I slept more soundly that night than I had in weeks. Tara stayed with me for a while, but left to sleep at her place. In the morning the world looked different. There was a shine to everything, similar to what I experienced on the Arizona mountaintop after my meditation session with Tara. I felt a deep serenity. I drank my coffee with the world around me shimmering with clarity as if I were somehow seeing it all for the first time.
Even as I enjoyed the blissful sensation of that quiet morning, my thoughts went to Tara’s point, the lingering question I feared might unravel everything that Mr. Grant had shown me.
***
It was mid-morning that day when I caught up with Mr. Grant in the hall of the Rayburn Building not far from our office.
Sensing my intentions, he said, “Come, walk with me. I can’t miss this vote.” The bells summoning Members to the floor for a vote had just started ringing.
He smiled as we entered the elevator down to the basement.
“So, John. Are you feeling better today?”
“Yes, sir. I feel great in fact. But there was something else that I’m not clear on…”
“Well, you’ve gotten a lot to chew on.” The doors of the elevator opened, and two other Members came on. Mr. Grant bantered with them about the pending vote.
From the elevator we walked to the Capitol subway cars. Other Members of Congress flowed out from adjacent elevators making the same route.
“Go ahead, John, what’s on your mind?”
I felt awkward bringing up the topic in such a public place, but nonetheless followed Mr. Grant’s opening.
“If it’s as you say, that space migration and planetary stewardship are part of the natural order of things, why does it seem as if we’re not getting anywhere in these areas? With so much opposition to space development, like the battle we just faced over the space station, for example, it seems the whole future of the space program is in doubt. And if space migration and environmental protection is such a sacred pair of the Obligations, why are people so divided over these issues?” I put the questions as straight as I could.
Mr. Grant was amused, “Well you get a gold star. You’ve asked one of the most important questions.” I made a mental note to pass the gold star to Tara. We climbed aboard one of the cars. Though we sat shoulder-to-shoulder with other Members, they paid no attention to our conversation.
Once seated, Mr. Grant continued, “The answer to that question lies with the Seventh Endowment.”
“The seventh…?”
“Did you think our evolution was complete?” He laughed, and I made no attempt to respond. “This is the supreme arrogance of our species. We believe we are as good as it gets—an attitude that may yet do us in.”
I was amazed that there was not a flicker of interest from any of the other riders as the car glided the short distance to the Capitol Building.
“I've told you that the six Endowments emerged consecutively in human consciousness over a long period of time. The reason some of us are becoming conscious of the nature of the Twin Obligations at this time is due to the emergence of the Seventh Endowment.”
“But, what…?” The car came to a stop before I could finish my question. I held my thought as we bustled from the car.
“Let’s pick this up later. I’m sure my colleagues are not as interested in this topic as we are.” There was eye contact and chuckles between Mr. Grant and other Members as they disappeared behind the doors of the Capitol elevator.
***
At about half past seven that night I was still at my desk. Everyone else had gone for the day. Tara told me to come by her place as soon as I could. I had not spoken to Mr. Grant since our ride on the Capitol subway, and was eager to find out more about the Seventh Endowment. The blissful feeling I woke up with stayed with me all day. It felt strongest in the quiet moments. It was a knowing that everything was the way it should be.
The office phone rang. Normally I let the answering machine pick up the call at that time of night, but I felt an urge to answer it myself. “Hello. Congressman Harrison Grant’s office?”
“John?” I knew the voice instantly. It was Mr. Grant. “I was hoping you’d still be there. Why don’t you come over to the Capitol and meet me at the top of the steps on west side of the building.”
I left the Rayburn building and walked toward the Capitol. The sun was low in the sky but still bright. The slight humidity in the air was a refreshing change from the controlled environment of the office. I made my way to the west side of the building. I took off my jacket and loosened my tie. I didn’t see Mr. Grant at all until I nearly reached the top of the long set of stairs on the House side of the building. Mr. Grant was seated on the top-most step and invited me to sit next to him.
“I like this time of year in Washington. It’s warm and comfortable. A nice period before the summer heat.”
