The whole album is within the context of eastern philosophy/enlightenment, so this song is no different. The "circle" is a reference to the "life stream" of reincarnation. His incarnation begins as life "paints" a body over his soul (e.g. his hand). The circle (or life stream) is contained in, and fades inside his heart. Basically another way of saying we're dying from the very beginning. The first part of this song is about birth, figuring out what he is, and "life" is whispering in his ear, as if to say that he is not in control yet.
So he washes his hands - he's trying to purify himself and escape the worldly existence (enlightenment). The circle (or life stream) sits outside a door - behind death's door. He concludes the life cycle by whispering at death, just as life whispered to him during birth in the first verse.
The rest of the lyrics should make sense without much interpretation. I think the song title, and the last line "evolutionary sleeper" is actually him realizing that "he" is just life stream trapped inside a vehicle, which sleeps through all the chaos of the world. The bodies change, the universe changes, but the life stream never changes. It just sleeps.
The whole album is within the context of eastern philosophy/enlightenment, so this song is no different. The "circle" is a reference to the "life stream" of reincarnation. His incarnation begins as life "paints" a body over his soul (e.g. his hand). The circle (or life stream) is contained in, and fades inside his heart. Basically another way of saying we're dying from the very beginning. The first part of this song is about birth, figuring out what he is, and "life" is whispering in his ear, as if to say that he is not in control yet.
So he washes his hands - he's trying to purify himself and escape the worldly existence (enlightenment). The circle (or life stream) sits outside a door - behind death's door. He concludes the life cycle by whispering at death, just as life whispered to him during birth in the first verse.
The rest of the lyrics should make sense without much interpretation. I think the song title, and the last line "evolutionary sleeper" is actually him realizing that "he" is just life stream trapped inside a vehicle, which sleeps through all the chaos of the world. The bodies change, the universe changes, but the life stream never changes. It just sleeps.