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The Evolution of the Human Spirit

Evolution, as defined in a dictionary, is 'any process of formation or growth'; a biological definition is 'the continuous genetic adaptation of organisms or species to the environment by the integrating agencies of selection, hybridisation, inbreeding and mutations'.

If evolution, with respect to the human spirit, is decreed to be similar to the definitions, there can be an assumption that as the human species evolves it will result in a more perfect physical/emotional/mental specimen of humanity. There is certainly some backing for this viewpoint because 'human spirit' is often referred to in cases where a human being, or a group of them, defies almost insurmountable obstacles to achieve a satisfactory outcome.

Most of us are aware of the feats of endurance that bring a sense of awe to our minds. Individuals who sever limbs to free themselves from an otherwise certain death; soldiers on a battlefield who risk their lives to save their fellowmen; people who renounce their own comfort and material possessions that others might have a better life; the accounts on record of such acts are virtually boundless.

From that point of view, and in light of their increasing prevalence in today's world of strife, with so many pitted against each other in a fight for survival, it can be said that the particular term 'human spirit' definitely indicates an evolution in human terms.

There is, however, another way of looking at human spirit and again, a dictionary definition can be of use. The Random House Dictionary includes in its definition of spirit, '1. the principle of conscious life; the vital principle in Man, animating the body or mediating between body and soul. 2. the incorporeal part of man. 4. conscious, incorporeal being, as opposed to matter.'

It should be noted that spirit is equated, to some extent, with consciousness and it is surely the latter that provides the greater evolution in the life of humanity. Consciousness is awareness of oneself as a living being (self-conscious), something that is not part of awareness in the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms. If one is prepared to accept the Darwinian theory of evolution, and I do not include that in its entirety in my beliefs, then Man's emergence from a purely animal existence would indicate that increasing consciousness is a part of the evolutionary cycle.

Contemporary science has nothing in its findings that predict living systems will possess consciousness. Consciousness seems to be above and beyond the material construction of physical bodies. Investigations of near-death experiences, for example, reveals that those experiencing this phenomena are convinced that they can exist without a body. This is also consistent with statements by individuals who can deeply immerse themselves in a meditative/contemplative state and experience direct contact with beings existing on higher planes of existence without any evidence of possessing a physical body. In evolutionary terms there is no conceivable reason why a human being should engage itself in ruminations about space, time, matter and energy as they have no bearing on a forward direction of purely physical evolution.

The evolution of spirit/consciousness can, however, be approached from a different viewpoint and one that is increasingly being supported by scientific investigation. In the very early civilisations the position of priest/astrologer/scientist was of prime importance to the wellbeing of a nation. He/she advised the king, or other form of ruler, of the portents and provided spiritual guidance. It was generally believed that the Gods were responsible for the happenings in the natural world and their actions could be ascertained by means of various rituals, oracles and the like.

As man evolved, however, the conjoining of spirit and science was gradually loosened and there arose a general belief that life was too happenstance, that there were no forces behind the scenes, as it were, and that man was free to do as he willed with the natural world. There was one life and therefore if one was incapacitated in some way, whether physically, emotionally or mentally, that was too bad, that was life, that was fate.

Perhaps this attitude reached its zenith when philosophers and scientists concluded that the mind and the body were separate entities and that the universe operated on the principles of mechanics, laws being developed that backed up this viewpoint. Francis Bacon, who lived in the 16th/17th centuries was a leading intellectual who stated, at various times, that nature has to be 'hounded in her wanderings', 'bound into service', and made a 'slave'. Sir Isaac Newton provided us with three laws of motion and the principle of gravitation and that, for him, led to the conclusion that the universe was a set of mechanical relations between the various cosmic bodies.