“The Seventh Endowment? What did you mean by that?” I was eager to get the conversation going.
“Just hold that thought for a bit, son. Let’s just take in the view for a while, shall we?”
The view was spectacular. The Mall stretched out in front of us to the Washington Monument. Beyond that I could clearly see the reflecting pool and Lincoln Memorial. The sun was just touching the horizon giving the entire scene an otherworldly glow. The inner serenity easily came back to me.
In his own time, Mr. Grant began. “The Seventh Endowment is a difficult Endowment to understand. There is not yet a descriptive archetype we can associate with this Endowment as there are with the Visionary, the Inventor and the others. It has not fully matured as a distinct characteristic in our collective psyche. Yet, it is the emergence of this trait that is essential to the fulfillment of all three Obligations, and resolving all the world’s biggest problems.”
“All of the world’s problems…?”
“Yes. As grandiose as that may sound.” He looked at me. “The Seventh Endowment is about wholeness in all aspects of the collective human and planetary existence. With the Seventh Endowment it becomes possible to solve even the nastiest of problems such as extreme poverty, war, energy scarcity, environmental imbalance, man’s inhumanity to man, and so on. The Seventh Endowment is essential for the fulfillment of all three Obligations; the Primary and Twin.
“But, before I discuss the Seventh Endowment further, let’s start with your question. If space migration, as I’ve suggested, is encoded somehow in the planet’s DNA, then we might conclude that there is nothing to worry about. Sooner or later we’ll get there. But, of course, there is something to worry about, as you recognized. The progress into space is happening in fits and starts. Space migration seems even more remote a possibility today than it was when Eagle landed on the moon decades ago.
“As long as we are focused on the incremental advancement in space development, and do not consciously understand that those advancements, or some of them at least, are stepping stones toward attaining the capacity for human migration into space, there is no guarantee that we will fulfill that Obligation. The main culprit in stopping our progression is Planetary Inertia.” He paused here and leaned back, placing the palms of his hands on the stone patio behind him.
“Planetary inertia has to do with our bond to this planet. We’ve never known any home other than this pretty blue marble. The idea that we could actually make a home beyond the atmosphere is simply beyond what most people can visualize. For those who can conceive such a future, most see space settlement as a remote future possibility with no relevance in today’s world. Most people say space exploration is fine, but permanent settlement? Give me a break.
“Planetary inertia was perhaps foreshadowed in mythical and biblical stories of Icarus and the Tower of Babel. Be careful, these stories warn. Don’t try to reach the heavens or you’ll get burned. If you try to build a tower to reach the heavens, where humans don’t belong, God will put you in your place. These stories actually illustrate the primordial struggle between the Evolution Impulse to expand beyond this planet, and planetary inertia that wants no part of it. But interestingly, these stories have never stopped the ruling class of nearly every age to build their soaring cathedrals and temples in symbolic gestures to get closer to God.
“Planetary inertia acts as a cultural and psychological brick wall, with space settlement most definitely on the other side. Unless humanity begins to consciously engage in the evolutionary process—of which it is already a part—it simply may not be able to overcome this inertia. People must learn to see space migration as a desirable end in its own right, and not simply for the immediate benefits that we might derive from it.”
He paused, giving me an opportunity to ask, “I see. But what does this have to do with the Seventh Endowment?”
“Why, everything! As I just said, humanity must begin to consciously engage in the evolutionary process if it is to overcome planetary inertia. That’s the Seventh Endowment, the capacity for Conscious Evolution.”
He stopped again to let that sink in. “Let me explain. We know the Endowments emerged in human consciousness one after the other as a progression in an evolutionary process, beginning with the Wanderer all the way through to the Protector. We’ve also said that these traits are all integrally associated with the flourishing of human civilization, and are essential for creating the means for space migration.
