The Life Cycle of the Amoeba - Stage Three

Stage Three - assimilating and integrating nourishment

At the end of Stage Two, the desired object has been drawn in and broken down into usable form, but it has not yet been assimilated. Stage Three is the absorption of the desired object into our own identity; it is the process by which a cheese sandwich, say, becomes Joe Everyman, or in this case Joe Amoeba.

The two meridians which represent this process are the Small Intestine and the Heart. The Small Intestine absorbs nutrients; it assimilates in order to nourish the core of our individual selves, our consciousness, which in Eastern tradition is housed in the Heart. By this means each being, whether amoeba, armadillo or human, is able to absorb what it needs from the environment in order to maintain presence, awareness, and function in the world. According to the needs of each being, it assimilates what is appropriate: food, sense impressions, information, belief systems, and emotional input. It cannot assimilate what has not been broken down and processed, which is why the Stomach and Spleen must accept and process everything beforehand.

The movement of energy in this plane is inwards, and the meridians involved are on the inner surfaces of the limbs, when we stand in the anatomical position. The catchphrase for this stage is "assimilation into the central core". The cycle of energy has now reached its central point, the Heart, the core of identity. The movement of energy in this first half of the cycle, since the amoeba first differentiated itself from its environment, has been directed towards bringing nourishment to the center.