Cosmic Evolution Story

Imagine Well Being’s offerings are grounded in the knowledge that we are a part of a long evolutionary story. Our bodies and everything around us are made up of elements that originated in long-dead stars. Many of the issues we face come from the fact of Being Human, something that psychologist Paul Gilbert captures well in several of his writings:

“All of the basic building blocks for life were created in stars. The potential for life within the Universe began when the Universe began … What [this] means in terms of consciousness is that all of us just find ourselves here. We have no idea why. We’re all caught in the flow of life … ” 1

“… We did not choose to be born, nor the genes that made us, nor the kinds of emotions and desires that often operate within us … We all just ‘find ourselves here’. We are all in the same boat … ” 2

“So the philosophical issue is the implication of being the only species that can be aware of this. We are aware that we are aware. Our consciousness is both part of the material world and not a part of it. But we can wake up and decide if we want arbitrary forces to shape ourselves or if we want to be the best version of ourselves.”  1

“That for me is a key to compassion – recognizing that we have not been designed, that we all just find ourselves here, not because we (or some other power) chose for us to be here.” 3

From time to time, we offer Cosmic Evolution Story as a specific class as well as being a framework for much of what we offer.It is recognized and respected that many meditative practices have their origins in ancient philosophical or religious teaching to cultivate physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.

1  killingbuddha.co/blog/2015/7/16/dr-paul-gilbert.
2 https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/Gilbert-Compassion-Handout.pdf
3 Gilbert, Compassionate Mind