We artists do like to get our hands dirty, don't we?
Thanks for taking the time to compose such a thoughtful answer. We are homo sapien sapiens, the ones who are supposedly aware of our awareness. Are we the only ones though? Is it not possible that all mammals are aware of their awareness to some degree?
I have often thought that all mammals, perhaps even all creatures perceive God as being one of their own kind.
Who are we really? Are we of the flesh? Or are we of the mind? Or are we both?
I think we are mind flesh and soul. I believe that we experience the soul through the body. I think we are semi aware of our awareness, but that there are levels of awareness - for example, some people seem totally asleep - they have no sense of the impact of their actions on others, it's not that they don't care it's just that they exist solely inside their heads and don't have a sense of their personal power. And perhaps animals are even more aware than us, of course we can never know. What I like to think is that everything "out there" is a reflection of me, the animals, other humans, matter, it's all part of my own creation. In other words, there is only one source of everything, that we all come from so maybe the illusion of collective minds and bodies are really just part of the one whole. We are Gods - this is becoming true for us in a very real sense, we are now creating intelligence. So God, to me, is within all of us, we are all aspects of God. Or source, or whatever it is that we all come from and are made of.
Wow, #francesmary, that was deep and wonderful to read. Thanks for sharing. yes, it does seem like some people are asleep. I find myself having to counsel the newly awakened about the need for patience when dealing with those who are still asleep and unaware. They, the newly awakened, tend to be in a state of urgency, believing they can change the world from the outside. As Rumi said and I paraphrase, yesterday I was smart and wanted to change the world, today I am wise and want to change myself. Animals are quite aware of spectrums that seem outside of our ken. Rupert Sheldrake did some experiments, double-blind studies testing the psychic abilities of animals as many people reported that their pet knew when they were coming home and his numbers significantly show that this is so.
What we see is a reflection of ourselves. Believe it is all beautiful and that is what you see, believe it is all bad and that is what you see. I also believe what we see in others is a reflection of ourselves whether it is good or bad. Sometimes you might just not like somebody though you have no clear and obvious reason to feel so. Odds are you can see something of yourself that needs work.
I really dislike the word "God". It is such an animalistic grunt of a word that has been so tainted by the bs of religion. God, as in the Hebrew El, merely speaks of a power or an aspect of power especially when referring about the god of rain or the god of thunder, it wasn't a reference to a being as it is now interpreted. Time changes the meaning of words. And when religious people refer to God, it is usually some judgemental anthropomorphized God which is just so illogical. Why would the infinite and all-knowing pass judgement over the finite and not knowing? It paints God as some sort of angry hateful being. I prefer to think in terms such as the Divine or Divinity. So yes, we all have Divinity within us.
I am really enjoying this conversation. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
Peace
#daemon-nice