Keep in mind that there were no ears to hear the bang. A singularity orgasm that started it all. Our universe is alive!

[science.howstuffworks.com]

This question fascinates me as well, and not being very well learned in astronomy and astrophysics, all I can do is blend what I know into a creative story, like creation myth, that explains what we know about the cosmos and our place in it.

In 1992, I read a book called "Science as Salvation" by Mary Midgely. One quote I copied into my notebook was this:

"Since the Big Bang became widely accepted, the urge to find some sort of purposive story for the cosmos has become almost irresistible."

It was actually before I read that book that I had already felt that urge to write something to help myself make sense of things, just using the basic knowledge that I had and a bit of metaphorical imagery. Mostly I was writing a story to help my kids understand a different creation idea than what is presented in the bible. That was about 35 years ago, and I don't know if I'll ever get back to finishing the book or seriously think again about getting it published. I'd need to run my ideas by someone who knows more than me about the cosmos!

I have my own thoughts about expansion, collapse, opposites striving for balance, and other thoughts, though they are perhaps more symbolic and poetic rather than scientific.

Lots of things puzzle me ... "In the beginning" I like to ask, the beginning of what? Time? How can time have a beginning. Isn't it something that has always been and always will be? Or did time just begin one day at 12:01am a gazbillion years ago?

You're asking a bigger question than can likely be answered in a short post, but I'd love to hear other's thoughts on the subject, who might be able to be more concise than me!

imagine all of the black holes in the universe, all of the stars, nebulae, and space gas compressed into the smallest singularity possible, that singularity becomes unstable and releases all its energy and subatomic particles and superlight speed, over eons, the particles start to form atoms, and later molecules. The heat is still enough to promote nuclear fusion creating Helium from the simple Hydrogen. The big solid objects that are traveling at those huge speeds are the results of billions of years of fusion and fission, gravity, Vader Whal forces still maintaining their relative speeds from the initial explosion. There were no big objects ejected from the big bang.

silent and maybe dark. there were, according to my laymans understanding, no particles yet to glow and certainly nothing around to hear anything. it wasnt a "bang" at all. certainly a sneaky start.

over my head too, but it must have been real loud !!!!