"When a caterpillar reaches a certain point in its own evolution, it becomes over-consumptive, a voracious eater and it eats everything in sight.
At that same time, in the molecular structure of the caterpillar, the "imaginal cells" become active. While all this gorging is going on, those imaginal cells wake up, and they look for each other inside of the caterpillar’s body. When enough of them connect (they don't need to be in the majority) they become the genetic directors of the future of the caterpillar. At that point the other cells begin to putrefy and become what’s called the nutritive soup—out of which the imaginal cells create the absolute unpredictable miracle of the butterfly.
What’s possible is that we're the imaginal cells on the planet right now."Inspired by Elisabet Sahtouri from Awakening the Dreamer.
*"Open Mind (133) by Anahata Joy Katkin
The Journey: "We did not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it."
Just seconds after Narda Azaria Dalgleish switches off her computer in Hawick, an old mill town in the Scottish Borders, and turns in for the night at 5 am (GMT), I read her posting about an event she is deeply involved in: The Beshara School at the Chisholme Institute's September Seminar entitled
Self Knowledge and Global Responsibility: Towards A Unified Vision.
In her post, she quotes from The Kernel of the Kernel by Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi, an Andalusian twelfth century mystic
Several blind people were gathered in a place. They begun to discuss a matter: "We wonder if we could see an elephant." The keeper of the elephants took them to the elephant house. Each one found a part of the elephant and held on to it - some to the ear, some to the foot, some to the belly, some to the trunk. After having known the elephant in this fashion, they begun to argue among themselves. The one who clung to the leg of the elephant said the elephant was like a column. The one that held the ear said the elephant was like a napkin, and the one who knew the elephant by its belly said it was like a barrel. In short, whatever member they held on to they knew the elephant like that part; their beliefs were such. The person who has belief through imitation is in this state, he clings onto something definite and remains there. In that dimensional state he remains imprisoned.
and replies:
"Scientists confirm today what the great spiritual teachers always knew about the spiritual magnitude uniquely predisposed to humankind, namely, the human genome being inclusive of all the building blocks of life and all that preceded it, stemming from one cell/origin - Life or Existence itself ... In the end, if I can see myself and the world as one self, how could I possibly not wish to serve it wholeheartedly, let alone harm it?"
Symposium 2009: Beshara School at the Chisholme Institute
Immediately, I revisit her report on the seminar Can I See Myself and the World as One Self and am immersed for well over an hour.
When I finally resurface, I am sure of something I have long suspected in my interactions with Narda: we are both imaginal cells. Separated by some 6000 miles, we both remain awake until the wee hours of the morning, driven by the same blessed unrest: We are both aware that time is of the essence. We are both delicate iron butterflies, hardwired to the same circadian clock, migrating towards the promise of a future, propelled forward by delicate and magnificently powerful light-detecting sensors, which respond to the invisible cue of polarized ultraviolet light. In unison, we dip, Golden Swallow Tails, Spread Wing Skippers, Pacific Checkerspots, side-by-side, hypervigilant, listening through small sonar specks on our wings for the singular sound of a chrysalis' vibration.
"The transformation itself is amazing. Think of it as recycling -- if you drop a plastic bottle off in the recycling bin, it can be melted down into an entirely different shape. This is what happens inside the chrysalis. Much of the body breaks itself down into imaginal cells, which are undifferentiated -- like stem cells, they can become any type of cell. The imaginal cells put themselves back together into a new shape. A few parts of the body, such as the legs, are more or less unchanged during this process."
It seems that the brain of the butterfly, born through the massive clustering of imaginal cells, contains neural fibers that connect its circadian rhythm to the photoreceptors in its eyes. It is the only insect which possesses this pathway, utilizing "a time-compensated sun compass." Link
Isn't it Al Gore who says if you want to move quickly you move alone, if you want to move forward, you move together, but that now we need to move forward quickly. There is no time. Isn't it Van Jones who tells us there are NO single issues, there is only ONE language, it is all interconnected. There is no time. Aren't there people everywhere who are tortured by images of their children or grandchildren, all asking "What did you do when the earth was unraveling? What did you do when you knew?" There is no time.
