Music for Exploring the Universe

Sometimes in the urban summer evenings, when the neighborhood kids have been herded indoors and the fuzz popping irritation seems like only the crest of a distant nightmare, I go out into my garden to listen to the Universe.

There are almost as many names for this presence as there are stars in the celestial sphere. Perhaps the most popular name for this is simply "God", but for me that's too limiting. "Universe" pretty much encompasses all the possibilities.

I listen, and I hear it speaking. I don't mean a voices in my head kind of speaking. The feeling is more like a gentle but all-pervasive reminder. My life is not only planted in the mundane. I am living as a being infused and gifted with a relationship to the Universe. Whatever else might happen in my life, that relationship is actually what's most important to me.

But it's not all sweet and kind, like being lifted away on the white feathers of an angel's wings. Oh no, that's not how it works for me. Very frequently I can hear the Universe laughing at me, and I probably deserve it. This happens when I have blithely ignored sign after sign of trouble ahead, only to learn a lesson the hard and sometimes painful way. You see, the Universe warns me when I'm about to do something especially stupid. The problem is getting my primate brain to recognize the warnings for what they are.

I get especially disquieted when I see that the Universe has saved me from what may have been a disaster. The signs have been abundantly clear, but in my primate ignorance I chose to ignore them. For instance, I'm even now writing this from the security of a metaphorical palm that swooped down and carried me out of what could possibly been a mistake at best and a life-bending horror at the worst. This time, at last, I see the signs, and I'm interpreting them in a way I feel is metaphysically correct.

At least in my experience, the Universe doesn't discriminate. Whatever your belief system or non-belief system, the Universe is the Universe, and it will warn you and guide you if you keep open to the signs. And when the Universe suggests something might not be the best of ideas, think about it.

Maybe it's not what you want, but it might be what you need.