15 The Circle Created

The Circle Created  15

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      The small group moved gradually toward the lip of the cave where light shone through a mist of the morning. 
     Following Hurricane Maria there was an obvious change in the landscape. The trees were stripped bare of leaves, people were walking about aimlessly; and there was an eerie silence across the mountainside. But they felt each other‘s presence and found comfort. They were trusting one another.     

*****

     Myrtle the turtle and Mira the sloth chose each other for good reason; they both thought everything was going too fast.  They found power in togetherness. Inadvertently, the two of them, were creating a double circle in which the other animals would eventually “pair-off” as well. Some would find their “partner” for less obvious reasons. But creativity works that way. Mom Nature gives courage to those who seek a change in direction. 

    They would finally find that human maniacal-ego could only be overturned by finesse. Those who are somewhat faint-of-heart can become caped-crusaders via “pairing”, but wait; let the others catch up. Mira and Myrtle finessed their way through persistence, a prime ingredient of creativity. 

     “I am so relieved to be here and especially grateful that we found each other,” Myrtle said, turning toward Mira. “What a strange turn of events; what brought us together.?  What possessed us to think we could help humans? And then the storm brought us all together.”  
     Feeling comfortable, Mira replied, “Together in our journeying through life and treasuring each new experience, we embrace the double circle.”  

  As facilitators go, Mary, the white pelican, was no slouch; as she noted silently that the other animals were “pairing-off”. Was it out of mimicry or another strange but marvelous intervention of Mom Nature?  Buddy, the agouti, was chatting with Shazam, the Amazon parrot, as though old friends. King, the kingfisher, was locked in conversation with Hummy and Ducky, the duck, was whispering to Bertie, the Peregrine falcon. And so on, through the rest of the group pairings continued, and as if by magic, a double circle was created.

     Now, 24 animals, paired off,  formed the circles and continued chatting.

Mary wondered what could be so mesmerizing to bring these animals to this point. The simple but profound experience of watching the group gave a boost of confidence that all was well in Dominica and perhaps, to humankind. If she could have listened in on 11 conversations, she would have told her counterpart, Andi, the osprey, that they were talking about human consciousness and how it was different from animal consciousness.

     Andi blurted out, “I flew past a home near Soufriere and saw a startling news flash from Texas. In a tiny church in a small town in Texas some 24 to 26 people were gunned down by a lone guy with no political or religious issue but came from within this tiny community. He had issues with the mother-in-law of his former wife!! Sounds like angry human consciousness to me. 
     Day by day we are getting closer to the human condition, a problem in consciousness based on the evolution of the human brain into a machine in conflict-with itself.”

   Mary, though taken aback, tried to remain calm and said, “Let’s take this to the group and hope they can make sense of it.”

Suggested reading:   The Origin of Consciousness and the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind.  Julian Jaynes 1976 

               

14 Whose Consciousness?

Whose Consciousness?  14

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     We humans, and perhaps animals, have an individual consciousness. Because consciousness is an individual experience, which human literature has raged about for centuries as to just what it is.
      In this fable of Hummy and BillyG we are going to sail past that rocky shoreline and into the blue of a more navigable ocean called the consciousness of Mother Nature. 
       For our story we are going to assume that awareness and consciousness are inseparable. We are also going to hear what some of the first readers of our fable offer about animal vs human consciousness.

    I, here, offer a theory which may only serve to complicate the matter but is stuck in my craw. I believe that we carry the consciousness of all our past generations within our genes. Yes, we do feel the guilt and shame of Adam and Eve, our grandparents, and thousands of preceding generations as well.  
     Here, the advantage goes to the animals and our small band of Dominican animals who have survived Irma and then Maria. They, fortunately for us humans, are not saddled with guilt and shame of the past.   We should not forget that the human race has sustained triumphs while suffering horrendous losses.

     Three of our readers offer astute intelligence about animals in relation to people.  

     (from Joe R) I am not sure why animals are more in tune with nature and physics than humans. My squirrels knew the storm (Maria) was coming, so 7 days before it got here they started stock and feathering winter nest above the back porch. I knew immediately what they were doing…. they looked to be fed but preferred not to take food from my hand. They called when a cat was in the yard or hawks are in the area. I threw rocks at the cats and they left, then the squirrels sounded the all clear……………So, somehow, we must breakaway and follow our inmost being, calling us to the inner room as well as to nature and animals.

