Evolution

Rubens, The Union of Earth and Water

Organic molecules from cosmic clouds,
Millions of years in the midst of eternity.
We sprang from the primordial;
Our spirituality came in the evolution.

There is strong evidence that human beings evolved from basic early molecules. Those molecules were formed from the gases and birth processes of the stars and planets. Those stars and planets were in turn formed by the first movement of the universe. That first moment of the universe came from nothingness. So we are on the crest of a certain wave of evolution.

Narrowing it down to the human situation from the cosmic, our minds represent the ultimate expression of who we are. Further, spirituality is the ultimate expression of the mind. One might say, therefore, that spirituality is not a belief, mental construct, or opinion. Rather, it can be considered a function or outgrowth of evolution.

If spirituality is simply a function of life, the edge of a cosmic ripple, then where is it going? We don’t know. Like the universe, it is still expanding into unknown territory. We can decide to cooperate and go with that wave, or we can ignore our spirituality and thereby ignore one of the basic meanings of being human. If we choose to engage in the full process of being human, then we will truly fulfill our part in the universe’s evolution.

Deng Ming Tao, 365 Tao

“The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge.” — Albert Einstein

“I was taught that the human brain was the crowning glory of evolution so far, but I think it’s a very poor scheme for survival.” — Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

“You have the need and the right to spend part of your life caring for your soul. It is not easy. You have to resist the demands of the work-oriented, often defensive, element in your psyche that measures life only in terms of output — how much you produce — not in terms of the quality of your life experiences. To be a soulful person means to go against all the pervasive, prove-yourself values of our culture and instead treasure what is unique and internal and valuable in yourself and your own personal evolution.” — Jean Shinoda Bolen

I blogroll and read a number of evolution and science blogs – The Panda’s Thumb, Pharyngula, Science and Politics, Cosmic Variance, 3quarksdaily, and Cognitive Daily. I always enjoy reading good science writing. Being an engineer by trade, I do have a fairly scientific mind, after all. But more than that, science is a part of understanding how the world works. To me it is very linked into my own personal growth and development, and into my understanding of my own spirituality. One area that has fascinated me lastely is the study of the amygdala, the part of the brain that seems to be related to religion and spirituality, as well as emotion.

My own spirituality has followed a pretty Taoist path – I grew up in the Presbyterian church, studied that religion pretty thoroughly and enjoyed its music and traditions, but always felt it separate from my spirituality itself. I read a lot of mythology as a kid so I knew a lot of the mythological stories as well. In high school I read about a number of different religions, noting the common threads and adopting those for my own ethical and moral code. Then later on I found Joseph Campbell’s Power of Myth and Hero with a Thousand Faces, and read more about psychology and religion, and realized all of this was about the personal growth of the mind and how it progresses. And after all of this, finding the simplicity of the 81 verses of the Tao contained most of all these things in the simplest form, I find myself walking the Taoist path, shedding mythology and religion and most of the baggage, but keeping the essence of what is truest in them all. Now I just try to lose something every day.

Today’s baggage seems to be mainly ego related. My son has a way of getting to me that no one else does, a trait of 19 year olds, I suppose. When he says he finds me a pain in the ass, it bothers me a lot. I know I must seem a nag to him, reminding him to do his schoolwork and plan his fall schedule. It is hard for me, since I was always so self-motivated at his age and he seems to lack so much drive himself. I know he has to find his own way, but it is tough to watch him struggle with things that for me were fairly direct and easy. I also have a way of teasing that gets annoying at times. So I understand his comment, but it does hurt when I am in a vulnerable place. But he just called on his way home from school and asked if we could go to lunch, so I guess it isn’t all that bad.

About the picture – this is part of my artistic evolution, which really goes back to taking Pamela Underwood’s body writing workshop. This was one of the pictures I chose that most affected me and resembles my own body image as a Rubenesque female. I actually painted in the critter on the left side into one of my works. These days, I lack a space to do art and the privacy to do it, and that is one of the things that is most bothering me. I really want to get back to it but seem to find myself addicted to this darn computer and blogs instead. The materials are at hand and I want to do it, but time and available space seem such an obstacle.

I guess this has rambled a bit today, which is unusual for my Tao postings, but I seem to feel very scattered today. Perhaps in my spiritual evolution, today is one of those days when things unravel a bit, the DNA splitting as it were, so things can come together in a new combination and lead to some new creation.