the journey of caterpillar to butterfly is a map for the expansion of consciousness
You hear me talk a lot about the Butterfly Blueprint. What exactly do I mean by this?
I believe that Inside each of us is a template of our highest self. Our soul self.
Just as the instructions for the butterfly exist within the caterpillar, our highest human potential lives within each one of us as a knowing, just waiting to be activated by the right conditions.
A blueprint is an architectural term - "a design plan or other technical drawing" - that sets the stage for what will eventually become an actualized house or structure.
Within the caterpillar is a blueprint of the butterfly. Within the caterpillar are cells called "imaginal cells" that hold the "floorplans" for what will eventually become an entirely new being: the butterfly.
When the caterpillar is plump enough to begin its metamorphosis, the imaginal cells activate. The floorplans within these cells - the butterfly blueprint - begins to build itself out. Step 1 is a protective, self-generated structure called a chrysalis.
Within the chrysalis, the imaginal cells continue to activate & organize. They form clusters & gain momentum, overtaking & dissolving the caterpillar cells. Before we know it, what was once a caterpillar is transformed into nothing but a soup of complete goo, into raw materials for the new build underway.
Eventually, this gooey soup of potential is made up entirely of imaginal cells, carrying only the codes of the butterfly. From this regenerative soup, an entirely new being emerges.
The imaginal cells, carrying the blueprint of a new being (the butterfly) is powerful enough to completely dissolve & transmute every last drop of the old being (the caterpillar). Nature's brilliant design of metamorphosis. Pretty amazing, huh?
The same applies to our own spiritual growth: the strength of our soul self (butterfly blueprint) will demand the complete dissolution & transmutation of any ego-based (caterpillar consciousness) tendencies on the journey of consciousness. This is an ongoing, never-ending process of becoming.
It's hard to believe that a being as majestic and awe-inspiring as a butterfly emerges from a being as humble & grounded as a caterpillar. But one cannot exist without the other.
Just as the instructions for the butterfly exist within the caterpillar as imaginal cells, our highest spiritual potential lives within each one of us as a knowing, just waiting to be activated.
At Mariposa Movement, we celebrate the journey of the caterpillar (our origins & cultural conditioning) as essential to our spiritual growth & butterfly becoming. We celebrate all stages of evolution - from caterpillar, to chrysalis & beyond.
And we celebrate intuition as a guide in this process. Dance strengthens this faculty, supporting us in following the signs & synchronicities that will more quickly & easefully build out our butterfly blueprint. Aligning with intuition links us to the innate wisdom of nature, the greater intelligence guiding our own metamorphosis.