The Tao of the Cosmos

This book is an extraordinary tour de force bringing together modern cosmology, ancient I Ching and Daoist philosophy with Penrose and Hameroff’s quantum brain dynamics of consciousness. The author is a space and black hole scientist – a cosmologist in the true sense of the word - with a deep understanding of the holographic cosmic principle and its dynamics in the cyclic process of birth, growth, decay and death. It is a technical and very thorough treatment. Ma draws on what Brian calls the powers of the universe (pp. 91 ff.) which he sees in complementary relationships: seamlessness, centration, allurement, emergence, synergy, transmutation, transformation, cataclysm, homeostasis, interrelatedness, radiance and collapse. His ultimate statement is a holographic theory of everything incorporating the symbols of yin and yang and the movement of qi with the torus into an integrated symbol – I-torus (p. 165). Then (p. 172) a complex overview diagram entitled The Tao of Consciousness drawing on many strands of thought and culminating in a realisation of the Eternal Self as Nonself. This is also explained quantitatively and mathematically for those with the requisite technical understanding. It is a challenging read that repays close study and shows how we are ’inextricably and holistically blended into the cosmic fabric of the universe.’