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“Everything known to be real, from subatomic particles to billions of galaxies, from the big bang to the possible end of the universe, is keyed to observation and as such to human beings.”

So says Deepak Chopra in his book, You Are the Universe. 

I bought this book because I am fascinated by the intersection of spirituality and physics. I’ve also been a fan of Chopra’s work for many years. He has taught me many a mantra, opened my eyes to the power of the mind, and there was even that time he tweeted about my kids’ mindfulness book. (Thanks!)

But I gotta say, the premise of his book…well, sucks.

It discusses the idea that the universe—everything “out there” that we experience—is in direct relationship with us, the experiencer. Not only that, but the “out there” stuff is effected by a conscious observer.

Scientifically this has been proven. For example, we’ve determined that quantum phenomena behave differently when there is an observer versus when there is not. (Think about the double slit experiment.)

And since everything in the known universe is made up of these unimaginably teeny, tiny quantum particles, it does make sense that everything “out there” is greatly impacted by a conscious observer.

So, that’s all gravy. But where Chopra lost me is with his staunch emphasis on a human observer. 

Here’s another quote from the book:

“All the qualities of nature, from the luxurious scent of a rose to the sting of a wasp and the taste of honey is produced by human beings.”

And another:

“The most distant star… has no reality without you, because everything that makes a star real… requires a human observer with a human nervous system.”

Human. Human. Human. The word itself is used 270 times in this book. And with each repetition of it, I just got more frustrated.

Here’s my issue: the focus on “humans” as this all-powerful force who give the universe not just meaning, but existence itself, is missing all other living beings. It’s missing the fact that animals are conscious too. It’s missing the fact that trees communicate with each other.

It’s missing everything else, accept a narrow view of humans as greater than all else.

In other words: if a tree falls in the woods and a human being is not around to hear it, but a bear is, according to this book, it would not make a sound, because this bear lacks a “human nervous system.” And I’m saying, with increasing fury, of course it makes a sound. Because other animals are conscious too.

This view that humans are the only conscious beings and that the universe is centered around us, strikes me as particularly old school Christianity. And not only does it feel gross and arrogant to the extreme, but also really dangerous.

When we forget that we are animals, just like the rest of ’em, we forget to treat other creatures with respect. We forget that they, too, have feelings. That they have a right to this planet, in some ways, more so than we do.

And they are certainly conscious observers.

When we think of humans as more important than other creatures, we ruin their homes and destroy this planet. To me, it is this “human-centered” view of the universe that has gotten us so far into this mess in the first place.

So, Deepak, thanks for all the lessons and those good old 21-day meditation challenges, but I gotta say, your view of the human-centered universe…

Well, it sucks.

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