William James,\u00a0who equated Bucke’s cosmic consciousness with\u00a0a mystical\u00a0consciousness. William James\u2019 classic volume, Varieties of Religious Experience<\/em><\/strong> (1902), altered psychology\u2019s nascent directions, and opened its doors to topics beyond those associated with the empirical lab studies of isolated \u201ccontrolled\u201d behaviors, accounting for minimal variance. When we are in mystical states, we are in an ardent state of \u201chope,\u201d a cosmically created constant inherent in all products and processes of creation.<\/p>\n

            An ardent sense of \u201cHope\u201d has a mystical sense of becoming one with the Cosmos (or other preferred forces, including God, Earth Mother, Nature). Throughout history, there have been many mystics of all religious and humanistic traditions (e.g., Jesus of Nazareth, Hildegaard von Bingen, various Catholic Saints, Asian Indian Agastya Muni, Walt Whitman). I fondly support the words of famed astrophysicist, Carl Sagan\u2019s (1934-1996) who stated:<\/p>\n

            The Cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 way for the universe to know itself.<\/p>\n

            Not only are we the \u201cstuff of stars,\u201d enabling humanity to know the universe, but also for the universe to reveal its presence in mythic proportion via its very creation . . . the force and process of \u201cHope.\u201d<\/p>\n

            Horace Mann . . . Again<\/strong><\/p>\n

            The words of Horace Mann (1796-1859), American public-school pioneer and advocate, echo in my mind:<\/p>\n

            \u201cBe ashamed to die until you have won<\/em>
            \nsome victory for humanity.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

            Horace Mann\u2019s words remind us that an essential component of purpose, meaning, survival is the requirement to instill in all citizens, young and old, the belief that we are part of a larger collective: \u201cHumanity.\u201d We are more than humanity, of course; we are part of nature, life, and the cosmos.\u00a0 \u201cHope\u201d is an omnipresent, omnipotent aspiration, endowed in cosmic creation, present throughout the universe in infinite proportion.<\/p>\n

            I harken to Horace Mann\u2019s inspiring words; I agree humanity, each individual, must strive to fulfill their cosmos-endowed potential for promoting the unfolding mysteries, now more apparent than before, when \u201climited\u201d conceptualizations, restrained by technology and human thought, kept us prisoner to views of the cosmos encouraging a self-defeating emphasis on humanity as the central force of, for, and by, the creation of life.\u00a0 I say:<\/p>\n

            \u201cWin a victory for humanity! Not for a nation! Not for a religion! Not for a culture, person, government, or corporation! Win for humanity and all life. And with your victory, on a dark night, illuminated by endless stars, be reminded of our true nature, a cosmic consciousness creator of being.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

            I recall a personal experience from my past days in in my beloved Hawaii: I stood outside my house and beheld a clear star-filled night, with no special purpose other than to behold. Suddenly, I was filled with awe and reverence in the moment, and lost consciousness of self; it was an aesthetic moment, an illuminating moment. I had experienced it before when viewing a painting in a Danish art museum. I recall that in the museum I shared some thoughts with a friend: \u201cSometimes works of art are meant to enjoy, sometimes they offer insight and learning, and sometimes they are meant to capture you, and to seize your consciousness, transcending time and place, instantly knowing you are part of something greater than yourself.<\/p>\n

            I had experienced the exhilarating sense in a moment in Cambodia, as I climbed a hill and observes a damaged body of Buddha sitting amid a magnificent vista of a setting red sun illuminating endless rice fields in a bright red reflection, surrounded by mountains on either side. I was part of the vista, losing my sense of self, becoming embraced and consumed by the\u00a0 scene. I was One!\u00a0 I had \u201cHoped\u201d for more moments like this, freeing me from conventional states of being, and launching me into a new state of awareness, of being.<\/p>\n

            Upon emerging from this mystical experience in a sparkling Hawaii night, overwhelming my senses and self, I recognized my hopes had been fulfilled. I spoke aloud, preaching to myself:<\/p>\n

