Joe and William, The engine of biological evolution is mutation. It is not gradual but sudden.
I can't comment on 'spiritual evolution' because I believe spirituality to be illusory. It's meaningless to me to try to define how illusions wax and wane. ...Bill! --- In [email protected], William Rintala <brintala@...> wrote: > > Catastophists beleive that the mutations currently exist, that the > catastrophic > event needs only to occur to eliminate those least fit to survive, allowing > the > mutation to dominate. Take virology. We now have created bacteria such > as MRSA, VRE and CRE > who exist because they survived their Holocaust. This evolutionary > development > has happened has appened within a human lifetime. I didn't cite Auschwitz as > a > specific event but to pose the possiblity of a Global Holocaust, say the > rapid > spread of a disease with no known cure. Something catastrophic, say for > instance the deaths of 3/4 of life on the planet. Something that affects us > all. > What of Spiritual Evolution then? I'm really just arguing on Merle's side. > > Firstly that Evolution, as a process, is gradual but that Evolutionary change > on > a broad scale is sudden. Secondly, what does it take to get people to drop > all > of their conventional, rote, belief systems and question things like the > existence of God and the meaning of Life? Can't we equate this last part > to an > Evolutionary process? > > > > > ________________________________ > From: Joe <desert_woodworker@...> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Tue, April 9, 2013 1:24:02 PM > Subject: [Zen] Re: evolving consciousness > >  > William, > > Of course, they both operate. Gradualism is slower. But catastrophes are just > major changes thrown into the conditions that Gradualism works within. > > But for either, Selection is at play. And so remains the speed-limit. > > Maybe the speed of light will be exceeded at some time by some means. And > maybe > it's possible in the working of catastrophism to incur a mutation or niche by > wiping out a whole region or class of people, or a species. We might as well > admit the future possibility of it. I'm an Asteroid-Scientist, and can point > to > instances of major sudden change that affected the entire biosphere. > > Between incidents of dramatic catastrophe, Gradualism continues to do all the > work. Does it not? > > A change in thought or feeling occasioned by Auschwitz is not evolution of > the > kind we are talking about. It's not even "spiritual" evolution, in the very > vaguest sense. If it has caused evolution, we certainly don't see it working, > even in Israel or Palestine. Anyway, I don't think so, there. It should never > have been expected. > > > Selection is very slow. Not because that's better. But because that's how > Selection works. > > And it's not happening with consciousness, therefore, at a speed such that we > will ever live to see any changes. > > But, ...that we can uncover our true inherent Human inheritance is still the > greatest single miracle and discovery of the past 2500 years, to my mind. The > uncovering of it happens suddenly; not gradually. ;-) Although a good basis > of > methodical and regular practice always precedes and supports the awakening. > The > results of all the evolution by selection are in the safe-deposit box; the > key > to open it is merely to slough-off the metal hide. And this we can do. There > is > no future time better than now in which to do this. > > --Joe > > > William Rintala <brintala@> wrote: > > > > Joe: > > > > There are 2 schools of thought regarding Evolution the Gradualists, which > > you > > espouse, and the Catastrophists, who believe that evolution is precipitated > > by > > > catastrophic change, e.g. the extinction of the dinosaurs. Could a > > similar > > catatrophic change occur in our spiritual evolution. Auschwitz, Buchenwald, > > Hiroshima, Nagasaki on a Global scale? > > > > Auschwitz > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