“The human race has come an amazing distance through the application of these traits.” Looking over the sparkling city that stretched below, I had an odd sensation that I was seeing the city as the culmination of all past history. “We say quite often that human civilization has evolved through time in a manner that is not dissimilar to Darwin’s process of natural selection -- from grass huts to the Sears Tower. This evolutionary process, as miraculous as it has been, has also been an unconscious process, only fully appreciated looking back in retrospect. There was nothing deliberate or intentional about how we transitioned from one age to another--from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age--from the Industrial Age to the Information Age. Inventors simply came up with ideas and inventions and the Builders copied the new stuff they liked. Populations adopted technologies that made sense to them. Gradually society changed with each new age to become something different that no one had intended it to become. Sometimes these changes were good for people and sometimes they weren’t. But over the long haul, technological progress was made and the standard of living for people improved. True, the Industrial Age came with horrors, and most of the world’s population still lives life at the economic margins. We can’t disregard these truths. Nevertheless, our quality of life is remarkable compared to what it was even a hundred years ago, particularly in western developed countries, and certainly with the rest of the world trying to catch up.
“To stress my point again, the remarkable series of events that brought us to where we are in history have occurred without our conscious intent.”
I was puzzled by this and it must have shown on my face. He shifted his position and considered his next statement.
“Let’s look at unconscious evolution in terms of chaos theory. What seems to be chaotic disorderly process of trial and error, actually proved, in hindsight, to be quite an orderly progression of events that led to all of this…perfection.” He gestured to the panorama before us. “Throughout history, there was a lot of stuff going on in many different directions. Some ideas achieved mass adoption, while other ideas, regardless of their worthiness, were discarded. You can picture this cloud of activity that includes all the archetypes; the Wanderers, the Settlers, the Inventors, and so on, all doing the things they like to do. Sometimes things went terribly wrong, but a lot of the time things went very right. Out of this cloud of chaos emerged an order. Things somehow all fell into place. We call that modern civilization. We have agriculture, writing systems, mathematics, music and art, electric lighting and indoor plumbing. And it all feels good.
“But, it all came about unconsciously over the millennia, with the players merely acting in accordance with their Endowments, and unsuspectingly in alignment with the Evolutionary Impulse. People acted according to free will, yet were motivated by an unconscious urge that propelled their action toward a particular future. And this was all well and good. Past generations didn’t need to be conscious of the evolutionary process they were a part of.
“But this veil of ignorance is now in the process of being lifted. In order for the human family to go any further, and indeed manage the advances that are taking place, we will need to embrace the Seventh Endowment and become Conscious Evolvers.”
“Conscious Evolvers?”
Mr. Grant rocked his head from side to side, “Conscious Evolution…Conscious Evolver. I suppose eventually we’ll come up with a better archetype to properly capture this Endowment. Or, perhaps the term Conscious Evolver will make enough of an imprint on our culture to survive as a suitable label. Who knows?”
We sat in silence for a few moments, our attention on the scene before us. “Look at the Washington Monument.” The landmark obelisk gleamed as the dominant object in our view. “It almost looks like a rocket, doesn’t it? You know that D.C. building codes prohibit construction of any building taller than the Washington Monument.” He paused briefly but did not look at me for a response. “I mentioned earlier that the ruling classes throughout the ages have all had the great central construction projects—the towering structures that dominate the culture and serve as a focal point of communal activity. The pyramids, temples, castles, cathedrals, the Eiffel Tower, the Twin Towers, and the Sears Tower. It didn’t really matter whether they were built for religious, political or commercial purposes. They were our unconscious attempts to reach the heavens. With rocket technology, we finally have the means to literally lift those monoliths toward heaven.
“One way to grasp the evolutionary progression is to imagine a slide show of all large structures throughout history, flipped through rapidly, it would almost look like an organism growing, becoming more refined and complex with each generation, culminating with the Saturn V rocket ready for takeoff—like a spore that grows on the surface of a dung heap and is ejected to carry the seeds of the organism in the hope of finding fertile ground to sprout anew. In serving what we believed to be a selfish purpose of erecting monuments to ourselves, we were all along, methodically and unconsciously, developing the capacity to carry the Earth seed to other planetary shores.”
With that he said nothing for a few minutes. I felt a crack in my being, like something was breaking away.
