Metamorphosis

What a week!

Three extra days were tacked onto my weekend due to snow, five days of consciousness exploration!

Deliberately.

The thought that stuck in my mind the most concerns the butterfly as a metaphor for spontaneous evolution.

First thought: Evolution – what happens? Well, there's Darwinism, which helps explain some of the smaller changes that occur throughout the process of evolution. However, we know now that about every 26,000 years there is a jump, so to speak, in our evolutionary state. Something seems to occur in nature that helps jump start our next evolutionary breakthrough in every way (biologically, physiologically, psychologically and socially).

Since we have no record of human history that goes back 26,000 years, we do not fully know how that “jump start” takes place, or if even happens in the same way every time. But what happens is phenomenal.

Basically, to put it simply, what occurs during evolution, and even more so during one of these “jump start” occasions, is that – in order to evolve, any organism that experiences evolution is required to let go of dominant and fundamental beliefs from the past, including those which seem to define the very structure of what it means to be that organism.

The organism must let go of the past. It must trust in all that nature has offered and provided, trust that it those lessons will always be there to draw on and may even help another organism to evolve as they once did the organism in question. But, the organism must let go, or it is unable to evolve.

Therefore, in order for humankind to evolve, we must let go of fundamental belief patterns and dominant paradigms that has helped to shape our very existence.

Letting go is no easy task, for, Mother Nature has conditioned each and every organism very well and now we know interdependence. In order for a body to be alive, all the cells within it must work together to beat the heart, to pump the blood, to get blood to the brain, for the brain to function, to sneeze or walk or breath or talk...in order for all of this to happen, immense interdependence must be known amongst all of the cells in the body. For those cells who go against the flow, who refuse to cooperate, become cancerous.

Mother Nature has conditioned us to understand science and gravity and death. We know these things to be true, even though we see a bird fly and a tree's leave spring up anew each year. So, is Mother Nature ready for us to move on to that next lesson?

So how do we let go of fundamental belief patterns that have saved our lives in the past and many times have helped us to thrive as a species? Not easy. But, it may ease the mind to know that as we evolve, the beliefs and structures that are in place begin to bring less and less prosperity. In fact, they begin to inhibit evolution itself.

Enter the butterfly.

After a caterpillar is born, it consumes and consumes and consumes...and as it does this it climbs a tree. At a certain point, the caterpillar is simply unable to consume anymore, it has literally eaten itself stiff. The caterpillar then just stops where it is, sheds its skin and reveals its chrysalis and builds a cocoon around itself. While the in this state, the caterpillar is undergoing an incredible metamorphosis at which time the old and the new exist simultaneously. Although there is an extreme amount of transformation that takes place during this time, it barely looks like anything is happening, as the cocoon stays quietly and still, attached to the tree branch. Then, suddenly and within moments, a seemingly completely new creature emerges from the chrysalis and cocoon as the butterfly flies away to start its new life.

Let's break it down.

During the first part of the caterpillar's life, when it is consuming all that it can consume, Mother Nature encourages this act and graciously gives all that she is able for the caterpillar to use. However, at a certain point, the caterpillar is unable to consume even one more bite. The life which the caterpillar once lived no longer works for it, in fact, if he continues down the path of the past, he will indeed die. Instead it stops and allows for change to occur. It accepts the change that needs to occur in order for it to continue to live its life.

The caterpillar sheds its skin – signifying the first stage of letting go. Then he just sits and lets change occur. He does not try hard, he does not strain, he does not move, he just sits and lets it happen. It almost seems as though he is not doing anything about his predicament, but on the contrary, letting go and letting be is exactly what he needs to do in this stage of the transition.

During the metamorphosis, old and new exist simultaneously, there is not a lot of action, but slowly the caterpillar is growing wings (a good metaphor for raising awareness of consciousness); for soon, it will be time to emerge anew. Who knows what really goes on during this time, it is clouded and mysterious since it is hidden from the human eye, but essentially, the caterpillar-butterfly is preparing itself for a new world.

