The Peristalsis of Evolution

The Dissolution of the Thought Forms of a Dying World

A Contemplation on “Thought Forms”:

Have you ever noticed that thoughts have shapes in awareness? They construct, and then “occupy” a certain space in our awareness, very much like clouds in a sky. If you observe carefully when entering meditation, or while falling asleep or waking up, thoughts arise and subside through this spatial dimension.

The ability to stay anchored in the sky/ consciousness, while allowing clouds/ thought forms to pass through untouched, is one of the main reasons to practice meditation.

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche tells us:

In the yoga practice of channels, winds, and essences, the Tantric practitioner prepares in life for the process of dying, by simulating the changes of consciousness of the dissolution process, culminating in the experience of the luminosity or “Clear Light.” The practitioner also seeks to maintain awareness of these changes as he or she falls asleep. Because what is important to remember is that this sequence of progressively deepening states of consciousness does not only happen when we die. It also occurs, usually unnoticed, as we fall asleep, or whenever we travel from the grosser to the subtlest levels of consciousness.

This is one very practical benefit of the practice of meditation – when our time comes to take our last breath, we will be less caught in the fear and anxiety that often arises in a human’s response to the natural process of the dissolution of our bodies and minds. Instead we will have rehearsed our “returning home” in the practice of meditation throughout the course of our lives. Feeling prepared, understanding what is happening, we can rejoice at the gloriousness of it all, despite the physical body’s discomfort and pain.

The Peristalsis of Evolution

From the standpoint of Consciousness, “evolution” is irrelevant. What is, just is. However from our limited, human vantage points, evolution is a useful concept. It gives us a trajectory to track as we walk the Path.

Do you remember learning about peristalsis sometime in gradeschool science? It’s those contractions that take place in the intestines, helping food to move through them. Like the contractions at birth, peristalsis guides something through a canal, in one overarching direction, via contractions. Mapping out this process abstractly, we can see it as a spiral, pushing forward, pulling backward, ultimately heading toward the destination.

Evolution too is spiralic. We are guided through the canal of our own evolution, in one overarching direction, through alternating contractions (thought formation) and expansions (thought dissolution).

This is important to remember in times of intense transformation, because if you mistake the contractions for signs of failure, you will be causing yourself needless anxiety. In a culture that seeks to medicate our pain and discomfort at all costs, we can become duped into believing that pain and discomfort are bad for our evolution. On the contrary. Better to practice meditation and see this “peristalsis” for what it is, that we might have some equanimity in the face of these intense movements. This applies both individually and collectively, of course.

The Opportunity of the Times We Live In

Living amidst such political and economic instability as we do presents a great evolutionary opportunity. An old world is literally dying. All the thought forms that initially constructed it are dissolving. This does not have to be terribly distressing. We do not have to medicate ourselves while witnessing the dissolution. (Though perhaps in some circumstances medicating ourselves is the compassionate choice? I don’t know. The jury is still out on that.)

With every contraction we can remember that our collective evolution is heading in one ultimate direction: forward. Just as distressing thoughts come up as we meditate, we can allow distressing events and circumstances to occur without attaching more thought forms to them than we need to in order to move through them responsibly and with compassion. We can allow events and circumstances to form/ take up space, and dissolve/ return to the space from which they came. This is how an old world dies, and a new one is born.

This abiding with what is, in no way excuses us from appropriate action. We avoid the problematic spiritual bypass by keeping our hearts open. Our hearts always show us the way forward.