The Living Universe - Duane Elgin [50]
A Simple Visualization of Humanity’s Central Project
We can see a fundamental principle at work in the universe: Evolution requires both matter and consciousness. Matter is blind in its evolutionary ascent without the mirroring capacity that consciousness provides; consciousness is blind in its evolutionary ascent without the grounding capacity that matter provides. Evolution is a mutually supportive process whereby matter seeks reflective affirmation of its presence through consciousness as much as consciousness seeks clarity of expression through matter. The goal of evolution is not to move from matter to consciousness; rather, it is to integrate matter and consciousness into a co-evolving spiral of mutual refinement that ultimately reveals the Mother Universe from which both continuously arise. Matter and consciousness support one another in their mutual ascent toward an ever-wider scope of integration and differentiation, unity and diversity. At very high levels of mutual refinement and dynamic alignment, the Mother Universe from which both arise is directly evident as non-dual or unified awareness.
In the ceaseless flow of our ever-arising universe, we are each a unique conduit for the aliveness of the Mother Universe. When we are consciously connected with the living universe, a loop is closed—“the broken pipe is repaired,” as Tibetan Buddhists sometimes say—and the life force of the Mother Universe can flow through us and into the world embodying whatever qualities we choose to cultivate with our being and knowing.4 Paradoxically, it is through our experience of unity with the life force that we also experience our highest individual creativity and greatest distinctiveness.
Once there is integration, once the loop is closed and a system is functioning as an integrated entity, it can move freely—there can be “liftoff.” To illustrate, a tornado is a dynamic torus—a powerful self-organizing system with the ability to move while continuously holding itself together. Analogously, when we become fully self-remembering and self-possessing, we acquire a new level of soulful mobility and freedom. The physical structures of body and world that enabled our invisible consciousness to know itself will have then fulfilled their aligning function. As we acquire the ability to recognize ourselves in the mirror of our own consciousness, it opens the door to an infinite journey. With the ability to be self-reflective, the physical body that oriented our existence can ultimately fall away and the life stream of consciousness will continue to be self-knowing.
A grand adventure welcomes an awakening soul—a path of great compassion and great discovery. The natural companion of awakening is the compassionate understanding that we are intimately connected with all of existence and from this insight, a natural inclination grows to serve the awakening of all beings. Awakening also brings growing freedom as we see that our physical body does not bound the totality of who we are. As noted earlier, there is a growing consensus among cosmologists who think we live in a universe with many more dimensions than are visible to us. Are realms with breathtaking degrees of creative freedom beckoning us if we fulfill ourselves here? Because we have experienced the richness and complexity of life in the third dimension, what must it be like to have the spaciousness and freedom of, say, the thirtieth dimension? Just as few would want to stay in the third grade forever, I believe few would want to stay in the third dimension forever. If we become fully self-referencing beings and can experience “liftoff,” would we choose to stay grounded? Analogously, if we build an airplane, would we be content to forever taxi down the runway or might we want someday to lift off and soar into the spacious sky?
A Garden for Growing Life
Two remarkable dynamics are at work.