     (from Martina S) I like your blog about consciousness and the topics you address; the importance of being connected to nature, our pace, the animals communicating using humor to shed light on very serious and important messages. Consciousness, to me, is very different from person to person. Some very successful people, who function well in the world, are not conscious. I believe some people have a natural awareness and others do fine without it. I think consciousness can be trained, like a muscle, and gets stronger when used. I think also, there is a great collective consciousness we can all tap into; that which is useful and nurturing for humanity, nature; and life evolves and survives in order to give us a wakefulness and mindful experience.

     (from Mike S) Consciousness is, by definition, exclusively a human trait because we say it is, i.e. because of language. But one thing I have noticed over the years is that we keep having to narrow the gap between human consciousness and animal instinct. A lot of this human perceived differentiation expressed in language is hokum and leads to all sorts of mischief as well as self-realization. I agree with Joe R that animals are more in tune with nature and physics than are humans.  I think it is because homo sapiens, having language, writing, and technology to transfer or share knowledge dulls our innate awareness of natural phenomena.  The dog whisperer, Milan, has shown that dogs, in addition to having a superior awareness of smell, have a superior sense of their “pack leader’s emotional state as compared with the average educated human. My point is that the idea of human “consciousness” is a human invention that is exclusively relevant only to humans who have been conditioned to understand the concept of “consciousness” as a human trait. 
     My big question is: What is it in human (homo sapiens) consciousness that results in our universal compulsion to invent or embrace superstition/tribalism/myth/religion which arise in every civilization of homo sapiens that we know of so far? Is this another way to express the theory (idea) that “we carry the consciousness of all our past generations within our genes?” Is this what Dean Hamer postulated as the God gene?  If so, I am very skeptical of this theory.

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     "We have a full plate to consider, " hummed Hummy. "Let’s get on with it."   

suggested reading;  Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed,  by Marc Bekoff, New World 2013

13 Consciousness

Consciousness 13

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       What am I conscious of?  Is it a moment-to-moment awareness?  It can move systematically or subtly but it is always changing.   But do I have an underlying unconsciousness that guides me?   For that I must totally immerse myself; but the range moves frighteningly from dog in heat to an image of Jesus.  

      At this moment, I am trying to focus on what my resting consciousness is. 
      Do I have a resting consciousness or restless consciousness?  There is some research which indicates that men cycle through a sexual waxing and waning every 90 minutes.  I have not kept count.  

      The human consciousness is far more troublesome than animal consciousness. So, listen now, as our small Dominican animal group wades into the swamp of human consciousness out of being swamped by Hurricane Maria. 

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      "Myrtle, I don't know how you found this cave but you saved the whole group from Hurricane Maria," Coqui sang out echoing through the vast cave on the devastated island of Dominica.

     "Turtles know about holes in the ground including caves,"replied Myrtle. 

      Just then Fran the cat appeared out of nowhere, " I wanted to join this group because I overheard something about consciousness."  

       "Bringing you up to date, Fran, we have been coaxed here by Mom Nature to help humans, who are about to destroy the planet, get a clear idea of the danger that faces us all," Hooie hooted.   

     " The problem got past us at least 100 years ago, by all of us animals, except the 1918 virus which killed 1/3 of the population. We thought that humans were so intelligent that they would not lead us into the swamp of stupidity, where we find ourselves in now. The 1918 virus tried to wipe out the human race hoping to start over with something better, but failed, " chirped Andi, the osprey. "Most virus species and a few bacteria can think their way around an antibiotic in a flash. They are faster thinkers than humans,"  

     " Now you bring us back to the main issue. Is it consciousness, greed, speed or the waning of natural intelligence in humans that we are to tackle?" cracked Cackle. 

     " Don't go so fast. Slow down and we can see one problem at a time," crooned Mira the sloth.

     " So be it," flapped Mary the facilitator.  "But you raise a totally new issue in what you call the waning of natural intelligence."

     “Humans are not just greedy or speedy, but have wandered away from natural law.  In doing so they have become fragmented into liberals vs. conservatives, workers(slaves) vs. entrepreneurs or conflict driven vs. peace mongers, and worst of all God fearing vs. God damning,” purred Fran, the cat from out of nowhere.

     “This Group needs to find a level playing field,” hummed Hummy," we have got to find solid ground. So, let us assume for a moment that there is a speed at which living things begin to fragment and lose the natural order of the Universe. This puts all living things in jeopardy and eventual death.”

     “I am all for it,” barked Jake, the Basset hound,” I have always envied those Greyhound legs.”  

      “I don’t know about your legs,” bleated BillyG, "But we have too many balls in the air. I, for instance, think we are leaving out a most crucial problem of humankind and that is DENIAL. Humans deny the essential forest just to cut down a few trees."