A Study: The Evolution of Consciousness.

It is not likely that our universe is all there is to it. Prevailing trends in Physics and Cosmology lean heavily towards a model of reality that is far more deeply layered than we dare imagine, complete with multiple universes (perhaps an infinite number of them), parallel realities, wormholes, black holes, vibrating strings, higher dimensional ‘branes’ and dark matter, as well as the bizarre, imprecise machinations of quantum activity, which mysteriously guide the the workings of the world at the sub-atomic level. What we now understand about reality seems more wildly fantastic than anything we dreamt of in even the most outlandish creations of Science Fiction a mere 50 years ago. The more we learn, the more complex and beautiful reality reveals itself to be, and the more clearly does the idea of universal evolution reveal itself in our observations. Even more astounding than the evolution of living organic forms is the evolution of consciousness and universal energy. The fact that humankind came to evolve into a self-conscious being is the evolutionary marvel of marvels. It is this ability to think in the abstract that allows us a subjective comprehension of higher realities and the capacity for direct experience of those realities as well. Unfortunately, however, the majority of humankind uses its intellect as nothing more than a glorified calculator, determining the most efficient pathways to the solution of mundane worldly exercises usually amounting to little more than the procurement of the daily bread. This disparity, more than a mere curiosity to my mind, between the totality of our evolutionary potential and the real life choices we actually make, is the subject of this brief essay.

It would appear as if this very fact of Man’s evolutionary acceleration has given him exceptional tools for both progression and regression. While those given to wonder and philosophical inquiry recognize the fact that humanity is even now in a unique position to take an unprecedented leap toward collective Cosmic Consciousness, the masses who are not so disposed are intent upon making little of the salient matters of human development, and seem actually determined to remain earthbound in the most pejorative sense of the term. As a result, we find our world inexplicably mired in trivial pursuits and all manner of needless conflicts attending to greed, intolerance, base materialism, and mindless self-absorbtion. We look on in astonishment and often in hopelessness at the folly of life lived in the blind following of these cultural ‘norms.’ And while it may be said that Western culture offers a considerably wider variety of lifestyle alternatives than is found in the East, and certainly in the underdeveloped societies, it in no way follows that these alternatives are progressive. The problem is that virtually all operative choices in our culture are based on a faulty foundation, that is, the myth of uber-capitalism. Rampant capitalist culture has set us back, in an evolutionary sense, to a degree we don’t even yet fully understand. And the vast majority of our species shows no indication of any impending epiphanies that might lead to enlightenment.

What is needed is an awareness of the concept of transcendence. Transcendence, after all, is what EVERYONE is going for, but it’s a tricky devil to get a hold of. Our deepest innate human need is for transcendence. It is the recognition of the fact that every decision we make, right down to the color of our socks, is a decision made in the face of our inevitable death. Because of the fact that we have evolved to the point of finding ourselves travelling along the plane of self-conscious awareness, the fact of death is now a problem. At the very least, it is a limitation, and in the minds of most a relatively severe limitation. But like it or not, it colors everything we do, whether consciously or unconsciously, and it is the wise person who recognizes this and understands that it is precisely this sense of ultimate limitation that we seek—at the deepest core of our being—to transcend. And this sense of transcendence is so necessary to our inner completion that to remain without it is to remain incomplete and, by definition, far short of our human potential. We call this alienated, incomplete mode of being ‘inauthentic.’

Still, our cultural models reflect no awareness of any of this. More than ever, in fact, the cultural model—certainly in America—is that of base materialism masquerading as the ‘Christian Society of our Fore-Fathers.’ This mottled and self-contradictory attempt at cultural modeling has left us with the kind of insipid and untenable discourse that characterizes our nation. People don’t know if they’re supposed to become mindless religious zealots or mindless atheistic materialists, and in the long run, there’s not as much difference between the two as you might think. What is certain is that you don’t get transcendence in either camp. So, what do we do? How do we even hope to propogate a message of sanity based upon transcendence and a grasp of the evolution of consciousness to a world buried up to its neck in the quicksand of the global marketplace? All we can do is live the life. We’ve got to show ‘em what we’ve got. We’ve got one powerful thing going for us; Higher Awareness. And if we can demonstrate that awareness in our lives, it can’t help but have an impact. So we’ll do it. We’ll keep preaching the power of sexual freedom, and the transcendence that provides. We’ll look to the New Physics, which keep bringing us closer to God with every new discovery. We’ll point them to the humanities, because without The Arts and the appreciation of them on a grand scale, the world is going to keep churning out useless M.B.A.’s with their brains wired and their minds closed until it atrophies and hurtles into the Sun. We’ll continue to open ourselves, until untold numbers of us have achieved Cosmic Consciousness and understand the eternal nature of The Cosmos and our relationship to it. We’ll see ourselves accurately as the universe manifesting itself through our Being, and as people tire of the endless drudgery of inauthenticity, there will be an example before them, a people with light upon its collective countenance and a whisper on its lips; ‘Transcendence,’ these will say, ‘is everyone’s.’



Join me in upcoming posts for more in-depth discussion on the concepts of Cosmic Consciousness and the Evolution of Consciousness. J.T.