“Another way to look at planetary inertia and the Seventh Endowment is to compare it to the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly. Once in the chrysalis, the caterpillar goes through a metamorphosis. What takes place inside the body of the caterpillar is a war between the caterpillar’s old cells and the new butterfly cells, or what are called the imaginal cells. At first the new cells are rejected, and many die in the battle, but eventually the imaginal cells overwhelm the old order and a new creature is born.
“Right now the old caterpillar cells still dominate the planet, and they are doing their best to squash the imaginal cells that dare to show themselves.”
I impulsively asked, “Then, there have been people in the world who are…Conscience Evolvers?”
“Yes, of course. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi would be obvious examples, but there are and have been many in all walks of life throughout history. They are among the prophets, scientists and enlightened thinkers of history. In our time the numbers are increasing dramatically. So much so that individually today’s Conscious Evolvers don’t necessarily stand out the way King or Gandhi did in their day.
“The Conscious Evolver helps us to see beyond the parochial interests. She sees things in evolutionary terms and is willing to act according to that larger context. Eventually, when the Seventh Endowment takes firm hold in our collective consciousness, there will be little tolerance for actions that are taken for short-term, selfish gains. In this way we also recognize the Seventh Endowment as the Endowment of the ‘we’ and not of the ‘I.’”
We paused on this note. I used the break to asked a question that had been on my mind since Mr. Grant first mentioned the Seventh Endowment. “If I have it right, the Conscious Evolver is an evolved version of the Visionary?”
“Yes, the Conscious Evolver is a masculine Endowment, an evolved version of the Visionary in that he is able to see vast possibilities for the future. The difference is two parts: first, the Conscious Evolver feels a strong sense of the holistic order that already exists in the yet unlived future, so it’s not so much the feeling of being a kid in a candy store, which is how the Visionary can sometimes feel. The Conscious Evolver has a clear sense of how things should be in the future, and possesses a profound desire to bring that future into being. Second, the Conscious Evolver is interested in outcomes that benefit the whole. So we could say that Henry Ford was a visionary, but in the end his vision really had to do with selling lots of cars so that he could become rich and famous.
“Why do you think Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi were so revered? It is that level of human being who embody the Seventh Endowment. But, to make all of this work, we need not just one or a few like King or Gandhi to break the inertia. We will need thousands, millions of people to walk in the same shoes as these men to truly transform the world and clear the way to our extended home in space, as well as bring humanity together in a new level of unity.
“Again, in order to fulfill the Obligation, we must become conscious of it. Clues of this truth can be found in nature. For example, it is the fetus in the mother’s womb that chooses the time of its own birth. It is the baby that sends the signal to the mother’s body that the time has come and she’s ready to come out. It is not the mother’s body that says it’s time. Another example is the chick breaking out of its shell. Any kid growing up on a farm knows that you don’t help chicks break out of the shell. When the chick is ready, it begins the process on its own. If you break the shell for the chick, its leg muscles will not develop as they would in the process of breaking out on their own.
“Humanity, like the baby and chick, must decide on its own that it will birth itself into the heavens. This has to be a conscious decision that we make collectively. Once we can come to the decision as a human family, then there will be very little that will stand in our way, and nothing can stop us. Planetary inertia becomes simply a hurdle to overcome.
“The Seventh Endowment is the process of consciously evolving ourselves and our collective civilization: to heal and connect the global human community—the Primary Obligation; to heal and achieve balance with the planet that gave us life—the Twin Obligation for Planetary Stewardship; and to send life out into the waiting Cosmos—the Twin Obligation for Space Migration.
“This capacity for conscious evolution is a unifying principle of all humanity. With it we will not only build colonies in space, we will also end war, crime, poverty, and every malady that has plagued humanity. Conscious Evolution allows us to see without reservation that we are all part of one living system. And with that perspective we could no more allow a child in Africa to go hungry than we could one of our own.”
Mr. Grant stopped speaking. I realized I had been immersed in focused reverie. His words and voice had carried me off to another place. In the absence of his voice, the silence engulfed me. He sat up straight on the step, rested his hands on his lap, and closed his eyes. Night had fallen and artificial light bathed the scene before us. I was in a meditative state. I focused my attention on the Washington Monument. It seemed to shimmer. A shaft of light rose up from its column and extended into the infinite reaches of the sky. The shaft glowed brilliantly, and a fine web of light overlay the entire scene, similar to my vision on the Arizona mountaintop. One of the threads came from my chest and Mr. Grant’s. I was overcome with bliss.
