Mankind still suffers the conceptual illusion that the universe, all of physical reality, is composed of living and nonliving things.  However, after careful analysis, what is considered nonliving material cannot be separated from things that are considered alive.  Since those living things were created entirely from those things labeled nonliving, where can we possibly draw the line within physical reality between the living and the nonliving?  Since the living could not exist without the so called "nonliving" components, one can only conclude that physical reality, the universe, the totality, is a single, whole living organism.

Self-creation:  Life is manifested in the lawful perpetual continuous energetic motion of matter and is experienced in the endless creation and destruction of forms.  Under the impetus of energy transformation, life is a process, an activity, and can simply be defined as self-creation:  living entities constantly creating themselves within an environmental context from which matter and energy can be drawn and into which waste products can be released.  All elements of physical reality from particles to the largest organisms exhibit self-organization and preservation of integrity.  We observe such characteristics of living matter as healing, regeneration, protection, and reproduction.  Essentially all of life is a self-generating and self-maintaining process.  Self-formation or self-creation is the essence of life.  A living entity continually creates its own parts, including its boundaries.

A living constellation:  The whole universe, physical reality, can be seen as a single living matrix of embedded, interdependent self-creating, self-evolving parts or units.  In other words, a system of small living parts embedded within larger living assemblies, and larger assemblies integrated into even larger assemblies until we have an integrated, interdependent constellation or matrix of living units to ultimately form the single living entity we call the universe.  We come to envision here a unified holistic view of a single living reality--an organism called the cosmos.

All inclusive:  Thus, the concept of the living universe encompasses everything from the very small to the very large.  Take the simplest cell for example.  It is self-forming, self-sustaining, and self-modifying.  This is accomplished through energy transformation processes.  Energy is obtained through the cell's metabolism of various materials obtained from the cell's environment.  The intake of matter from the cell's environment at the cell's boundary also provides the materials necessary for production and repair of internal components, and for the extrusion of material wastes back into the environment.  The underlying dynamic of this process implies a life force.

Seamless continuum:  Life is seamless from the ultimate level of pure energy through its condensation into the creation of animated forms.  Chemical reactions between elementary particles give rise to, and provide the essential building blocks of life.  Life is essentially a process, an activity.  This activity is driven by energy transformation.  The life force is hidden within the domain of pure energy.  Energy is the elementary manifestor of living phenomena.  The universe was alive long before the first so-called living organism appeared on the scene.