Incorporating Sources

During an interview conducted with Dr. Mallory Havens, a professional in the field of science, she was asked "How would you define success?" Her response was that one's vocation in relation to success means to be "happy with who you are and what you do." Also, as you get older, "you realize more and more how money and accolades are nice but not everything." Success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. Success does not necessarily need to be related to education or a career path. Success can be internal. Achieving satisfaction through your actions in order to achieve happiness can allow one to reach success.

Interview with Dr. Teresa Bixby

Q: In the movie Zeitgeist, the first part focuses on how the ideas of religion came about through an astrological belief. What are your views on astrology? Do you believe stars hold any relation to the telling of a story or prediction of the future?
A: I do not believe that the stars hold any relation to the telling of a personal story or the prediction of a personal future, at least not in the typical sense that astrology professes. As a physical scientist, I do believe that the stars and their locations can tell us about our past, the nature and history of the universe, and our place in it. Insofar as we can predict or measure the motions of stars we can also project where the universe is headed.

Q: Being a science professional, do you believe it is scientifically possible for a higher power to exist? If so, describe your interpretation of a higher power.
A: In my search for faith I have found that my interpretation of a higher power is much like that of any religion that seeks to explain the unknown phenomena in our universe. Although scientifically we understand more about our physical universe than ever before, there are still a lot of unanswered or unanswerable questions and this leaves room for the philosophical construct of a higher power. The same way that we can not conceptualize infinity, we can not conceptualize an infinite “God” and to me these two are very similar. Anything that we cannot understand is classified as the realm of “God”, to me, infinity or the unknowable.

Q: “You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and experiencing itself.” What is your interpretation of this quote? Do you agree or disagree and why?

A: I disagree in that this statement seems to imply that the universe has a consciousness. I would prefer to say that the universe IS, and each individual is a unique lens through which people experience the universe. No two people will experience the universe in the same way and it is our collective experiences that lend us insight into the nature of the universe. More importantly, our collective experiences should lend us insight into ourselves and our place in the universe.

Q: Do you hold a belief in souls? What is your opinion regarding the idea of the eternal existence of a soul? Meaning, the idea that the soul does not die but more so the physical body does and the soul carries on.

A: I believe the “soul” has been defined as the uniqueness of an individual. As a physical scientist I know that this uniqueness can be attributed to the unique balance of chemical and electrical signals in our (unique) bodies. I also know that the energy of the universe is a constant and so when we die, that energy is converted into other forms. In that sense, the energy is not created at our birth or destroyed at our death, but it is continuous. I’m not sure that the unique pattern of energy (and therefore the “soul”) is preserved in this process, but a quantum physicist may tell you that the energy patterns of the universe were set from the moment the universe began, so our “souls” were created then. Maybe, I would think about it like this: at the big bang, the distribution and intensity of energy in the universe was set. As the universe expands and lives, our “souls” are moments of constructive interference in this energy pattern. Maybe.

Q: Do you hold a belief in reincarnation? Why or why not?

A: Based on my previous statement, it is not unreasonable to extend the constructive-interference metaphor to frequency “beats”. The same, or nearly the same, pattern can be reconstructed as a function of time. So why not?

Q: What are your views on society today regarding our impact on this planet? For example, global warming and industrialization. Do you think humans are affected by these issues just as much as the earth itself is?

A: YES! To quote John Donne: “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” We are all just a portion of this universe, a part of the earth. The earth sustains us and if the earth is affected so are we. As the earth warms this does not just affect the polar bears! We rely on a stable climate to provide us food and to ensure our health. The conception that we are somehow apart from this world, that we are above the trivialities of the earth, is doing more harm to us than the earth. The earth will go on, it will continue to exist no matter what we do. We only endanger ourselves with our pride.

Q: How would you define success?

A: I have never been able to answer this question sufficiently. I believe we are defined by our relationships in this world, how we interact with others. Being successful to me means impacting others lives for the better, contributing to the community in a positive way. Although I believe our actions are fairly inconsequential in the universe, we care what happens to other people because we are people. We improve our own experience of this universe if we improve the experience of others.

Q: Do you believe in destiny?

A: No. I believe we shape our lives through our interactions with others in the world and much of that can be conscious or chosen. This might seem inconsistent with my theory of “everything is determined from the big bang”, but I also believe that we are pretty insignificant in the scheme of the universe so any choices we make, no matter how dramatically we may impact other people or our earth, the outcome for the universe is unchanged. You might say, so then what’s the point? I see that’s the last question here so I’ll save it for Q 10.

Q: What are your views on meditation? What do you think one can achieve through meditating? What purpose does it hold?

A: I think meditation is great. I think meditation is a way to block out all the noise in the world, all the superficial things, and really help us focus on our persons (I would say ourselves, but it’s not a selfish thing, it’s a perspective thing). It helps us to consider the universe and our place in it. All of the daily grind (the traffic, the homework, the drama, the politics, whatever) is inconsequential in the universe. If you can block that stuff out and get some perspective on your place in the universe you realize that most of your stress is superficial. This helps you to focus on what IS important to you and your success, and to more effectively build relationships with people. This improves your quality of life and the quality of life for those around you.

Q: What do you believe is the overall purpose of life of humans in general?

A: This is a gigantic question. And I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but I’m not sure that there is a purpose. Perhaps we are meant to simply witness the universe. It is a pretty phenomenal place.