Viewed from a materialistic perspective, the evolution of consciousness
appears as a linear process. Over time, awareness increasingly reveals
itself through the development and refinement of form. In this story,
we will add a spiritual dimension and describe how this process might
be unfolding.

Let's start by pretending that about 14 billion years ago a miracle
happened: the universe suddenly blossomed into existence. "In the
Beginning was the Word," and the word was "Yes." In a blinding flash,
the purest of energy materialized from the Void, and the soul of the
universe rushed in all directions and dimensions. After a while, atomic
"particles" formed. They combined, grew, and recombined until "matter"
came into being. These ostensibly solid structures continued to combine
and created even more diversified material forms. Soon stars were born,
died, and other stars and planets formed from their ashes. Up to this
point, consciousness had laid dormant in the body universe. All
developments were following predetermined natural laws - rules of
movement and relationship inherent in the "DNA" of the universe. These
laws slightly favored attraction over repulsion.

After ten billion years or so, water formed on a small planet. Within
this wet environment, something magical happened: life appeared. This
would be the first instance of "living consciousness" on the blue-green
water world. Like almost everything else, these microorganisms combined
and recombined with one another, bringing forth ever-greater diversity
to the plant kingdom.

In another blink of the Cosmic Eye, yet another remarkable event took
place: animal life appeared. These creatures displayed an even higher
awareness and could exercise more control over their surroundings than
the plants did. Like their plant relatives, instincts - the survival
and reproductive programs encoded in their cells - directed their
actions.

Instincts and Freedom
A few more eons sped by. Animal life - what appeared to be the
spearhead of earthly evolution - continued to advance biologically and
increased in complexity and diversity. Then one day, not that long ago,
a new species emerged. These so-called humans had larger brains with
more gray matter than anyone else in their genus. They had developed to
the point that they could think and choose. Soon, they could out-plan,
out-tool, out-adapt, and out-survive most others. They had begun acting
differently. Instead of automatically obeying their bio-instincts, they
began relying more on their collective knowledge and beliefs. This
advance reflected the divine gift of freedom, but it required truth
(spiritual instinct) to guide it. Without truth, these creatures would
use their freedom to their discredit. They would oppress and inflict
unnecessary suffering and death on one another and the Earth.

Being in touch with bio-instincts was often very useful, because it
helped keep the species alive. Some, though, were obviously
destructive, like those that produced (in conjunction with the shaping
of culture) greed, hate, injustice, and separation. They led to
unnecessary violence. At the least, instincts were the basic guides for
creatures that didn't know any better. The less evolved the life form,
the more the instincts governed its behavior. At their best, they
provided common-sense guidelines for the more advanced individuals. The
more evolved the species or individual, the more options it had to
choose from. What made the more advanced ones different was how they
used their free will. They had the option, when appropriate, to
override their bio-instincts and to act on their spiritual instincts
instead. Freedom - the exercise of free will - was the key.

Who and Where We Are
Fast forward to now. In many respects, we are the most aware creatures
on the planet. We are on top of the food chain, masters of symbols and
technology, and lords of our destiny. We can reflect on the mysteries
of the universe, the meaning of life, and on who or what we really are.
Besides being the most self-aware, we also have the most freedom of
choice. Yet we can be the most blundering, cruel, shortsighted, and
unconscious of all creatures. We treat others as objects, and many have
lost touch with our unifying Ground of Being. A pathological financial
system that rules much of the planet exploits almost everyone and plays
Russian roulette with our life-supporting environment. With four
billion years of evolution behind us, it would be tragic if we allowed
it to destroy us.

Possibilities
We can draw some conclusions from all of this. First, choice (or free
will) is the result of biological progress. Second, choice equals
freedom. We can take this a step further and say that freedom is a
spiritual quality. This implies that the biological evolution of
consciousness is a planetary process through which spiritual evolution
unfolds. In short, form becomes progressively sensitized and "wired" to
higher frequencies of reality. This gives it the potential of being
more self-aware, and with self-awareness comes choice. Choice allows us
to live by materialistic or spiritual principles. And as we live more
by the spiritual, we become even more sensitized. This applies to
individuals as well as to entire species. Perhaps the goal of creation
is to have some material aspect of itself become totally self-aware.

Conclusion
If humans are the spearhead of evolution on this planet (both
biologically and spiritually), then our form and consciousness must go
through more changes. It's doubtful that we've reached our potential.
As form and consciousness appear linked, we can expect our bodies,
minds, and emotions to become more refined. For this to happen, we must
first preserve life by protecting our eco-system and by practicing
cooperation and tolerance. If this occurs, then we may eventually
embody the reality that science and mystics already know: that we are
all one. Everyone we meet is a manifestation of the same source as
ourselves. If we know this at the heart level and can act on our
spiritual instincts incessantly, then we have fulfilled our potential:
to experience creation as God's way of knowing Itself.

Michael Lamas
www.starbuilders.org