Being in the Dharma

Set aside what you have read about DNA as a string of sugars and amino acids strung in a double helix. That model tells us what DNA looks like, but it says almost nothing about what is actually going on in the dynamics of life, just as the wiring diagram of a television tells us nothing about what’s playing on the screen.

What’s playing through your DNA at this moment is the evolution of the universe. The next desire you have will be recorded in memory, and either the universe will move forward or it won’t. We tend to think of evolution as a straight-line march from primitive organisms to higher ones. A better image would be of a bubble expanding to take in more and more of life’s potential.

As you access more intelligence, you are evolving. On the other hand, if you constrict your mind to what you already know or can predict, your evolution will slow down.

As you access more creativity, you are evolving. On the other hand, if you try to use old solutions to solve new problems, your evolution will slow down.

As you access more awareness, you are evolving. On the other hand, if you continue to use a fraction of your consciousness, your evolution will slow down.

The universe has a stake in which choices you decide to make, for the overwhelming evidence is that it favors evolution over standing still. In Sanskrit, the evolutionary force is called Dharma, from a root word that means “to uphold”.

Without you, Dharma would be confined to three dimensions. Even though you spend almost no time thinking about your relationship to a zebra, a coconut tree, or blue-green algae, each is your intimate in the evolutionary scheme.

Adapted from The Book of Secrets, by Deepak Chopra