As the butterfly spreads its wings and takes flight for the first time it completes its final stage of letting go as it leaves its cocoon behind. That world is over, and another has begun.

The old way of life would not have worked for the new butterfly. If the butterfly would have strained to hold onto the old ways of life, it would have died. For, Mother Nature does not strain to evolve, it is natural and so effortless. Life force is strong, or else it would not be.

Here's the kicker – I mentioned that organisms have to let go of fundamental belief patterns and structures in order to evolve; in the caterpillar's case, he had to completely let go of the very concept of gravity in order to evolve into a butterfly and thrive.

We live in a fractal and holographic universe; therefore, it is completely accurate to use the life of a caterpillar/butterfly as a model for all life in the universe (or at least on this Earth). For, this is part of our lesson, to understand all life, all things, as One and as such, all life is a reflection of itself, life.

Let's let go. Let go of judgment, let go of fear, let go of gravity, let go of eating, let go of our heart beats, let go of breathing, let go of what we have come to know as life, let go of what we have come to know as death. For those things do not define us, we do. And those things do not provide for us, the Universe does.

Let's accept. Accept change, accept forgiveness, accept love, accept Truth.

Let's rejoice. Rejoice life, rejoice death, rejoice together.

Let's evolve, as One.

Let us love our Mother, and let Her love us.

Our Evolution

Consciousness, what a trip!

Charles Darwin defined evolution to the tune of: the process by which life perpetuates itself through natural selection. Darwin's main examples of natural selection included physical adaptations which would result in a specific behavior in order to perpetuate the species. I would argue that natural selection would actually favor mental process that reduce stress during one's lifetime, thus decreasing illness, which is ideal for a healthy life, or species for that matter. But, for now, I am not going to get into natural selection too much; as you can see, I have my own perspective for what it entails. The question I want to ask right now is: as far as humanity goes, what does evolution mean when applied to us? Where do we go from here?

Question of the ages really...

Darwin's main study was animals, and although we humans are animals, our brains are also highly evolved in comparison to our animal brethren. Although biological drive still has an effect on the way we interact socially, we are no longer bound by the chains of scarcity.

In terms of population, our species is not currently at threat of extinction, so an individual can be more selective when choosing a mate.  Many couples choose not to have children, which is directly against biological drive.  Additionally, as far as gene expression, it has been “scientifically proven” (gotta love the validation that term suggests) that the more genetically mixed an individual is, the less likely they are to be receptive to illnesses. Now-a-days, racially mixed relationships resulting in racially (and thus genetically) mixed children are extremely common and will no doubt some day be the norm; especially as our global community becomes more united.

So, we know how to get the resources we need from our environment and we are becoming more integrated and thus, theoretically, healthier and more durable with respect to our biological makeup. Therefore, we seem to have somewhat mastered the more primitive concerns related to Evolutionary Theory and how it defines natural selection.

As a species, we do not really have to worry about surviving. We have the resources, know how and ability to obtain our basic needs. For a while now, “they” have been convincing us that we are still living in scarcity, that we don't have enough to go around, and that only if you “work hard” might you possibly get the life you deserve. But, with the exposure that the top 2% of the global elite (who barely “work hard”) hold 99% of the global wealth, we are finally beginning to realize that indeed we are abundant with resources but that those resources are horded by a few; as a result, revolutions and protests breaking out all over the world. So, back to my original question, what's next for us? What does evolution mean for human kind? We couldn't possibly be done evolving. The possibilities are endless!

The way I see it, although biological needs do assert themselves in our daily lives, it is and has always been consciousness that is in a constant state of evolution. Of course, I am aware of the fact that Darwin did not define evolution in this manner and so technically I using this term somewhat incorrectly; I guess I am - like so many other - proposing a slightly new definition for that term; a meaning that is more congruent with our current social context and culture. (That is, after all, how the cycles of our lives perpetuate themselves – as I put forth in the previous entry.) Back to my point, as life evolves, it shows signs of higher intelligence.

