In my previous piece, “My Real Issue is Human Development” (reviewing my own thoughts as expressed in my “Lefty Parent” blog) I called out that human development and the evolution of consciousness towards a “more evolved” state are what I consider of paramount importance and worthy of continuing discussion. One of my fellow blogging comrades on Daily KOS, “Cassiodorus”, challenged me on this with a thoughtful difference of opinion…

I would recognize life as a progression of qualitatively different states, with new realizations and burned energies each step of the way… You have cycles: birth, life, death.

Perhaps a more pragmatic, less metaphysical take on our species and individual existences than my own.

My comrade posed a provocative question on what in fact I meant by “more evolved” and what exactly did I see the human species developing towards?

So in the spirit of what I see as an important ongoing dialog… here goes!

I believe we are evolving as individual consciousnesses and collectively as a species towards…

* Being more thoughtful and reflective, integrating intellectual, emotional and metaphysical intelligence

* Being more capable of compiling, synthesizing, archiving, accessing and employing the ever accumulating wisdom of our species

* Treating each other as peers with very different insights and capabilities but comparable inherent worth and dignity and extending this circle of equals even to our young people

* Being fully conscious of the workings of our ecosphere and the entire cosmos and the role we can play to maintain and enhance it

* Enhancing our abilities to be effective actors, differentiated from each other to handle the increasing complexity of our shared existence

* Moving to a point beyond fear and ego toward love and freely giving what each of us has to give

I see this evolution as a process of many millennia, many behind us and many more still ahead with no utopian end state or destination. It will probably continue to proceed as three steps forward and two steps back at times. Like all developmental experiences it will continue to be punctuated by failures of various sorts, including failure of imagination, and succumbing to fear.