The importance of novelty in evolution

[Aion]

@Minytaur - yes! It's a way of the universe..... we can learn much from that if we apply it to our own level of consciousness

@flo - absolutely... just being present is another way to cut through the mud... being present is a novel sort of thing in itself then huh?

@patrick - would you be able to extrapolate a little on that? I can't find it in the search section of thelawofone.com

@aion - I would say you are correct in saying that routine is consciously undertaken where as habit is mindlessly followed. I love the analogy of the man riding a horse. Another man stands on the side of the road and asks him, "where are you going?" the man on the horse says, "I don't know, ask the horse!"

I'm going to read a little more into Gurdjieff. Thanks

Sometimes it's good to let the horse decide where to go. I remember being told once that animals teach us how to be in the moment.
Forewarning he is a controversial figure to some, he was just the first person to pop in to my head, but his ideas are interesting none-the-less.
I would say that the introduction of progressive levels of novelty is a bit of a crux in all ceremony and ritual.

In some ways I'd even say you could vaguely distinguish between "left hand" and "right hand" approaches in terms of the way novelty is approached.
The left hand seeks sudden, extreme novelty to shatter the senses. The right seeks gradual, rounded novelty to slowly dissolve them away.
Personally I think the key is somewhere in the very middle.