Conscious Evolution

Entering the New Millennium has been a great time to reflect on the deeper meanings of life. Who am I and how do I fit in the web of creation? How do I step out of my own way and learn what is my true calling? How can we ensure a positive life experience for future generations?

While pondering these questions Jane and I discussed the potential of conscious evolution and the possibility of what we can contribute to the world. One thing that distinguishes us from the animals is our ability to have self-reflective awareness„the ability to see ourselves in a context. What the animals have is that they know themselves and their rightful relationship with all of life.

Our capacity to think and reflect has been used to manipulate nature and each other, and to separate us from the elements from which we draw our strength. Our fears, particularly of scarcity and death, push us to even greater separation. Must our greatest aspiration be to become more than just food?

According to many ancient cosmologies we come from a place of undifferentiated wholeness, the soup of Nun (Egyptian), and from the first moment when our soul yearns for its individual form as humans, we begin the process of separation. We mistake the yearning for individuation as a definition of our singular, small identity. What is my right relationship with the world now that I have the illusion that I am separate? The animal kingdom knows. In what is left of the wild you can still see balance in action, even in watching the kill of the hunt.

JaneÍs travels in South Africa this past year allowed her to witness first-hand wild animals in their natural habitat. She watched giraffes amble through the bushveld nibbling from the trees as they passed. Her guide informed her that after a few bites the tree gives off a bitter and toxic taste that spurns the giraffe and saves the tree from being eaten beyond survival.

She saw a cheetah take down an impala„ an impressive sight. Then she got to witness the pecking order that ensures each species receives its portion of the meal. The swift cheetah got the first bites, then a strong hyena moved in and chased it off. The hyena grabbed a leg and ran into the bush to savor it while vultures swooped in to strip the carcass, leaving enough for the smaller creatures to finish the job. Dozens of impala stood close by without concern while one of their own was being eaten; they had no fear because the nearby predatorÍs hunger was sated.

As humans, we are aware that ultimately we are also food, yet with our unique awareness of self we have the luxury of making different choices about how we spend our lives. Most of us who live in the developed world have created a life in which we can do more than hunt for food or run in fear of being eaten. Those who are motivated by fear are no different from the impala that is just trying not to get eaten by the cheetah. They build forces to separate themselves from real and imagined predators to stave off the inevitable. Our attachment to life at all cost is costing us dearly.

Those of us who choose to consider the prospect of conscious evolution are not just here for the food chain. We see ourselves as living on the creative edge. Yet as Einstein said, we cannot create solutions from the same box in which the problems were created. As we expand our multi-dimensional search for appropriate direction, we get in touch with the Higher Mind and become the conduits of wisdom to which the next phase of evolution reveals itself. When we tap into Higher Consciousness for our guidance, our ability to contribute in small and large ways also becomes apparent. If we let go of our preconceived ideas about what the world should be, or how it should look, or even who we should be, then we make way for new information to enter our stream of consciousness, and unimaginable experience informs our lives. Through our experience the morphogenic field of our species will be enriched. The ability to listen, stay in our hearts, pay attention, and be willing to do what is asked of us will enable us to easily shift and change with the future. For whether or not we are conscious, we are still influencing our surroundings. Our work is in clearing and completing old patterns that keep us stuck in dualistic and judgmental thinking that fosters the illusion of our separateness.

We have reached a pivotal juncture here on planet Earth. ItÍs time to take responsibility for our position on the leading edge of creation by remaining awake and present, doing our inner work, trusting our unseen guides, and honoring the miracle of life in every moment. Our Presence is the gift we bring, for we are the One Self eternally becoming.

Nicki Scully and Jane Bell