1. The Quest
In the late seventeenth century Isaac Newton was pondering the realm of celestial mechanics. What was the relationship that governed heavenly bodies as they moved through the heavens? Could there be a simple universal law that could explain these relationships, or was it a complex, mysterious system beyond the realms of our understanding? What prompted this quest in the heart of Newton? Was he truly hit in the head with an apple causing him to consider the effects of gravity? A recent discovery found in the archives of London’s royal society revealed the answer in a manuscript which would become the biography of Sir Isaac Newton’s life.
After dinner, the weather being warm, we went into the garden and drank tea, under the shade of some apple trees...he told me, he was just in the same situation, as when formerly, the notion of gravitation came into his mind. It was occasion'd by the fall of an apple, as he sat in contemplative mood. Why should that apple always descend perpendicularly to the ground, thought he to himself...[1]
This encounter with the fallen apple set in motion a series of events that led to the production of the Principia in which Newton lays down the foundations for classical mechanics and the three universal laws of motion. These laws describe the relationship between any object, the forces acting upon them, and the resulting motion. Newton used the Latin word gravitas (weight) for the effect that would become known as gravity and defined the law of universal gravitation.[2]
Newton’s Principia would dominate the scientistic view of the physical universe for the next 300 years. He was able to use these principles to account for the trajectories of comets, movement of tides and the pre-cession of the equinoxes that removed the last vestiges of thought that the earth was the centre of the solar system.[3] The study of the relation-ship between physical celestial objects redefined our understanding of the universe and expanded human ability to work within and harness the power of our world according to the laws of gravity.
Newton’s quest in respect to celestial bodies was triggered by an event from earthly bodies. The observation of an apple falling from a tree brought into question the relationship between the apple and the earth and what drew them together.
Standing on the edge of the 21st century my mind has been turned to a new quest and that being the relationship between spiritual bodies. If a correct understanding of the relationship of physical bodies could yield such wonderful advances in scientific human endeavour, what would be the impact of a correct understanding of the relationship of celestial and earthly spiritual bodies? By earthly spiritual bodies I am referring to the relationships between the minds of men, women, and children, relationships between man and the divine realm and even relationships within the divine realm. We might mention here that Newton’s endeavours were prompted within the earthly realm but found their answer within the celestial sphere.
Let us begin our quest for the universal law that governs spiritual bodies.
[1] http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2010/01/newtons-apple-the-real-story.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton#Mechanics_and_gravitation
[3] Ibid