Evolution moved on, however, and new discoveries brought forth new theories. Scientific research, in the past few decades, has been tending to restore the priest/scientist role because the nature of what we deem to be reality is being exposed. Far from being a substantive physical world which we can touch, work with, and move in, it is now apparent that we actually live in a world of a multiplicity of energies, energies which are of many different strands, of various levels of vibration, and which interact to form space/time coordinates, or what we know to be physical existences,

One of the mysteries of life, which has not yet been solved to the satisfaction of the scientific fraternity, is - where did life come from? Has it always existed, is it actually a finite existence which will eventually cease to be, could it be infinite in its scope, where did the universe in which we live originate. It is accepted that it started with a 'bang', but what caused it and where did the bit that the 'bang' came from arise.

All very intriguing unless one refers to the ancient spiritual writings and the words of avatars such as the Buddha and the Christ. According to them there is a Creative Being which, over vast spans of time, sends forth part of itself, remaining whole and inviolate as it never changes, and through the means of agents, in a descending order of spiritual vibration (energy), creates a vast, interlocking, and connected series of planes of existence.

One way of looking at this phenomena is that it consists of pure energy or light, and it is now accepted that light and energy are interchangeable as one can become the other. In Genesis 1:3 it is recorded "and God said, Let there be light: and there was light." It can be assumed from this that this began the process of creation and it is therefore possible to visualise a stepping down of energies (vibrations) as each of seven planes of existence gradually comes into being, each plane being of a lower vibration than the higher and therefore exhibiting a greater density, until the lowest plane is created. That lower plane is the physical, the one in which our dense physical bodies exist.

When my wife and I were in a discussion group during which various individuals provided talks related to the spiritual aspects of life, on one occasion a couple of retired electronics enthusiasts brought along an oscilloscope. An oscilloscope is used to convert energies into a line of light on the screen. The densest, i.e., the lowest rate of vibration produces a long, deep, wave on the screen and as the rate of vibration (energy) is increased the length and height of the waves diminish until the peak energy produces just a dot of light. When I saw that, and without thinking, I blurted out, 'that is God'.

Incidentally, the seven planes of existence, each of which has seven sub-planes, are each ruled by a powerful entity which are referred to in the Bible as the Seven Spirits before the Throne, and in the ancient Hindu scriptures as the Seven Deva Lords (angels in Christian scriptures).

Cogitating upon the reason for this tremendous burst of creation one can imagine an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Being wanting to create and experience that creation. As an analogy we do much the same sort of creation when we dream. In our waking lives we also create, it seems to be an innate need which we all possess, in some form or another. And in that regard we do exhibit the characteristics of a creator in our own lives.

Before one can create, and experience the fruits of that creation, one has to be conscious, to be aware not only of self but also other selfs. There has to be a reference point from which one creates. Consciousness is therefore an ability to know, and to be, and in essence that is the work of spirit, which pervades every living being and also every inanimate being. If we can accept that the emanation from God is a spiritual energy and science now seems fairly certain that all that is in existence is actually energy, then spirit and consciousness can be deemed to be synonymous.

When we talk, therefore, of the evolution of the human spirit we are actually stating that it is consciousness which is evolving.

At the final stage of the devolution of the primary creative force, when at its densest stage, it became virtually detached from the dense physical body of the human being. All that was left was a spark of light (spirit) which has to be nurtured by various methods so that the return path can be trodden by the human seekers of the source from whence they originated. This situation ensured that God experiences His creation as it struggles against the pull of the material world.

Most human beings, in the early stages of their lives experience physical plane existence as something they do not want to let go of. There is an inner urge from the elements that constitute the physical body to remain at that level and therefore life is clung to even though it may bring untold misery or the greatest of pleasure.

As the life progresses from body to body (reincarnation), it gradually seeks to return to its source by involving itself in a purification of the physical, the emotional and the mental bodies until such time as they are integrated and operating at the purely mental level. The search for this higher realm can be likened to a person lost in the dark who sees a faint glow from a searcher holding a flashlight. As that individual moves towards the source of the light he finds himself illuminated by it and finally the source is reached. By referring back to the information on the oscilloscope it is possible to recognise the parallel of the path of light to its origin.

