What Do Hannah Knapp and Stewart Alsop Say Meditation Has to Do With Evolution?

On Crazy Wisdom, Stewart Alsop asks Hannah Knapp of Within whether meditation is tied to evolution, of a person or of the species. Knapp is curious about a human ability other animals do not seem to share: turning consciousness back on itself. She compares it to tool use. Both look like evolutionary gains, and both are double-edged. The mind that can feel excitement can also feel anxiety.

On an individual level, Knapp says her own consciousness feels as if it is evolving. She wonders about epigenetics, behavior leaving a mark that can be passed on, and she felt the difference in her first pregnancy, going through it with more awareness than she would have had years earlier.