This unusual book tells the story of an astrophysicist's search for meaning from psychological, philosophical, and spiritual points of view. Mansfield weaves personal memoir with clear scientific discussion and quotes such famous thinkers and writers as Steven Weinberg, Jane Goodall, Joseph Campbell, C. G. Jung, Nelson Mandela, Robert Frost, and the Sufi poet Rumi. In plain language, Mansfield explores radio astronomy, the nature of time, relativity, cosmological expansion, and quantum mechanics with personal examples of meditation, dreams and synchronicity to show that spiritual experience offers a fundamentally different window into reality than that given by science. And he tackles these questions: What is invisible matter? Am I merely a complex tangle of atoms and molecules controlled by the laws of physics? What is the nature of soul? How is modern science a form of religion? You will be charmed by Mansfield's anecdotes to dramatize his own struggles with such questions. In a culture where the relationship between science and spirituality continues to be strained, he offers hope for a higher synthesis that embraces dissenting worldviews and encourages compassionate action in the world. As a university-based astrophysicist, Mansfield risks much in this attempt to bridge the centuries-old chasm separating the science of quantified reality from the intuition of sacred meaning. As he ranges through Christianity, Buddhism, and beyond, he risks incurring the wrath the devout often pour upon curious interlopers. As he unfolds his extended analogy between modern cosmology and Jungian psychology, he risks exciting the scorn his academic colleagues usually heap upon cranks. He even risks losing sympathetic readers by analyzing astrology as a potentially valid way to reach synchronicity. Even the bizarre forays into astrology and parapsychology, however, cannot obscure Mansfield's courage in exposing the sterility of a strictly scientific perspective that entirely divorces intellect from emotion. As Mansfield probes his own waking and dream-world experiences, he is sure to mystify some readers, but his utterly candid narrative compellingly illustrates the fundamental but oft-neglected need to search for truth through personal introspection, not merely objective science. Even readers who reject Mansfield's often-quirky answers will find themselves haunted by his questions. Bryce Christensen Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Victor Mansfield is a professor of physics and astronomy at Colgate University. Along with physics and astronomy courses, he teaches popular classes focusing on Tibetan Buddhism and Jungian psychology. He regularly lectures at universities, academic conferences, Jungian institutes, grand rounds in psychiatric wards, and to general audiences throughout the USA and in Europe. He also leads all-day workshops that involve both lecture/discussion and experiential elements. His lectures and workshops are noted for their ability to make both scientific and spiritual ideas come alive for a wide variety of audiences. Used Book in Good Condition