Darwinism

I found this article interesting for a couple of reasons. I realized that Darwinism, as a term, has changed over time depending on who was using it, what they were using it to mean, and whether that use was for positive -or- pejorative means. Darwinism didn't even have to reflect the literal ideas of Darwin himself and the term is really not necessarily synonymous with "Evolution" - as- I had thought. I also hadn't realized the effects Darwin's work had, in stirring-up society and the ideas people held about themselves biologically and socially at that time. In a desirable context this gave rise to new paradigms and thoughts about our genesis as a species and challenged some of the old beliefs; yet it was also used by some (such as Hitler and the Nazis) as justification for undesirable actions such as ethnic cleansing.

Most importantly for me, this article made me think about what I personally held to be true of our evolution as a species. I realized that I do believe in the generally held ideas of evolution, including concepts that previously I had attributed to Darwin, such as natural selection and genetic drift. However, some of the life experiences that I have had have also expanded my understanding of how we have come to be...

For example, my training and experiences from a Vedic perspective put Spirit in the driver's seat, and make all matter and manifestations of such (ie: creation) flow from that omnipotent, unmanifested source. Not to mention the ideas of karma, and past lives and the effect that has on all of the physically manifested universe. So, technically, that could even put me in the 'creationist' camp based on this element of my belief system...though, not of a Christian flavor.

In addition, the experiences with my shamanic teachers and the Shipibo shamans in the Amazon have opened my mind to new possibilities and the nature of 'reality'. Which is not necessary as it seems to be -or- how we have been entrained to believe. "Believing is seeing", as many sage individuals have said. And what we believe about our worlds affects how they manifest and present themselves to us. There is so much to know about the nature of consciousness and spirit and the interplay between them as they express themselves in seemingly 'solid' forms.

This segways us into the "Biology of Belief" perspective, and the effects that our belief systems have on all levels of ourselves, even to the extent of geneology...which, it seems, is also not a fixed characteristic. And just think of the changes our belief systems may go through in a given lifetime (I know mine has!), and what effect that has on our development as species.

And lastly, though I am not one to believe in the UFO/Alien theories, I do think it would be very small minded of us as a species to think that life on earth might not have been at least 'influenced', at some point, by other lifeforms in the universe...if not purposefully, then perhaps, accidentally. In the time that the earth has been around, with all the interstellar bodies that have collided with our planet; not to mention potential interaction with other dimensions beyond our awareness, it would be hard to imagine that our biological development has not been affected in some way. And, then there are all those world myths to account for...

In any case, it brings me back to the "universe is sloppy" perspective we were discussing in class. And who knows what other influences there may have been on our development as a species.