BEING CONSCIOUS: Part 4 — The Flower Show

[5 of 5—to begin click here:  BEING CONSCIOUS: A Brief Introduction]

So we're all talking together now—that's part of being a whir-king and it's a good start.

When we talk we start someplace and we build upon it.  This creates a conversation.  To have the simplest conversation we need two points of view—providing two voices and two sets of ears.  In this case one speaks and the other responds.  It's an interactive process whereby as one of us talks the other listens; then we switch.

To do this of course we need to share our language and build upon what's said using a common understanding of what we mean.  So talking is a form of parlay.  And parlaying is important if you want to play.

We don't play a game by stopping it every moment and starting again.  We begin the process and go with the flow, always building on what already is.  So flow is parlay too.  And parlay is a way of increasing flow. 

BEING CONSCIOUS: Part 3 — He's A Ray

[4 of 5—to begin click here:  BEING CONSCIOUS: A Brief Introduction]

With her revelation about No-thing being Sum-Thing else drifting in and out of her mind, somewhere along the way the whisper of a wild thought pops up, but No-Thing can’t get a fix on it.  You might say she feels it—and then it’s gone.

It’s a fleeting whisper of a thought of an idea about Sum-Thing being something else altogether, but it's elusive and No-Thing can’t quite put her finger on it, so to speak.

Here’s No-Thing playing around with all she feels she is and all she thinks she can be, which is Sum-Thing for sure: but really, No-Thing feels like she's just playing with herself!  Weee!  And how much fun is that really?

Sure, we’ve probably all experienced it at one time or another, but after a while it does tend to get a tad boring.  It’s always more fun having someone else to play with, isn't it?  So perhaps we can understand that after No-Thing’s figured out all she is and thinks she can be, eventually she’s gonna just sort of lay herself back out again, a bit whiny maybe, with an attitude, and go all, ‘What now? I’m bored!’

So No-Thing lies around and lies around, and lies around, and gets... Sum-Thing, but nothing more.  She can be anything remember, but right now she can’t feel being anything else.  Then maybe No-Thing thinks to herself, just to make sure she hasn’t missed anything:

“I Am?”

And she runs through what she knows again. 

BEING CONSCIOUS: Part 2 — I'm A Lie

[3 of 5—to begin click here:  BEING CONSCIOUS: A Brief Introduction]

Now No-Thing's in and on and any and all the rest, and intrigued to say the least, but No-Thing wants to know more.  The story's only just begun after all.  Every ending is a new beginning.  And... 

BEING CONSCIOUS: Part 1 — Ah, It's Nothing

[2 of 5—to begin click here:  BEING CONSCIOUS: A Brief Introduction]

How on Earth can we think about consciousness?

How do we know what we know?

Where does awareness come from anyway?

And who decides what’s real?

Such questions have been asked since time immemorial and all we’ve really got to show for it is a bunch of stories about singularities and big bangs, and then more stories about God or the Gods, some rather impenetrable religious ideas we can’t throw a stick at, a few strange psychological ideas, and a great deal of argument about its physicality.  In the end we’re stuck with pretty much a big fat nothing.  So what’s up with that?

Well, what if consciousness comes from nothing—and nothing decides?  How’s that for a strange idea?

NOTHING?

Yep, that certainly is a strange idea.  How can awareness possibly come from nothing?  That’s just plain nuts.  Well now, maybe it is—and maybe it isn’t.  Something from nothing, eh?

Perhaps we should begin with another story. 

COMPLACENCY BREEDS DISASTER LIKE DUNG BREEDS FLIES

What’s the big deal about complacency?

What's all the fuss about?

Why even bother with it?

Those are good questions, thank you for asking.  Oh you didn't?  Well, that's not surprising really.  Neither has anybody else—much.  But we should be.

BOTHER

Complacency is an important concept that's easily overlooked.  It comes in the guise of mundane self-satisfaction that quite ironically ignores the practicalities of the mundane world, and this lack of awareness means potential problems are missed. It's a form of intellectual laziness really—an attitude that says, “I can’t be bothered”—and it leads to disaster.

Isn’t that a bit strong?  No, it's not.  It’s how we got into this world mess in the first place.  That makes it dangerous.

Complacency encourages the formation of an alter ego called 'little me.'  Little me doesn't feel connected to the outside world so it doesn't care.  But then because it doesn't connect it can't feel supported either.  Little me sees itself as vulnerable.  Little me feels all alone.

When we don’t consider the ramifications of little-me thinking, we automatically isolate and limit ourselves.  And that's a grave danger too because we can’t exist in isolation.  A jaded history trades this tale.  It serves those who feel the need to tell others what to do to pass this lore; so we think we can't do without their protection.  But this has never been true except inasmuch as we believed them.

Slowly, slowly, we’re beginning to wake up to the greater truth of a different song.  Some are marching to the beat of a different drummer beginning to see how we're all part of a greater dream, the great whole, the infinite One—and we have been all along.

Just as soon as we realize this fully, first individually and finally altogether, well, then we dance.