We need to cluster. I have been awake for over 30 years now, yet only in the past few years have I succeeded in redirecting the energy which served to repress my terror towards working on the solution. And so the question: The question to ask of all those who still deflect, deny, dissemble: "What gives you the right not to know?"
"The underlying question, 'Can I see myself and the world as One Self?' came up following a mention of a slogan placed on the London Tube in the 70's," says Narda. "If I recall correctly, it said 'I may not be able to change the world but I can change myself.'"
Opening to Wonder
It's just not possible to immerse yourself in the four hour Awakening the Dreamer symposium without feeling vitally alive. A few signficant glimmers of promise.
I. The New Cosmology
In Center for the Story of the Universe: The New Cosmology, Brian Swimme points to the similarity between the emerging consciousness (and the requisite shift in the global worldview) and the end of the entire medieval world (its monarchies, the church, and the feudal economic system), which followed Copernicus' 1543 discovery that the Earth was not the center of the universe.
"We live in a similar moment of breakdown and creativity," Swimme writes. "The cosmological discovery that shatters nearly everything upon which the modern age was built is the discovery that the Universe came into existence 13.7 billion years ago and is so biased toward complexification that life and intelligence are now seen to be a nearly inevitable construction of evolutionary dynamics. Our new challenge is to reinvent our civilization. The major institutions of the modern period, including that of agriculture and religion and education and economics, need to be re-imagined within an intelligent, self-organizing, living Universe, so that instead of degrading the Earth's life systems, humanity might learn to join the enveloping community of living beings in a mutually enhancing manner. This great work will surely draw upon the talents and energies of many millions of humans from every culture of our planet and throughout the rest of the 21st century."
II. Biomimicry
One of the direct biomimicry analogies that we saw was the heavy, wind-driven rains pounding the buildings being constructed in Dasve. We talked about how to treat the surfaces and shape the buildings to include layering that would reduce the impact of the rain. If we think about treating a city like a forest, we can studies the layers of vegetation in a forest, which has larger trees, under-stories and canopies above the soil. All this gradually reduces the impact of how water percolates into the ground and then into the waterways. So this is direct knowledge we can learn from a forest. Of course we aren't just going to build trees around the buildings. But we can think about the different layers that we can create to protect the building. Lavasa Biomimicry Site Visit: Studying the "Genius of the Place"
III. The Indigenous Worldview
"Apparently, the human brain has adapted over time, converting the space once used for sensing vibration to use by the more immediately powerful senses of sight and sound. Yet Caitlin O'Connell-Rodwell notes that "traditional instruments such as the didgeridoo of Australia, talking drums of West Africa, and the stomping dances of Native Americans all produce signals that have the potential to be carried through the ground over long distances."These instruments could have been important communication mechanisms similar to smoke signals, but at much greater distances than smoke signals could be detected," she says." Link
Different Amazonian indigenous people tell different stories about how Moon went from being a person upon the earth, to living in the sky; about how animals, birds and humans lost the ability to communicate with one another; about why birds were given beaks and feathers and fish scales and gills, but for many of these peoples, one thing holds true: this transformation is only partial. People, animals, birds, some plants, stars, hills and rocks, are believed to have souls, manifesting different aspects of the same essential being. Their different appearances now, fur, scales, feathers, are just like covers, enveloping a common essence. And their different voices, calls, grunts, songs, are just like different languages. (an excerpt from Can I see myself and the world as one self? Aliya Ryan)
Photocredits:
Choaspes hemixanthus pumping by outdoors2magic
Travelling men by halifaxlight
Symposium 2009: Beshara School at the Chisholme Institute by Christopher Ryan
A Secret Shade Garden For You~ To Cool The Toes Of Your Soul by ArteZoe
Imaginal Cells: Martian Spacecrbaft by madcalabrian.
Puffball - dandelion clock - seed dispenser - globular head with downy tufts by quapan
The Spirit I by Buddha's Ghost
Aliya Ryan by Christopher Ryan
Sydney Opera house HDR Sydney Australia by Linh_rOm
IMG_0335 by HOK
DSCN0136 by kushtandon
GreenRoots is an environmental series created by Meteor Blades and Patriot Daily for Daily Kos. This series provides a forum for educating, brainstorming, discussing and taking action on various environmental topics.
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