Evolutionary Theory suggests that we evolved from a primate similar to the chimpanzee; which would suggest that we are more highly evolved than a chimpanzee. But what does that really mean? Did chimpanzees just stop evolving? Why are there still monkeys then? Granted, although I do not hold a degree in Evolutionary Theory, I still feel that there are a few gaps in its story.

What does it mean to be human? Many would say that it is our ability to rationalize and reason, our ingenuitive mind and our ability to create. I would then argue that those abilities are actually a result of a heightened conciseness. For, one who acts more consciously than another has an increased ability to rationalize and reason, use their inventive mind and create or manifest.

To take this a step further, let's say that what continues to evolve is not only our consciousness, but also our awareness, and thus experience, of consciousness. (Perhaps it is only our awareness of consciousness that evolves and consciousness itself is a paradoxical constant that exists as both a whole and a part of itself...hmmm.) In other words, chimpanzees are fairly aware of their surroundings and have a good understanding and knowledge of their environment. They form territorial boundaries and they know how to communicate with each other and use tools. But how far does that awareness extend?

It is arguable that the human beings are more aware of the complexity of their surroundings and thus have a more extensive knowledge of their environment than do chimps. After all, not only do we have territorial boundaries, know how to communicate with each other and use tools, we can create out of our environment. We can look at the environment and create tools to help us with our needs, or we can create just for the sake of creating – we are artists. Therefore, one could conclude that we have a more complex understanding for the way our environment works, and thus, more awareness on a consciousness level than do our fellow animal brethren. Further, we are not only aware of ourselves, we have become consciously aware – aware of our connection to consciousness.

So, again, where do we go from here? Well, as I stated in my previous entry, I believe that we are at a turning point in our evolution. It has been found that the 9 steps of the Mayan pyramids are based off of what has been termed The Timeline of the Evolution of Consciousness (http://www.in5d.com/levels-of-consciousness.html, http://www.timeline2012.net/timeline-2012/video-archives/conscious-evolution). In this timeline, there are 9 stages each divided by seven “days” and six “nights.” But these days and nights do not correspond with our earth day and earth night, but rather with a certain number of years. At each stage, the days and nights get shorter, as consciousness evolves, it does so more and more rapidly, until last year, when – according to the Mayan timeline – our consciousness was in its last stage of evolution, cycling every 18 days or so (each “day” and “night” was about 18 earth days long); ending on October 28, 2011.

From that point on it is prophesied that our consciousness will come together as One. That we will recognize that each individual human being has an effect on each other and moreover, each cell of life has an effect on each other. We are all One; each of us a cell in a much larger body. We share each others thoughts, we share each others problems, we share each others fear and pain, we share each others love and joy. It is Ours, and we can own it as One.

I certainly witness immense cohesion amongst the masses on a global scale. From Tunisia, to Greece, to Egypt, to Spain, to the States, there has been global scale exposure of mass, wide-scale corruption within government and big business. Natural disasters seem to be fore frequent and have further exposed corruption, but have also resulted in cooperation that traverses cultures. That is the power of the people; this is the power we hold as One. It is Our life, not “theirs.”

I stumbled upon a realization yesterday while reading about numbers in David Wilcock's new book, Sourse Field Investigations. It turns out, what fascinated Pythagoras about the concept of numbers, was the incredible unity of them. It was the complexity of how a whole could be divided and multiplied within and of itself that drove his passion.

Then it dawned upon me - we live in a society that has been living in scarcity for so long, that we have literally been biologicly conditioned to think in terms of scarcity. The idea of abundance within our social context is so new that we are still creating meaning for it as it applies to our current culture. But it is time for us to let the scarce mentality go, and letting go is difficult, and can be scary. But if we hold onto it, we will be destroyed; only to be recreated again into something new.  So really, there is no sadness or harsh judgement, simply a choice that we have to  make as One.

