Awakening to Deep Time

When we become aware of the vastness of the entire evolutionary process—from the big bang to the present moment—that is called awakening to Deep Time. It means having the capacity to assume a perspective that is nothing less than cosmic and being able to see whatever’s happening to us personally from its lofty vantage point. It is also the profound recognition that our very own present-day highly evolved capacity for consciousness, cognition, introspection, compassion, empathy, and even spiritual insight has all been produced by this deep-time developmental process. This means so much! It means that our personal experience is not half as personal as it seems to be. It also means something that is so startling it is hard to let in. It means that human beings, because of our highly developed brains, are the very leading edge of the entire panoramic unfolding. And as far as we know, we are the only life-form in this vast process that has gained the capacity for self-reflective awareness. The personal implications inherent in this truth are enormous. When we ask the question “Who am I?” from the perspective of cosmic evolution, the answer comes back: “I am the universe becoming aware of itself in human form.”

Andrew Cohen