The title of this article refers to the evolution of the human spirit but before that occurred there had to be the involution, that drive of spiritual energy deep into matter. Now the point of return to the 'Father's House' has been passed and the Will of God will prevail for humanity's ascension to the Right Hand of God. This is the plan and it will occur but man was given free will and that is the reason for the long history of Man's struggle for supremacy, not only over others of his kind but also the natural world in which he lives, and moves, and has his being. Matter does not want to be redeemed. It has a life of its own and that may be more readily understood as we watch so many of us eagerly reaching for, and clinging to, as much as possible, the many physical forms which can bring such delight.

The reason for the growing polarity of human beliefs and customs, religions, philosophies, politics is based on the struggle now, of spirit, to release itself from the pull of the physical plane. There is evidence at hand that many people are now opening up to belief in a spiritual world and are beginning to turn away from the lure of physical possessions and life lived to the full at the lower levels of energy.

Some word about the involutionary period of mankind may assist in assessing the transformation that is wrought as spirit descends and then ascends.

This requires that the imagination be given free rein because it opens up, for many, a fanciful world that is so far removed from current beliefs in the origin of Man. From my knowledge, scientific investigation assumes that Man has always had a physical form. Putting this in reverse, however, and referring to Christ's appearance to some of his disciples after His crucifixion it can be maintained that He was a spirit, with consciousness, that clothed itself in human form. It is reported that his disciples touched him and felt the wound in his side and were convinced that their Lord was again with them.

The first two races of man were lived at the ethereal level, the energies were still too powerful to form into physical bodies. As the energies continued to decrease in intensity the third race gradually assumed a physical form. This stage was mentioned in the Bible where one reads that "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skin and clothed them" (Genesis 3:21). Early man lived in what is now called Lemuria and was fully physical with little by way of emotion and virtually no mental capacity. It took millions of years for the full adaptation of a physical outer shell to the indwelling spirit. The next stage, the fourth race, was the development of the astral (emotional) body. This development in man's personality body occurred in the Atlantean period, the land being situated in the Atlantic Ocean, the disappearance of the last remnants of the Islands being recorded in Plato's Timaeus.

This race lived at the astral level and was able to contact realms that are open to a greater expanse of information. It is from the astral plane that the lower psychics obtain information when in trance, or open to contact with that world of continually changing thought forms. This was a glorious period in human history as scientific inventions were virtually plucked out of the air. Something akin to this happens whenever a person intuits the answer to a problem, or a need. Many of those who experience these flashes of insight admit that it was not from their own abilities that it occurred.

The final of man's three personality vehicles is being developed in the current race, the Fifth and that is the mental body. This development provided the ability to interact with the physical environment and then began the growth of the intellect and the potential to act as a creator.

Man is now a threefold body, etheric (physical), astral (emotional) and mental, well equipped to interact with the earth's environment. Belief in the evolution of life-forms has meant that we see no end to progress at the physical level. Scientific research is exponentially digging ever deeper into the workings of the physical world but the lure of quick profits is engaged in using the fruits of research in order to gain ever greater control over the forces of life. It is now apparent, to a growing number of people, that we have acted in the belief that we could manage the Earth as if we had created it. We have mastered everything except the spirit, which is the essence of all that exists. We now have a stark choice - continue with the removal of earth's resources, in all of that connotation, or accept that there is a higher purpose in life.

If we choose, in sufficient numbers, to accept that the spiritual kingdom is humanity's next goal, we will begin to turn our attention to working with our brother men to forge a path to a life that is lived at a higher level than the mental. In other words we will be on our way 'home' and will start to enhance the lives in the mineral, plant and animal kingdoms, attempting to achieve a oneness or at-one-ment, which is what life is at the higher levels.

We are guided but we do not always listen and until we do we will continue to experience strife at not only the individual level but in mankind as a whole.