Does evolution act for "the good of the species"? Something like 99 percent of species that have existed are now extinct, so if evolution is working for the good of species, it has done a terrible job!

 A

In many mystical worldviews (both Eastern and Western), the past and future “exist” only as projections of thought with no “real” existence outside the human mind, as it is only the ever-eternal now that truly exists. Here the “now” is viewed not just as “the present” but as a more profound way of “being” that is a gateway to “reality.” Such worldviews value presence and mindfulness—meaning, being present to the timeless “eternal now.” So if one has mystical predilections, the tendency is to value timelessness, which can feel eternal and peaceful, and to identify it with spirituality. In this view using thought, which puts you in the flow of time, is a practical necessity at best, as well as a potential hindrance to being “spiritual.” Therefore, many spiritual practices are techniques for quieting thought and cultivating mindfulness to tame the out-of-control “monkey mind” that endlessly chatters to itself. Here controlling thought can become its own agenda—an agenda ironically created by thought. 

A