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All life on this planet, from
cellular to the so-called highest
species, is engaged collectively
in evolving consciousness that is
the "soul"of life and its
meanings and purposes.
This has been my intuitive
conviction and my passion for the
bulk of my 87 years.
A Times Colonist (Victoria)
story about some biological
research has added fuel to my
fire. The story appeared in the
March 17, 2004 edition.
Dr. Andrew Roger, a
34-year-old biochemist at
Dalhousie University, has
received a $300,000 federal
science prize "for challenging
one of Darwin's most basic
principles about the evolution of
life on Earth."
In my simple piece, I will not
go into a detailed account of his
research. I want only to make use
of the essence of what he thinks
his research has discovered. It
is the revolutionary idea that
evolution does not proceed only
in distinct organisms and
species, but that genes are
swapped, borrowed and stolen by
unrelated organisms. (Sounds like
what the astronomers say goes on
with galaxies!)
This may not interest nor grab
you particularly, which is why
I'm keeping the reference to the
minimum.
What I want to do is to borrow
a point from this biological
research to illustrate and add
evidence to my theory about the
development of consciousness.
In the first place, genes
(DNA) and consciousness are
practically synonymous. The same
can be said for soul and
consciousness. I imagine that the
development recorded in our genes
is pretty much the same thing as
what in religion we think of as
the individual recording in the
soul.
What I see as fascinating is
that this is the same process
going on collectively in the
total of the life on the
planet!
There is, of course,
individual evolution, and there
is collective evolution. Jung
tells us that individually we
have access to what he calls "the
collective unconscious." It may
be unconscious, but it certainly
is consciousness, and it
certainly is the determining
force in human life.
Reflect on this with me. Do
you see how exciting it is to
realize the reality - not just a
conjecture - that all life is
one, that we are absolutely
related to - one with - every
form of life there is and we
individually profit from ANY and
ALL evolutionary progress made
anywhere by anyone and
everything?
I have written often to you
about how exciting I find the
biologist Rupert Sheldrake's work
that has led him to believe every
member of a species profits from
any new development made by one
member of the species.
Now Roger comes along and
says, It's better than that! You
and I profit from any
evolutionary contribution made by
any form of life.
I don't know what effect this
has on you, but my antennae are
really jumping now as I realize
what is coming my way from
everywhere!
Don
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