The Avatar Times
exploring consciousness
issue twenty-one
Science can demonstrate that certain physical characteristics are genetically encoded in an individual's DNA. One person's blue eyes and another's brown eyes can be traced to certain genetic configurations. Skin, scales, feathers, and hair, as well as thousands of other physical traits, can be explained in terms of inherited genetic material, but what about instincts, social behaviors, and humanitarian motives? Where do they come from?
The Ash Is Falling
by Harry Palmer
I used to raise pigs and observed that they were naturally adept at building shelters. That's probably where the story of "The Three Little Pigs" comes from. The first little pig built his house of straw, the second little pig built his house of sticks, and the third little pig built his house of bricks. That last construction may have been creative license on the part of the storyteller, but pigs really do build shelters, and they are quite good at it.
I had a 300-pound sow named Violet who could turn a soft piece of ground and a brush pile into a pig shelter in an amazingly short time. She was a regular beaver. She would drag branches together in a pile, dump mouthfuls of sod on them, and then roll the pile flat. Then she would drag on a few more branches, more mouthfuls of sod, and then roll it flat again. At first I thought she was building a foundation, which really would have been a mark of higher intelligence.
By the way, foundations are a human invention. If you are doing an archeological excavation looking for traces of man, and you strike something that looks like a foundation, you hit pay dirt. Foundations are a crossover from instinctive shelter building to intelligent shelter building. (This also applies to building your life.)
Anyhow, the pig wasn't building a foundation; she was building a shelter from the top down. The matted pile of sticks and sod was her roof. Once it satisfied her, she lifted the edge with her nose and crawled under. Then she stood up and the roof bent to the curve of her back. From the underside she pushed up a dirt wall with her snout. Finally when the dirt around her was a foot high, she knelt down in the hole she had excavated and let the dome roof rest on the dirt. I wondered if this was a natural archetype for cathedrals and capitol buildings. It is humbling to think that the US Capitol building may have been modeled after a pig shelter.
There was no exit. At first, I thought this was a mistake, but on second thought, if you are giving birth to a dozen lively baby pigs (which she did a few hours later) you could appreciate her design.
In a matter of one afternoon, Violet had built a one-pig dome with matted waterproof roof that would protect her new family from late spring snows. Some pig! What intrigued me was that Violet came from a commercial pig farm; she had been born and raised on a concrete floor. How did she know about building shelters?
Baby pigs are vulnerable to cold, and without knowledge of shelters the species could not survive. So how is this shelter-building instinct passed from generation to generation? I'm sure that the width of her snout and the color of her eyes were determined by her inherited DNA, but from where did she inherit her knowledge of shelters? Is shelter building an evolved behavior developed over many generations and reinforced by natural selection? 
Watching Violet build her house left me wondering if there is some cosmic consciousness memory bank that passes instincts from generation to generation, species to species, some sort of between lives storage area. Universal memory banks! The idea hints of magic or maybe the unfolding of a divine cosmic design.
Instincts might limit you to an outmoded behavior. (Probably why intelligence was invented, duh!) Instincts are about as conservative as you can get. If something worked for granddad, then it will work for you. Maybe, but this fails to take into account that the challenges your granddad confronted are not your challenges.
If the climate became warmer, would Violet still build a shelter for her piglets? Would they suffocate in the heat? I personally think Violet would outvote her instincts and intelligently figure something out. But it does raise serious questions for species with lesser intelligence. And what if the dirt becomes poisoned from pollution or fallout? Decontamination is probably beyond a pig's intelligence.
In the sixties, I dropped out and returned to the land. The plan was to be self-sufficient: to grow my own food, build my own house, and survive by my own efforts.
You want to know something? It was the easiest thing I ever did. All the problems of what to grow, when to plant, and how to build, were solved hundreds of years ago. I had a house, plenty to eat, and was bored almost to death. Instead of surviving, I felt like I was on a path to extinction. Thriving does not necessarily mean evolving, and when you get down to it, evolving seems to be the purpose of life; so maybe your personal challenges are good things.
I used to tell a story about a tropical rodent that evolved during the age of the dinosaur. This little quadruped was unique because it was covered with thin single-quill feathers that you and I would call hair.
Hair in a tropical climate is not a good idea; it doesn't really solve any environmental problems. In fact, it is a liability. So much so that the poor creature had to burrow underground, and only come out at night. On the plus side, it did avoid cold-blooded predators that hunted in the heat of the day.
But fashion-wise, it was all scales and thick hide. Hair was an oddity. It's not hard to imagine the great rulers of the Jurassic swamps looking at the hairy rodent burrowing in the ground and hear them laughing. Hair! Living underground! What a freak!
Then it started to snow!
Of course, you know the rest of the story: Rodents survived the ice age, dinosaurs didn't.