Pythagoras realized that even when you add a bunch of numbers together, that number becomes a whole (One) and that new whole can be divided infinitely, and multiplied infinitely, and it will still end up as One.

It is time for us to intertwine our knowledge, our thoughts, our beliefs, our emotions, etc., to see them as all one – for they all belong to One. After all, if an individual human being can experience mixed emotions or has several diverse thoughts, why can't a One Humanity or Global being (for lack of a better term). Furthermore, if you think about it from that perspective, those who work to separate and hold power over others will only prevail as long as the One believes that it is divided and that each division is separate from it's larger self. But as long as the One is aware of itself, it shall always prevail and those who wish to divide-and-conquer shall always fail. For, they fail to recognize the truth, that there is only One, no matter how many additions, subtractions, divisions or multiplications are made; the result is still One. You know the chant: “The people united will never be divided!!”

Aahhh, it is so easy to get passionate about this issue...

So, yet again, now what? Who knows for sure? That is for Us to decide I guess...but what I do know is that nature does favor evolution, it wants life to evolve, I mean, look at this beautiful planet. I believe that in continuing down our evolutionary path it will be only natural for us to come together as One, recognize our power, stand up together...and thrive.

Well, that was my stream of consciousness for the day. Consciousness...what a trip...

Prologue

As I was watching three of the “key-player” boys play, I began to wonder about the details surrounding this group’s fascination with the concept of “baby.”  They bring it up in all different ways, and they play a variety of games surrounding the concept.

Today, as I arrived, they were playing a game that involved lying under a table yelling the word “baby” repeatedly at a very high volume at a person lying on the top of the table.  I inquired about the game and they explained that when someone goes to sleep, they start to yell “baby” as an “alarm clock” to wake the person up. They continued to play their game.

I began to think about how this group had formed their own meaning for the concept of “baby.”  There was an entire social context formed around it.  Together with other concepts for which they have created meaning for, they have created their own culture, in a sense.

By the time I had graduated college, the majority of my professional experience had been within the field of youth education; and I had mostly worked with ages 5 through 18. My endeavor in this field was to empower youth and inspire them to be creative, confident, self-sufficient yet interdependent and compassionate individuals. During my time at Pomona, I decided to focus most of my academic time learning about the social and environmental injustice that takes place on a daily basis around the world.  Because I am one of those hippy-dippy souls who desires that humankind live in prosperity, peace and love, I was always thinking about what I could do, career-wise, to help humanity’s larger body come into a healthy homeostasis state of being.  My mind would come to several solutions, but one stood out amongst them all, and although it would take time, it seemed to be the most effective, that is – educate the people! More importantly, educate the children!  Luckily, I had a whole bunch of experience in this arena, so it would seem my life would come together somehow after all.

My new endeavor in the field of youth education is only an expansion of the old; and it is really to help humanity see – so to speak.  Help humanity see our oneness, our infinite being, our abundant nature.  We have chosen to live in a state of fear and scarcity for so long, and though it is neither good nor bad, it has served its purpose, we have learned those lessons, and it is time for a new beginning, a rebirth.  To do this, we need to rediscover our vastness, our immense power.

If my ultimate goal is to empower humanity so that together we are able to recognize our oneness and thrive as a whole, then, I felt, I should get a good sense of how we operate as a species in relation to ourselves, one another and our environment.  This was and remains my mentality in working with the youngsters (ages 3 months to 5 years).  My agenda in choosing to work amongst the little ones is to gain a hands-on, human development learning experience; to see how humans naturally grow and learn to be self-sufficient individuals as well as active and interdependent community members; and to see how differences in culture and conditioning can affect our diverse, multicultural relationships.  I feel that through this process I am able to more clearly understand how humans learn to relate and respond to their environment and it's many layers. Thus, I would be better suited to help people face and accept their fears, then turn them into fuel to drive their passion, and in the process, rediscover their power and break free from the bonds of conditioned mental slavery. In the words of the great Bob Marley, we must emancipate ourselves from mental slavery, for, none but ourselves can free out minds.

