There is an insightful discovery by biologists of the transformation that occurs within the chrysalis.
Inside the chrysalis the caterpillar, unable to move, actually dissolves into a fluid. Cells, which had been dormant in the caterpillar and which biologists have the poetic genius to call “imaginal cells,” begin a process of creating a new form and structure.
At first these imaginal cells – the seeds of future potential, which contain the blueprint of a flying creature—operate independently as single-cell organisms. They are regarded as threats and are attacked by the caterpillar’s immune system. But they persist, multiply, and connect with each other. The imaginal cells form clusters and clumps, begin resonating at the same frequency and passing information back and forth until they hit a tipping point. They begin acting not as discrete individual cells but as a multi-cell organism – and a butterfly is born.
We must all at some point in life withdraw to the cocoon of solitude. For therein lies the beginnings of transformation.
Our life’s work is to step aside and realize that our egoic selves are the immune system trying to sustain something that is no longer destined to be. If we create the space with nothing but intention and awareness, our true essence will find its way towards the transformed one.