I lost consciousness for what could only have been a minute or so. I looked over at Mr. Grant who was smiling at me. I looked at the Washington Monument and the light vision was gone.
“To embody the Seventh Endowment is to consciously take responsibility for the future of humanity—all of it. That means you, personally, have to accept the responsibility that if the world is to survive, it is completely up to you. You must act in accordance with how the Evolutionary Impulse in moving within you, whether it’s to build a space colony or to be a damn good first-grade teacher. Only a small percent of the population is needed to take action in response to the Evolutionary Impulse to expand into space. But, a big enough percent of the population will have to become awake enough to say ‘Yeah. I get it,’ in order for us to overcome the inertia.”
He searched for my reaction. His call to take responsibility for all humanity unsettled me. Did he mean me, personally? Seeing the disquiet on my face, Mr. Grant let out a long hard laugh. “Don’t sweat it, John. It’s not all up to you.” But, just as suddenly his mood became somber again, “Or is it? …That’s something you’ll have to chew on for a while to know what this all means for you. But, for certain, there are many people who are accepting that level of responsibility and choosing to be Conscious Evolvers in the world. We see these individuals most urgently in environmental activism, civil and human rights, anti-poverty efforts, and so on. The Conscious Evolvers in fields relating to space migration are here as well. Because of our planetary inertia, many Conscious Evolvers in the space arena lack the confidence of their own conviction. At times they will even question the very passion that is pounding in their chest, and too easily accept the delays and inefficiencies in moving our society toward space migration. They’ll too quickly admit that even though they hold that vision as central to their personality, the prospects for such a future are too distant for us to meaningfully advance in this era.
“You see, by denying the immediacy of the Evolutionary Impulse that we feel inside is the very act of giving in to the planetary inertia. But if we can attain the perspective of the Conscious Evolver we create much greater clarity around our intentions. The Conscious Evolver becomes conscious of the Evolutionary Impulse itself. For those who can achieve this state of being, much of the internal struggle, insecurity and uncertainty fades into the background, and they are able to take decisive action to fulfill that calling that the Evolutionary Impulse is pointing to.
“Therefore, the full emergence of the Seventh Endowment is the key to our fulfillment of the Obligations. While this emergence is happening spontaneously to some degree, complete success will only come when those who feel the pull of the Obligation decide for themselves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that space migration is essential to human existence, and with that knowledge are willing to put themselves on the line in pursuit of that goal.”
His words were spoken with intensity that frightened me. My body was awash with vibrating tension. “But,…why tell me all this?” My voice was shallow and weak compared to his deeply graveled tones. As the full weight of the Obligation came crashing down on me, I felt woefully inadequate to the call that Mr. Grant was making.
As my head reeled, Mr. Grant studied me, then responded compassionately, “Why that’s simple, John. You asked. You said you had to know the meaning of the plaque. That told me that you possessed the capacity to express the Seventh Endowment. Unconsciously, you said you were ready to evolve.”
The floor of my being fell out from under me. I sat next to Mr. Grant on the steps of the Capitol Building, but I was also adrift in empty space. There was nothing for me to hold onto. My moorings to reality had been severed.
After what seemed an eternity, Mr. Grant continued in as gentle a voice as I had ever heard him use, “John, this is only an invitation. You don’t have to accept or do anything about it. If you do accept this challenge, it will be unbelievably difficult and exhilarating. If you do not accept it, you will be forced to block the Evolutionary Impulse from your thoughts. Unfortunately, attempting to ignore this truth now that you have come this far will be particularly difficult.”
He laughed again at my blank response. He did not seek an absolute answer from me on that night, but my heart was full of wonder and peril of what the Seventh Endowment represented. Through Mr. Grant I saw the world from that higher perspective. Things that once seemed important no longer were. The distant future was as palpable as the present moment.