            \u201cI am part of something far greater than myself; I am part of the cosmos! Instantly I was aware of myself, and I understood it was me, the part, merging with the whole.\u00a0 I am \u201cpart\u201d and \u201cwhole!\u201d Principles of creation, of fission and fusion, were before me in lucid awareness. I am, in this moment, \u201ceternity!\u201d <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

            In retrospect, it was an irreverent reverie of insights, an impulse to know, without needing to know, a reflexive state of oneness. \u00a0Embracing \u201cHope\u201d had enabled me to experience a sought-after moment, releasing me from accustomed existence, to a special state of grace, a perspective, fixed by society\u2019s socialization processes, to deny \u201chope\u201d or to abuse its meaning by for banal commercial uses.<\/p>\n

            A lesson was learned: \u201cHope\u201d can be learned, nurtured, enhanced, denied, but it is always present. \u00a0Perhaps in those moments when one tires of \u201choping,\u201d when one abandons \u201chope,\u201d when one laughs at \u201chope,\u201d and condemns \u201chope\u201d as a meaningless inconsequential term, an awareness of \u201chope\u2019s\u201d full meaning, power, and presence is grasped.<\/p>\n

            To think and speak beyond the boundaries of conventional thought risks not only rejection, but condemnation of thought and person; so be it!\u00a0 I offer my views on implacable \u201chope,\u201d created, nurtured, and sustained at the moment to enhance and perpetuate survival. With inadequate words, I have sown this quality as \u201cHope,\u201d an assurance for survival regardless of insult in the nature of all things, and in their evolution.<\/p>\n

            In our global era, at this moment in time, as relentless exploitation, destruction, and death occur, nothing can be more important than a meaningful identity, embracing identity with life.\u00a0 \u201cI am what am!\u201d \u201cWe are what are!\u201d \u201cI am the stuff of stars!\u201d \u201cWe are the stuff of stars!\u201d \u201cWe are part of the very life force animating the universe!\u201d It is essential for humanity to identify with \u201clife,\u201d and to grasp the responsibilities, obligations, and consequences this identity imposes upon us. \u00a0For me, present in the recognition and consciousness of life as the essence of identity is implacable \u201chope.\u201d<\/p>\n

            According to the Merriam-Webster\u2019s Dictionary, the word \u201cIMPLACABLE,\u201d as used in the title of this article, means: \u201cNot capable of being appeased significantly changed or mitigated.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>For me, as shown in the title of this article, I pair \u201cImplacable\u201d<\/strong> with \u201cHope.\u201d<\/strong> \u00a0It is the nature of things!<\/p>\n

            REFERENCES (Cited, Used)<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Benner, M. (2022). Commentaries<\/em>. No Publisher Noted. Email Version \u00a0\u00a0 Available From: mbren@pitt.edu<\/a> and mbrenner@list.pitt.edu.<\/p>\n

            Brasas, Juan A. Hererro (2010),\u00a0Walt Whitman’s Mystical Ethics of Comradeship: Homosexuality and the Marginality of \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Friendship at the Crossroads of Modernity (Google eBook)<\/em><\/a> NY: SUNY Press.<\/p>\n

            Bucke, Richard Maurice (1901\/2009).\u00a0Cosmic Consciousness: A \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Study in \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the Evolution of the Human Mind<\/em>. Mineola, New York: Dover \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Publications.\u00a0ISBN<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>978-0-486-47190-7<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

            Cubberly, Ellwood, (1919), Public Education in the United States: A \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Study \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and Interpretation of American Educational History. \u00a0 NY:Houghton-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mifflin.<\/em><\/p>\n

            Gallup Poll (2023). https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/markets\/americans-extremely-pessimistic-about-us-prospects-2023-gallup<\/a>.
            \nLovelock, J. (2007). The Revenge of Gaia: Earth’s Climate Crisis & The \u00a0\u00a0 Fate of Humanity. NY: Basic Books.<\/em><\/p>\n

            Lovelock, J. (2016). Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth. Oxford, UK. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Oxford <\/em><\/p>\n