So, here I am, teaching preschool, watching these three boys play the “baby game” and Eureka! Suddenly it all makes more sense.  (This happens more and more often now, it’s nice!)  I realized that the group that I am with, the Moon Beams, has such a strong group dynamic, they have socialized themselves with respect to each other so well, that they have been able to create their own meaning for symbols and language within their social context and group.  The word “baby” means something different to the Moon Beams as it does to you or me.  Something vastly different.  To them, this word symbolizes something that I cannot easily define, for it is completely contextual.  Like the words “fuck” or “crazy.”  There are times when it means something closer to the “baby” that I know, but it is completely dependent on the context.

This thought ran into another realization that we humans continue perpetuate this cycle, create meaning, fairly arbitrarily, depending on their social (environmental) context, throughout our lives.  And at each stage in our development, we continue to create and re-create meaning in order to make sense of the world around us.  The meaning continuously changes, especially depending on the social context that we find ourselves in, but most noticeably, with each age.  As the years pass, those individuals within our age bracket, which can span from exact year to generation to the “era that we are all alive in” (so to speak) creates meaning as a whole for the context that we are in (which would explain why words like “gay” and “cool” have evolved from one meaning to another).  At each age, the same thing is occurring, but the situation and relationships (the context) become more complex.  

By the time we are adults, we have become so accustom to this pattern of growth, that we no longer see our selves as a part of it (it is questionable as to whether or not we ever saw ourselves as a par of “it” in the first place). It simply is, and that 'is' becomes our reality.  And we created that reality, we created that meaning – arbitrarily nonetheless – most of us without even realizing it. If you think about it, if there were a tangible stage of growth beyond the adult stage of the human life (which I believe that there is…and perhaps we will be reassured soon enough), then we clearly see that the main difference between adults and children, is the complexity of the drama and the ability to cope with the stress that ensues.  For, we all do the same thing – we create meaning for the world and make that our reality.  Here I am creating mine. I have been talking about starting a blog for a few years now, finally today, after contemplating the word “baby” I decided - There’s no time like the present and on the first break I got, I started writing.  

Inevitably, I hope to write much more about what I believe and less about my personal life, although I acknowledge that in a holographic and fractal universe, who can really tell where one ends and another begins?  When you get down to the nitty-gritty, there really is no difference. As for what I believe, we are beginning to realize the part we play in the creation of our own reality.  I believe that we are ready to come together as a whole and, like all of the cells that make up each of our individual amazing bodies, work together to create a present that is fulfilling and healthy for all.  I decided to start something today, something that I hope will fuel the movement to consciously make that evolutionary leap into our greater body, Our body, Our Self.

I believe that our mother is in labor and that we are at the dawn of the rebirth of humanity as a whole; as One.  As such, we may be experiencing some turbulence currently in our lives as we begin to really question why we get out of bed each day and whether or not what we are doing is really worth it.  You know what I mean.  The actual birth of a baby is a beautiful thing, but it is a pretty messy ordeal to start with. Just like a room that gets dirtier before it gets cleaned, during the birthing process, the worst part of it comes just before the miracle, then, by some trick of the universe, there is a whole lotta messy stuff that comes along with the miracle. Stuff that has to be washed away and let go.  While the baby takes her first breath, she is covered in the remnants of her recent past and distracted by stark difference of her new environment.  All the mother feels is immense love for her newborn miracle.  As the umbilical cord is forcefully severed, the struggle of the birth (two worlds clashing) is left behind.  The newborn need not struggle to get nourishment from - or hold on to - her old surroundings, for it will no longer serve her; and if she does fight to hold on to the past, both mother and child will die.  

So it is that with a quick snip, the birthing process comes to an end.  The baby calms and accepts her new surroundings as she is comforted by her loving mother.  The Earth is our mother and we are her child.  Let us love our mother, and let her love us - that is all that we must do in order to flow through this transition with ease and grace - that is all that we have to do in order to be reborn as One and thrive as a human race.