Abstract

The main quality of the book is that it makes highly scientific research outcomes that arise mainly from physics understandable to an ordinary individual. Even more, the author creates practical implementation of the theoretical knowledge in the concept of planetary education. From my point of view as a psychologist this concept brings a revolutionary change into understanding a perception and especially in cognition of the reality. You can find the book at Amazon.

The frames of orthodox academic psychology are far too narrow for explaining the phenomena happening in the contemporary world. Our mind gives us just one segment of the insight of the functioning of the world. Considering scientific observation we've outgrown the fences of purely empirical studies and we have to put more effort in using our intuitive skills in understanding the world. But our world is concrete so it's quite an art to explain phenomena that are so alienated from the ordinary understanding of live in terms of material level.

The book Einstein's cosmic religiousness from the author Srecko Sorli introduces revolutionary perspective of integrating science and religiousness. It contains 7 chapters, beginning with more physical explanation of the perception of the reality and gradually progresses towards more psychological issues. We could also say that the author unfolds the main idée from the theory into the practice. For me as a psychologist and a musician the most interesting ideas are introduced in a chapter 7 in which the author explains the concept of an integration of scientific and religious (we could also say by my opinion artistic) experience. Science is based on a rational human mind and therefore confronts itself with many limits.

The scientific way of explaining the reality is far from effective for understanding the phenomena happening nowadays in our World. The time has come that our civilization finds a different more conscious level of understanding and interacting with the reality. Therefore the integration of scientific and religious (artistic) experience is unavoidable. We could also say that science (analytical approach) and religiousness or art (intuitive approach) must work hand in hand. The science has to move towards accepting the conscious experience as its research tool. Considering the commonly recognized scientific paradigm we experience the world in a perspective of inner time, past-present-future. But the past and the future belong to time and now is the only physical world that exists. So this new concept of understanding the reality forces us to move towards “the moment” as a main subject of our observation.

Considering psychological research field we could draw some parallels with the main idée presented in this book and the concept of “the flow” that was introduced by the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi . We could also see some similarities between the presented concept and peak experience introduced by Abraham Maslow.  “Flow” is the way people describe their state of mind when consciousness is harmoniously ordered. Flow is the source of human happiness, it's the experience of a harmony between human outer and inner world. Some of the characteristics of flow merge with the idea of time perception presented in the book; the main are that there is an intense concentration in moment and that perception of time is relative.  It's also interesting that Csikszentmihalyi points out the connection between science and art; He mentions Mnemosyne from the Greek mythology as a mother of all the arts and sciences. So the source is one and if humankind wants to reach the “knowing” it cannot be without acknowledging both, science and art. The flow gives us a quality of life and a true peaceful enjoyment.

As a result of a human alienation from its harmonious inner self our society faces with many psychological illnesses that are consequences of putting a focus on the past and the present, so with a constant competing with time in a concrete space. The only long-term solution for this situation is the awakening of consciousness, which is a basis of a solid mental health, ethics and morality. Humankind has to take a step from thinking and believing to knowing; from indirect towards direct experience of our reality. The idée of the connection of mind to consciousness assures the responsibility of one's actions. It gives us the opportunity to act as humankind on the autonomous stage of morality (Piaget) or post conventional level by Kohlberg. In essence this last level of morality entails reasoning rooted in the ethical fairness principles.

The main quality of the book Einstein's cosmic religiousness is that it makes highly scientific research outcomes that arise mainly from physics understandable to an ordinary individual. Even more, the author creates practical implementation of the theoretical knowledge in the concept of planetary education. From my point of view as a psychologist this concept brings a revolutionary change into understanding a perception and especially in cognition of the reality.