            Marsella, A.J. (2014, Mar 01) Some Thoughts on Creativity . . . and Life. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Life is Creativity and Creativity is Life. Transcend Media Service.<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2014\/03\/some-thoughts-on-<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 creativity-and-life\/<\/p>\n

            Marsella, A.J. (2018) In Search of Meaning: Thoughts on Belief, Doubt and \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wellbeing. Transcend Media Service.<\/em><\/p>\n

            https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/09\/in-search-of-meaning-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 thoughts-on-belief-doubt-and-wellbeing\/<\/a><\/p>\n

            Marsella A.J. \u00a0(2018). Identity in a Global Era: Individual, Collective, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 National, \u201cExistential\u201d Considerations.) Transcend Media Service.<\/em> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/07\/identity-in-a-global-era-\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 individual-collective-national-existential-considerations\/<\/a><\/p>\n

            Marsella, A.J. (2017). In Pursuit of Peace: The Cosmic Nature of Our \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Inner and Outer Journey. Transcend Media Service<\/em>.\u00a0 https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/02\/in-pursuit-of-peace-the-\u00a0\u00a0 cosmic-nature-of-our-inner-and-outer-journey\/<\/a><\/p>\n

            James, W. (1902). The Varieties of Religious Expereince. A Study in \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Human Nature. NY: Longman Green & Co. (Numerous Reprints \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 are \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 available)<\/em><\/p>\n

            Popova, M. (October 3,2022). The Everlasting Wonder of Being: How a Cold \u00a0\u00a0 Cosmos Kindles the Glow of Consciousness.mhtml. Transcend Media \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Service.<\/em><\/p>\n

            Thoughts:<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

            \u201cIn the US the majority erects a formidable barrier around thought. Within its limits, a writer is free, but woe to him who dares to go beyond.\u201d\u00a0 –<\/em>– Alexis de Tocqueville (Thanks to Michael Brenner)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

            Acknowledgments:<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

            I owe much to many people. Two people, however, stand out for their relevance to the topic of \u201chope:\u201d Kathi Malley-Morrison<\/strong>, a dear friend and colleague, whom I have never met in person, but whose presence in my life, has thrived over email and IPhone conversations. In all our communications, Kathi has been a source of hope, a staunch believer in \u201cHope,\u201d a practitioner of \u201chope,\u201d never yielding to pessimism or despair in the face of overwhelming challenges. <\/em><\/p>\n

            A second person whom I must acknowledge is a longtime friend from our graduate days at Penn State University, and our shared faculty years at the University of Hawaii. Samuel Shapiro, is in my opinion, the brightest graduate student I had met at PSU. I envied his intelligence and erudition. Above all, however, he modeled for me the integrity of identity.\u00a0 As a faculty colleague, Dr. Sam Shapiro, chose authenticity in the face of criticism, compelling me to witness the importance of choice, and the power of courage, amid my exhaustive reliance on \u201chope.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

            ___________________________________________<\/em><\/p>\n

            \"\"<\/a> Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., a member of the <\/em>TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment<\/a>, is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, Emeritus Professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii\u2019s Manoa Campus in Honolulu, Hawaii, and past director of the World Health Organization Psychiatric Research Center in Honolulu. \u00a0He is known internationally as a pioneer figure in the study of culture and psychopathology who challenged the ethnocentrism and racial biases of many assumptions, theories, and practices in psychology and psychiatry. In more recent years, he has been writing and lecturing on peace and social justice. He has published 21 books and more than 300 articles, tech reports, and popular commentaries. His<\/em> TMS articles may be accessed<\/em> HERE <\/a>and he can be reached at <\/em>marsella@hawaii.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            A 2023 national Gallup Poll in the USA revealed that North Americans are very pessimistic regarding 2023. Across all demographic markers, a majority \u201cpredict negative conditions in 12 of 13 economic, political, societal and international arenas.\u201d \u2018Hope\u2019 appears to be absent or insufficient for mediating or mollifying pessimism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":111348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1170],"class_list":["post-227350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transcend-members","tag-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}