Cosmology: Your Personal WorldviewPage 1

Cosmology: Your Personal Worldview
Mary Lee Baker & Mary Tyrtle Rooker, Rev. 3/2917

Definitions—What Is Cosmology?

  1. The way we interpret what is going on around us through the lens of how we see the origins of life. (Christina Pratt)
  2. One's beliefs about the origin and general structure of the universe, with its parts, elements, and laws, and especially with such of its characteristics as space, time, causality, and freedom. (Dictionary.com)
  3. Our perceptions of ourselves, the universe, and everything in it; how it all came to be; and the nature of our relationships. (Mary Rooker and Mary Lee Baker)

Your Unchosen (Birth) Cosmology

We bring our own cosmology given to us by parents, schools, culture from birth. We often aren’t aware of what our cosmology has taught us and we haven’t chosen it or even questioned it much. Our unexamined cosmology constructed the person we are but may not help us live our full potential. Use the worksheet below to answer the questions in order to clarify yourcurrent cosmology.

Cosmology Worksheet

Issue / Your Current Cosmology
  1. Where do people and all beingscome from? Did they evolve or originate from some other source?

  1. What beings are in this realm?

  1. Do you believe in "God/Spirit/Source"? If so, describe it and its power.

  1. Do "Good" and "Evil" or "Heaven" & "Hell" Exist? What is the source(s) of your response?

  1. What is your relationship to "God-Spirit-Source"?

  1. Is self-worth inherent or acquired? Explain your response.

  1. What is your relationship to other beings (people, plants, animals, elements, etc.)?

  1. How are humans and all these beings related?

  1. What's at the center of reality?

  1. How do you categorize sexuality and gender for all beings? What system of thinking applies?

  1. Why are humans here?

  1. Why are plants, animals, the rest of Nature here?

  1. How do you view aging and death?

  1. How do we make things happen or manifest our reality?

  1. Is the "spiritual" more important than the mundane, material world? Explain why or why not.

  1. What are the source(s) of power that should drive one's life choices?

  1. Are our lives pre-determined or random? Something else? Explain.

Cosmology Impact Worksheet

After completing the above Cosmology chart, prepare for a class activity by writing in your journal about how your cosmology/worldview affects the following life activities:

A. Relationships

1. Spouse/partner

  • management of inevitable conflicts;
  • education;
  • work/profession/s;
  • housework;
  • childcare;
  • roles of father/s and mother/s;
  • roles you play;
  • kinds of foods that are natural to eat/serve to your family;
  • management of family finances;

2. Parents

3. Siblings/Family

4. Friends

5. In-laws

6. “Enemies”/people you don't like

B. Politics

  • how do you manifest yourself as a citizen;
  • how has the politics of this country affected your day-to-day life;

C. Religion/Spiritual Beliefs

  • practices, rituals, traditions;
  • how does your religious upbringing manifest in your life;

D. Life in Society

  • how are you embedded in the prevailing culture;
  • how have you consciously pulled yourself out of the mainstream culture and why;
  • how have you experienced the -isms of our society (sexism, racism, feminism, classism, materialism).