This talk is about the story of the unfolding universe (13.7 billion years) and how we, as a species, on the Earth (6.7+/- billion years old), are very, very recent arrivals in the "story". Our presence on Earth is the result of billions of years of very specific activities in the cosmos. If this activity had not taken place, in the way that it did, we, and countless other species wouldn't be here; ironically, the "story" is not about US. We play a unique and vital role as part of the natural wonder on this planet. So what is the "story" about? What is our purpose here on Earth? What does it matter that we are literally born out of "star stuff"? How can we relate to this bizarre, seemingly sci-fi story about the cosmos? These and other questions will be answered in this talk. Source information is based on cosmology work done by Brian Swimme, Tomas Berry and others. Because of the talk is so brief, it will be visually humorous, laced with irony and consist of generally mind-blowing information about who we are and how we fit into the Universe Story.

1. The Universe Story… by Jim Ayala
Feb 2009
… or, how in the heck did we get here?
Andromeda Galaxy
“It is our story, the human story,
the life story, the earth story,
all wrapped into one sacred whole. “ - Brian Swimme

2. The story begins.
Once upon a time in a place that didn’t exist…
… all hell broke loose!

3. The big bang theory…
Accelerating
expansion
Expanding Universe
1st stars/galaxies
are born
Hot gas expanding
Atomic elements appear
Big Bang
Pop!
Expanding Universe

4. The big mystery…
x!
The Universe came from nothing?
o
ad
ar
Get over it dude!
P

5. The Hubble telescope
Edwin Hubble
1919
The Milky Way was considered the
known universe!
1922
Hubble discovers galaxies beyond the
Milky way. Bloody hell!
Gathers data proving the movement of
the galaxies away from each other.
The universe expands!

6. Back to the story…
The Sun
born within a
cloud of gas
in a spiral
arm of the
Milky Way
galaxy
Cloud of gas
and debris
swirling
around new
star

7. Our solar system is born!
Completed without email or text messaging!

8. Home!!
Portland

9. Project Universe Present time
Deliverables and timelines
Universe (still expanding)
13.7 +/- billion years
Big Bang
Earth
4.7 +/- billion years
Humans
200,000 - 300,000
+/- years

10. OMG! The humans are here!
We only just arrived!
ng
11:58 !
Ba
g
Bi
12
1
11
..we’re here!
2
Look out..
10
3
9
4
8
5
76

11. Universe Intelligence
A few human micro trivia:
- 1 trillion cells in the body
- 100 billion brain cells
- Nerve cells travel 170 MPH
- consists of atoms which are
99% empty space
- has overrun the planet Earth
- drinks coffee
- eats chocolate
- sleeps a lot
Yale School of Medicine

12. Universe Intelligence
Macro trivia: big gets bigger and weirder
Solar System
Sun
Earth
Sun
Sirius Pollex
Arturo's

13. The context of our existence:
The Big Bang is the birthplace of all natural wonder.
Big Bang
Humans
There’s a thread from the Big Bang to us.

14. The story continues through us.
We emerge from the creative intelligence of the universe
As unique, conscious, self aware beings.

15. We are not the story.
We play a unique role in the story,…
...we are the universe looking at itself.

16. Well…
“And, tell me, why should I care?
“… In a few centuries,
we have changed the planet
in its physical structure and
in its life functioning on a
scale that formerly took
hundreds of millions of
years.”
- Thomas Berry

17. Endangered Species
Poverty
Fuel Crisis
quot;Any nation that plunders its own
resources for economic gain, to War
Global Warming
the detriment of the larger context
of the geological or biological
systems of the earth, is
endangering all the nations,
including itself.quot;
-Thomas Berry

18. We can face any challenge.
We have the incredible ability to reinvent ourselves!
I change colors,
therefore….

19. The future.
We will, and already are, playing a significant role in the next
chapters of the Earth story, the human story, our story.

20. The Universe Story By Jim Ayala
jimayala@q.com
I am a feather on the bright sky.
I am the blue horse that runs the plain.
I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water,
I am the shadow that follows a child…
I am the hunger of a young wolf.
I am the whole dream of things.
You see, I am alive, I am alive.
- Scott Momaday
Native American Poet