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The main topic of mindfulness discussion in the fourth class on Mindfulness Course is EVOLUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

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THE CREATION

1. The attributes of this universe are simply there as perceived by us. We perceive interactions among these attributes. We see these interactions producing new attributes.

2. We basically perceive a CHANGE flanked by cause and effect. These “changes” appear in chain, or as a network. We do not perceive some “absolute nothing” before change.

3. A CHANGE is always from a relative nothing to something. This applies to any idea of creation. A creation is basically a change.

4. The idea that “God created this world” can only mean that God evolved into this world. God and this world is, therefore, a single system called the universe.

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THE EVOLUTION OF MATTER

1. In this universe, the forms appear; they survive; and then they perish giving way to new forms. All forms perish ultimately. No form survives forever.

2. It appears that the goal is to bring order into chaos, and not to seek immortality for some particular form. The dynamic principle of existence, therefore, seems to be evolution and not mere survival.

3. In evolution, discreteness arises from continuous background. That background is continuous space. Discreteness arises as frequency of electromagnetic energy, which evolves into resonances of electrons, and then into particles of nucleons. Particles then form larger discrete objects.

4. Just because discrete objects appear separate from each other, it does not mean that they are not connected at the fundamental level of energy and space. As an abstraction, whole numbers appear to be discrete, but they are connected by fractions and irrational numbers on a continuous number line.

5. The universe, thus, remains a vast single continuous system no matter how chaotic it appears.

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THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE

1. The RNA and DNA molecules have enough electrons to acquire the property of programmable circuits. Life begins as these circuits acquire natural programming that leads to animation.

2. Life is the property of natural animation. It is manifested in material structures called cells. Cells are the building blocks of living organisms.

3. The living organism and all its attributes are part of the universe. The attributes seem to be harmoniously integrated. However, we categorize them as physical and metaphysical.

4. The physical attributes characterize the body of the organism. The metaphysical attributes characterize the animation of the organism, and are further characterized as the mind and spirit of the organism.

5. We may consider the universe to be a living organism. The physical attributes manifest as the form of the universe. The metaphysical attributes manifest as the mind and spirit of the universe, which may be identified as God.

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THE EVOLUTION OF THINKING

1. In inanimate objects, the “thinking” is in terms of reaction. By reaction is meant, that there is only one option in how to respond to some stimuli.

2. As animation enters into the picture, the reaction expands into a series of responses. This is the case with plant life. Multiple optional responses to the same stimuli are still lacking.

3. When there is more than one option on how to respond to same stimuli, then we have analytical thinking. Such thinking seems to appear with animal life. Here we see the organisms of the same specie responding differently to the same stimuli.

4. There is greater analytical thinking at the level of highly evolved animal life. But it is not random. There seems to be a consistency associated with it.

5. Analytical can be seen as the result of enhanced biological programming, which initially brought about animation.

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THE EVOLUTION OF INTELLIGENCE

1. Biological programming, at its highest level, is able to modify itself based on the feedback. This ability manifests as intelligence at the level of humans.

2. Intelligence is the ability to recognize differences, similarities and identities. It takes decision on the basis of observing things as they are. This is the highest level of evolution so far.

3. However, this intelligence can easily be suppressed by force and reduced to analytical, and then reactive thinking. A person remains in these lower modes of thinking when stressed.

4. Further evolution may lead to intelligence that is robust and immune to stress. For this to occur, the current intelligence needs to understand its own evolution.

5. Intelligence goes back to analytical thinking to reactive thinking to some fundamental alignment, which precipitates from chaos. There seems to be some sort of settling down or reaching of equilibrium.

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THE LAW OF EQUILIBRIUM

1. There seems to be a Law of Equilibrium as the fundamental law of the universe. A form of this law appears as the law of entropy in Thermodynamics.

2. It is the Law of Equilibrium that brings about the evolution from “static reactivity” of material objects, to “animated reactivity” of plant life, to “analytical thinking” of animal life, to “intelligence” of humans.

3. Looking on the cosmic scale, there was no intelligence at the beginning of the universe. The idea, “There was intelligence at the beginning in the form of God,” seems to be subjective. There seems to be only the Law of Equilibrium in the beginning.

4. The infinity of GOD has evolved from the zero of the Law of Equilibrium, which Buddha called NIRVANA.

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Now we shall be looking more closely at the human existence.