Chaos with a Purpose

curiosity and the unconscious urge

 

 

Our children come into their world into a sensory mess. Not only is their sensory acuity in the process of developing, but so too are their interpretations of those sensory inputs. During this time, they smell and see colors, see and hear sounds, and hear or see smells. Their brains are filled with neurons that are searching for connections to make sense out of their world as their innateness is pushing them forward. The best way I can describe it is “chaos with a purpose", and that “purpose" is driven by curiosity...the curiosity of looking for a sound...reaching for a parent’s face...a curiosity to move and explore the space from where all the senses are coming from. An infant turns its head. A baby rolls over onto its stomach and begins inching across the room...and soon feels the exhilaration of supporting itself on hands and knees, only to find it wants to stand...and in walking, exhilaration turns to pure joy...and to run is to play, and to play is to connect and learn.

 

Babies develop in intimate concert physically, neurologically and consciously driven by curiosity, and an overwhelming desire and need for love and play. Each moment, from the first time a newborn turns its head...to a child running, stimulates the CNS to grow and integrate, to myelinate. As a baby’s brain is growing and developing, so too is their perception and understanding of their world. During this time, their brains are growing at an astounding rate. By age three, their brains will have grown to three times its size at birth, and have increased synapses from the billions at birth, to a number we can barely fathom. As a parent, it can be such a beautiful process to participate in...and to simply watch in wonder.

 

 

 

The Geometry of Consciousness

the evolution of the unconscious

 

The neck extends and the head turns as it wiggles like a fish without ever having learned how to do it...for the first and last time as the newborn makes its way into the world. These fetal movements are reflexive in nature, not conscious. They are called “primitive reflexes" and are just a few of quite a few. Some are for basic needs; some are for protection; and, some are for initiating that drive to have more and more freedom to move through and explore its space.

 

The Central Nervous System begins to integrate through a series of five physical and corresponding conscious stages. These are “brain growth spurts" that begin with the baby coming through the birth canal. From birth, it takes six to eight years for the CNS to integrate physically, and the final conscious level really starts developing around 12 or 13 years old. The CNS continues to integrate consciously, to learn and expand throughout our lives.

 

Babies are born into sensory chaos. The physical structure that allows for awareness of thought, the brain, has yet to develop to the point where it can interact with the world. The newborn has no definitive thought about today, tomorrow or anything else that we think about moment-to-moment. A baby’s response to its environment and needs is almost entirely reflexive. Even responses to sensory input are reflexive during this time (primitive reflexes). At this stage of development babies have not created enough synapses, cortical myelination or experiences to respond any other way. It is actually the same “consciousness" that we experience in the flash of a moment of expansive joy or creative insights. It is our deepest level of consciousness.

 

During this time, the first one to two months of life, the infant develops head control, which initiates integration of the cervical spine or neck. Consciousness is aware of life with little distinction between self and its surroundings with no awareness of “I am". The conscious awareness is simply that of “life", not “I am alive"...just “life". The primary sense at this stage is touch. Geometrically, this stage can be represented as random points in space...again, chaotic. This is where those ideas that have never been thought of before, come from. There is no desire, only curiosity and an inescapable urge...an unconscious purpose.

 

Once the baby develops head control, it’s ready to start exploring its world. So it looks and listens with curiosity and intent for the purpose of making sense out of its senses. Primitive reflexes kick in once again as the baby strains to see and hear its world. It wiggles...wiggles become squirms...and squirms become movement as it learns to roll from supine to prone and back again...and again.

 

2-6 months physically (conscious integration occurs primarily from 2 months-2 years old): Now, the infant is ready to creep like an inchworm as it reflexively begins flexing and extending its body. Many times when I would hold my son at this age, he would straighten his body as if he were trying to climb up me. This was the flexion/extension patterning...the inchworm. The occipital lobe begins myelination at this time (primary myelination is from birth to 2 years old) as vision becomes more acute. A growing distinction between self and the surrounding world is emerging as the CNS establishes a neurologic point of reference with the awareness of “I see". “There is me and everything that is not me." This is the first duality, and thus the awareness of self is beginning...the awareness of separation (a manifestation of this is object permanence). This forms the basis for the developing consciousness, an anchor so-to-speak, as further development will allow for greater and greater understanding of the relationship between itself and its world. This stage is represented geometrically as a line, the most fundamental form that can be divided into a duality. The core desire is to exist and to matter...permanence.

 

Preparatory phase for the next stage is sitting without assistance.

 

6-12 months physically (conscious integration occurs primarily from 2-7 years old): As the infant begins to crawl, the temporal lobe increases myelination and hearing becomes more acute as the baby becomes increasingly aware of a relationship between itself and its world, thus creating a cause and effect reality, the basis for belief systems...the core structure of the mind that allows for a fundamental sense of understanding as it gains more and more understanding through its interactions with its space. This stage can be represented as a square, as the spine begins laterally flexing, thus creating width. The core desire is to understand and to be accepted.

 

Note: Butt scooting is not acceptable for this stage of development. Babies need to creep and crawl! This cannot be over-emphasized.

 

Preparatory phase for the next stage is squatting and standing.

 

1-4 Years physically (conscious integration occurs primarily from 7-12 years old): The child starts walking, which integrates rotational movement of the spine, as taste and smell become more acute. At this time the child is establishing the basis or awareness of a “quality" with his or her relationships, and is becoming more conscious of the quality of interactions with friends, grandparents, parents, as the emotions are beginning to integrate with consciousness. There are hormonal patterns very similar to puberty at this time, but much more subdued. This stage can be represented as a cube, as rotation creates depth. When fully integrated the child should be running with smooth integrated movement between the arms and legs. Children who have not integrated properly at this or any previous level will show dysfunctions when running. Their stride may be labored; their arms may sway too much from side-to-side; or they may not be able to even jump. The core desire is to love and be loved.

 

Preparatory phase for the next stage is seeing how many balls and objects can be thrown over our 8’ fence in the backyard. Luckily, my neighbor was a grandfather who had a better arm than my son.

 

5-7 years physically (conscious integration occurs primarily from 12 years old): The child is now developing hand dominance. Further development of the cortex is seen at this time with emphasis on the frontal lobe (primary myelination being from 12 to 16 years old). The child develops a more complete understanding of time and creating a foundation for abstract thought, which is seen later in their teens. Proprioception and the awareness of position and movement within space is the predominant sense for this stage as the child becomes much more cognizant of the relationship to activity happening around them. During this time and throughout life, consciousness integrates with higher cortical functions and awareness’ as we move toward more abstract fourth dimensional realities, where the dualities of time and space, and separation of self and experience become less and less distinct as we begin experiencing a greater desire for oneness. Ultimately, the geometric representation is the point, not random chaotic points as seen with the first stage of development, but a focal point of Awareness within the moment, as the cube turns inside-out, or turns-in-on-itself as all separation is lost. The core desire for intimacy begins and ends here.

 

 

We are evolving into freer less encumbered realities where our world becomes more and more accessible...more intimate. With each level of development, an expansion or opening occurs, a “lightness” or sense of “ease”. A point extends into a line...a line expands into a square...a square moves into a cube...a cube opens into its world. This is where “spiritual” experiences are encountered...the expansive lightness of our world. These “spiritual” moments are nothing more than glimpses of the infiniteness of the 4th dimension of consciousness. An expansive awareness of being...an increasingly conscious point within the Moment. We are omni-directional beings consciously evolving into 4th dimensional awareness’.

 

 

 

Continue...Consciousness, Mind and Awareness