Growing hair was pre-adaptive evolution. It didn't come from instincts, or even from intelligence; it was a mutation. Call it dumb luck if you want to, but having hair and a burrowing ability prepared the ancestor of the mouse family for the future. If there is some fund of collective consciousness that dutifully records the experiences of life, and designs instincts for the next generation, this mouse started a new chapter. Fur was a serendipitous mutation that illustrates that sometimes you survive by being different and breaking with the past. 
The more self-designing that a creature becomes, the more it can adapt to changes. If the dinosaur had greater intelligence and fewer instincts, it might have survived the Ice Age wearing a mouse-skin coat, but the dinosaur was not self-designing; it lacked the intelligence and flexibility to manage change.
Today, tens of thousands of Avatar students are self-designing qualities that will pre-adapt them for the 
social change that is beginning: the crossover from mutually destructive societies to an enlightened planetary civilization. You could say that Avatars are growing hair. In this case, hair is the ability to see others compassionately, the ability to trust and act honestly, the ability to listen and share, and the ability to predict and shape future realities.
While a few skeptics are laughing, pointing fingers, and yelling, "Cult," ash is beginning to fall.
The Story of The Avatar Course
Why do Avatar Masters stress feeling above intellect?
Intellect is good for figuring some things out, but it only gives false answers when asked, "Who am I really?"
A lot of people when they first approach Avatar are being thoughts. Their intellects have built them vehicles of solidified thoughts that are mistaken as self. This misconception of who they are has to be worked out before the aware spirit awakens, and this is not a problem that the intellect can work out. Nothing born of the intellect can experience aware spirit. The eye cannot see itself, but it may, by a direct perception that circumvents the intellect, feel itself looking.
Extraordinary Moments
(From The 2008 Avatar Wizard Course)
Wow! Where to begin? The past two weeks has been empowering and grounding. From the deep integrity work to the powerful identity discreating tools, this course delivers.
I am truly amazed with the thoughtful approach and structure that surrounds this course and the genuine service to others the network provides. Wizards is a safe place to "get real", and do some heavy lifting in the areas of your life that keep you from realizing your dreams; the life you envision.
Harry's talks inspired me and are such a valuable piece to this process. I aspire to live with the integriy that Star's Edge has achieved.
I feel so much more real, after this course. There are so many ways that I haven't been honest with me, my community, my planet. I'm more aware of who I am, my limitations, and my power. And I realize that I am a wonderful creator who can handle my life and contribute to bettering the world. I am excited for what is next.
Thank you Harry, Avra, the Trainers, the QM's, the AI's, and everyone else who is a part of this. I feel supported. I feel loved. And I am alive. Can anyone ask for more? –C.J.
The level of care and connection on this course has been so supportive. I realize my work here has cleared the space that now allows this to be felt and experienced. I feel touched and known deeply. I feel relief from an inner battle that began in my early teens and has affected my relationships ever since. Something hidden has now been removed and my heart breathes in openness and fullness and gratitude and strength.
These words are so little for what this course has helped me to become in Being. –D.C.
Words can't express my appreciation, gratitude, and not so quiet amazement at what has happened on this, my first Wizards Course. Miracles have happened, in my own spiritual, psychological healing, in my cleaning up, and opening to trust, love, and joy.
I have always been a loving person, and inspired to serve others, but I have made many unwise choices in yesteryear. It is amazing and liberating to me that I now have such an array of wondrous tools with which to transform/remove personal blocks to the flow of love on the planet and beyond. Just as glorious is the discovery and bonding with my Avatar global tribe. A coming home.
I will continue to deliver Avatar – what a privilege! My first internship was a month ago, and its grace propelled me to Wizards and this unparalleled opportunity for growth.
I have learned to trust.
Thank you all, from the depths of my being, down the lifetimes. Bless you. See you at Wizards 2009. –M.S.
This is the biggest blessing I've ever had, joining the Wizard Course. I realize how the universe moves and what my life's meaning is in the universe. It feels like my eyes are open to how I have to live and how I lived. Thanks to all my teachers of consciousness to lead me to the Wizard Course. –K.Y.K.
This course has changed my life, to be frank and honest. Learning how to become honest and act with deliberate intent to be virtuous has shifted my whole being. I have always thought that I was being an honest, good person, but little did I know how indoctrinated all of my actions were. Thank You for that freedom.
I can not wait to share this with others. I am so excited to be a part of this team. There is more that I would like to share and I will, but for now, I must go. I am committed to contributing to an enlightened planetary civilization. Thank You for creating the platform, the space, and the tools for all of this to be possible. –J.C.
For more "extraordinary moments" from Avatar students, please visit AvatarResults.com
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With Avatar everyone wins. Every person who becomes an Avatar shifts the collective consciousness toward greater tolerance and understanding. Helping yourself with Avatar helps everyone else at the same time. – Harry Palmer
