Internationally known expert to talk about evolutionary dynamics

Special to the Tribune-Star

ST. MARY-OF-THE-WOODS May 01, 2008 11:26 pm

— Brian Swimme, internationally known author, educator and lecturer on the evolutionary dynamics of the universe, will be the featured speaker for a program hosted by the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods.
Two presentations will be offered by Swimme. One is called “New Story/New Cosmology: Where we as humans are in the story of the cosmos, and how we got here, derived from science.” The second is “Cosmology, Ecology and Spirituality: The relationship of human beings and Earth, and the need to rebalance human activity with Earth activity.” The story of “new heavens and a new earth” entails a new human consciousness and a new way of being in the cosmos.
Swimme is a mathematical cosmologist on the graduate faculty of the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He brings a unique perspective to the understanding of the 13.7-billion-year trajectory of cosmic genesis, viewing humanity as having evolved out of, and being an integral part of, the universe as a whole.
Swimme’s academic research focuses on the evolutionary dynamics of the universe, the relationship between scientific cosmology and more traditional religious visions, the cultural implications of the new evolutionary epic, and the role of humanity in the unfolding story of Earth and cosmos. Toward this goal, in 1989 he founded the Center for the Story of the Universe, a production and distribution affiliate of the California Institute of Integral Studies.
Swimme is the author of “The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos” (Orbis, 1996), “Manifesto for a Global Civilization” (with Matthew Fox) (Bear and Company, 1983), “The Universe is a Green Dragon” (Bear and Company, 1984), and “The Universe Story” (Harper, 1992), which is the culmination of a 10-year collaboration with renowned cultural historian Thomas Berry.
Swimme was featured in the three-part television series “Soul of the Universe” (The BBC, 1991). He is producer of a 12-part video series, “Canticle to the Cosmos” (Tides Center, 1990), in which he tells the scientific story of the evolution of the universe. Swimme also has created and produced “The Earth’s Imagination” (Center for the Story of the Universe, 1998), a video series about the evolutionary development of the human psyche.
Swimme received his doctorate (1978) from the University of Oregon specializing in gravitational dynamics, mathematical cosmology and singularity theory. He was a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., from 1978 to 1981. Earlier, he was a member of the faculty at the Institute for Culture and Creation Spirituality at Holy Names College in Oakland, Calif. He lectures worldwide and has presented at conferences sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, The World Bank, UNESCO, The United Nations Millennium Peace Summit and the American Natural History Museum. He resides in northern California.

If you go
• The event is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 13 at Providence Center. Registration is limited. The fee is $75, including lunch. The program is sponsored by Women of Providence in Collaboration.
• Registration may be made by contacting Sister Ann Margaret O’Hara, executive director of the Women of Providence in Collaboration, 1 Sisters of Providence, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876. For more information, contact her at 812-535-2502 or aohara@spsmw.org. Registration deadline is May 15.