Everything in the Universe is Life, ever experiencing and ever evolving. At the top of the ladder of evolution stands Man as a Self- conscious being. The purpose of evolution is the desire of Spirit to know itself in action. The goal of evolution is the perfect attainment of this, which is perfect self-consciousness on all planes. Essentially both are the same Life, differing only in degree.
Theosophy teaches that each particle, each grain, is a point of life.
Every point is a thinker, every particle has its own consciousness. All forms of matter are the outward expression of an indwelling intelligence, or form of consciousness, which we call the Life in that form. The form always exactly expresses the degree of that intelligence. An instance of the inherent intelligence is the mineral kingdom with its beautiful geometric crystal formations. The change from form to form in the mineral kingdom leaves an indelible imprint on the consciousness within, and when that experience is gone through again, the memory reasserts itself in the new form, and so the continuity of life is carried forward without lapse in the unbroken series of its manifestations.