Now for the Good News

~Spiritual Evolution~

By Rahasya Poe

First, let’s look at the so-called “bad news” that’s on almost everyone’s mind. When I say “so-called,” I’m not suggesting that the bad news is not real because it is, but it’s only part of the picture. You might say we are in the larval and chaotic state in the process of a caterpillar’s becoming a butterfly. But that is an analogy. Let’s look at the reality we find ourselves in and try to identify the process with some scientific, and yes, spiritual accuracy.

So what is the bad news? We can see the signs all around us and they are showing up in every arena of human affairs. If we think of being in the midst of the chaotic larval state, we can see that the analogy applies to what’s been happening in religion these past few years. It’s becoming clear that organized religious institutions that are clinging to rigid doctrines based on secrecy, exclusiveness, and division are suffering the consequences of resisting change, and, I might add, so is the rest of the world. I heard Bill Moyers of PBS say in reference to the Middle East that we are all part of the longest-running family feud in history between the Israelis and the Palestinians, many of whom have long forgotten what started the feud thousands of years ago.

Our financial institutions are in the news every day with stories of greed, deception, and fraud at every level. Our whole economic structure was built on a foundation of bringing a society into financial slavery through indebtedness brought about by war and taxes. This is what our founding fathers warned us about, starting with Thomas Jefferson, who said in 1802:

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”

If you think this isn’t true, try not paying your mortgage for two or three months and watch how quickly your family home will be taken away and auctioned off. In 2005 there were 744,000 “homeless” and 41 percent were in or part of a family…it’s much worse now because of, yes, you guessed it, banks and corporations. Today in 2009, there are an estimated 3 million homeless and 35 percent of people experiencing homelessness are families with children, which is the fastest-growing homeless population. About one-fifth are U.S. military veterans, 25 percent are children under the age of 18, 30 percent have experienced domestic violence, and 20 percent to 25 percent suffer from mental illness.

Of course we could look at our educational system with its underpaid teachers and understaffed schools, our health systems worldwide that are burdened by the sheer population of people needing health care. Then there are the governments of the world; don’t even get me started here. And if these were not enough, look at the environment-our planet with its pollution of the atmosphere and water. The air pollution and global warming are created, in part, by greenhouse gases, which are a direct result of a financial system built around consumerism. It is no coincidence that if you follow the money, you’ll find that a large share of our environmental problems directly link to governments, financial institutions, and even some of our religious beliefs that are outdated, dysfunctional, and completely detached from some of the scientific discoveries of the past few years, centuries, and in some cases, millennia. All of the data are not in yet but it is clear that the continued survival of humans on this planet will require a complete reinvention of society and what we believe is important for our happiness. For instance, a financial system built on “service to others” would be much easier on the environment than the mass production of consumer products.

Now for the good news. So you are probably wondering, “How can any of this be good?” Some of the greatest thinkers, philosophers, and more recently, scientists of our time have pondered something called “spiritual evolution.” You could define spiritual evolution as the esoteric, philosophical, theological, or spiritual idea that nature and human beings evolve along a predetermined cosmological pattern or ascent, or in accordance with certain predetermined potentials. However, more recently, with the input of biologists such as Bruce Lipton, it appears that we are entering another level where human consciousness is playing a part in this cosmic dance as cocreators on every level, from the subatomic to the macrocosmic level. This is called “epigeneses,” which is based on the idea that what we call “mind” is a basic creative impulse that is appearing in us partly because of the suffering created by our unconscious mistakes and our need to alleviate it by aligning ourselves with nature. This is causing a global shift of awareness from “matter creates consciousness” to “consciousness creates matter.”

If we are part of a biological system, as people such as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, E.F. Schumacher, Ken Wilber, Terence McKenna, Ken Carey, and Peter Russell seem to think, then we must look at the process we find ourselves in as a natural ascension toward a greater spiritual awakening. Indeed, this seems to be the underlying pattern of creation since matter first manifested itself billions of years ago. We are only ankle deep in the ocean of understanding this but one thing is clear-there has been a tendency for small bits of matter to form with other bits to make more and more complex units of matter. The first atoms bonded mysteriously together to form the first molecules, which later connected to form the first organisms. Those same organisms, of which we are one, seem to have one major deterministic direction, which is the evolution of consciousness through a continued process of forming even higher and more complex connections.

So let’s imagine that this is indeed the situation. What’s next? Unless we make the arrogant assumption that we, as human beings, are the pinnacle of what the creative force of the universe is capable of, then, based on billions of years of solid evidence, we, as planetary beings/cells, will start to connect with each other to form another level of being, a planetary being or global brain/consciousness. We can see this already happening on the external level as the coming together of the United States, the European Union, many world organizations seeking unification, and more recently the Internet. But on a deeper level, we may be coming together in a continuing story, indeed, the greatest and possible “only” story ever told, the story of universal/spiritual consciousness seeking its own expression and to be conscious through larger and more complex manifestations in reality.

According to the idea of spiritual evolution, human beings are simply building on previous levels of complex patterns in nature. The exception is that we are now at the point where that very same consciousness has become self-aware and wants to be an active participant in its own evolutionary journey through time and space. This is why the change we are going through, though tough and filled with suffering, is necessary because we formed our early societies and organizations based on fear and we lacked conscious connection with the “others.” More recently we are waking up to the cruelty we have shown to “others,” and such things as slavery have all but disappeared in most countries, the simple distaste for war has caused social unrest to the point where it is no longer supported by the masses, and now, on the verge of economic, social, and environmental collapse, we are going through a massive global awakening to the fact that we can no longer continue with “business as usual.” The real question is, will we wake up in time or will we join the 99.9999 percent of all living things that are now extinct? I think that if we can get enough of us to wake up to what’s important in life, we will make it. We have the force of the universe behind us propelling us through this evolutionary leap and for the first time we are in the driver’s seat, asking, “Which way from here?” The answer isn’t behind us in our unconscious fear-based past; it lies before us by embracing, with love and compassion, our destiny … which is truly a mystery.

Rahasya Poe rahasya@usa.com