Viewed from a materialistic perspective, the evolution of consciousness appears as a linear process. Over time, awareness increasingly reveals itself through the development and refinement of form. In this story, we will add a spiritual dimension and describe how this process might be unfolding.

Let's start by pretending that about 14 billion years ago a miracle happened: the universe suddenly blossomed into existence. "In the Beginning was the Word," and the word was "Yes." In a blinding flash, the purest of energy materialized from the Void, and the soul of the universe rushed in all directions and dimensions. After a while, atomic "particles" formed. They combined, grew, and recombined until "matter" came into being. These ostensibly solid structures continued to combine and created even more diversified material forms. Soon stars were born, died, and other stars and planets formed from their ashes. Up to this point, consciousness had laid dormant in the body universe. All developments were following predetermined natural laws — rules of movement and relationship inherent in the "DNA" of the universe. These laws slightly favored attraction over repulsion.

After ten billion years or so, water formed on a small planet. Within this wet environment, something magical happened: life appeared. This would be the first instance of "living consciousness" on the blue-green water world. Like almost everything else, these microorganisms combined and recombined with one another, bringing forth ever-greater diversity to the plant kingdom.

In another blink of the Cosmic Eye, yet another remarkable event took place: animal life appeared. These creatures displayed an even higher awareness and could exercise more control over their surroundings than the plants did. Like their plant relatives, instincts — the survival and reproductive programs encoded in their cells — directed their actions.

Instincts and Freedom
A few more eons sped by. Animal life — what appeared to be the spearhead of earthly evolution — continued to advance biologically and increased in complexity and diversity. Then one day, not that long ago, a new species emerged. These so-called humans had larger brains with more gray matter than anyone else in their genus. They had developed to the point that they could think and choose. Soon, they could out-plan, out-tool, out-adapt, and out-survive most others. They had begun acting differently. Instead of automatically obeying their bio-instincts, they began relying more on their collective knowledge and beliefs. This advance reflected the divine gift of freedom, but it required truth (spiritual instinct) to guide it. Without truth, these creatures would use their freedom to their discredit. They would oppress and inflict unnecessary suffering and death on one another and the Earth.

Being in touch with bio-instincts was often very useful, because it helped keep the species alive. Some, though, were obviously destructive, like those that, in conjunction with cultural shaping, produced greed, hate, injustice, and separation. They led to unnecessary violence. At the least, instincts were the basic guides for creatures that didn't know any better. The less evolved the life form, the more the instincts governed its behavior. At their best, they provided common-sense guidelines for the more advanced individuals. The more evolved the species or individual, the more options it had to choose from. What made the more advanced ones different was how they used their free will. They had the option, when appropriate, to override their bio-instincts and to act on their spiritual instincts instead. Freedom — the exercise of free will — was the key.