The critically thinking mind

Good question Donan. But I am wondering - whatever conclusion we came to, based on an intellectual forecast - would it really be true? I feel there are aspects of intelligence we have not yet probed, because we are so stuck in a certain idea as to what intelligence really is. Isn’t there a form of perception that is not rational or intellectual in nature but is something like the direct perception which Taoists speak of, and isn’t it more this kind of thing that would answer your question? Am truly wondering…

Howdy,

Yes.  Because I believe the essence of the universe is Divine Consciousness.  I do require some evidence for my beliefs, and my evidence for this one is of two varieties:  the first is comprised of hundreds of bizarre little synchronicities that I can remember, where the Universe (yes, the same one that refused to support your modem) winked at me.  Just today at the supermarket it happened.  My husband and I were doing some Christmas Eve shopping for absolutely frivolous and joyful process reasons, and while we were in the soda pop isle, I was wondering whether there really is, after all, a Divine Consciousness under all of this, and then I looked up and found that in front of my very eyes, about five inches away, and totally blocking my view, was one of those children's toy teaser racks that they put in odd places so that the kid will grab the toy and beg the parent for it.  And the particular toy was something called a “stretchy rope.”  There were about 3 of them in the pack.  They were a few inches long (promising to stretch to a much greater length) and coiled exactly like the pictures of chakras.  And the one right in front of my eyes was the lime green one, and this has great personal significance to me.  What are the odds?  You see, back when I was 22, I used to sit in on my best friend's yoga class, and they were doing a “see your chakras” exercise, so I just did it.  And then, after I was very relaxed, I “saw” a lime-green coiled shape glowing in the “darkness”.  Now, I swear at that time I was completely ignorant of these subjects, and had no idea that I was supposed to “see” anything, or that the heart chakra (at least in some traditions…of course there is disagreement) but anyway, that teacher said that the heart chakra is lime green, and that I had seen my very own!  Not bad for a first-timer!  :)  –So there in the store right away the Universe is saying, “Heck yeah, dudette.  Get with the program and get your son his soda!  Life is groovy!” 

But getting back to your modem… how fair is that?  Why would the Universe refuse to support your modem, but provide me with a full-fledged personally tailored confirmation in the face of my smallest doubt?  Perhaps the Universe knew that I would be writing a very long reply to you today?  But I don't think it's about that.  It brings me to my next set of evidence:  The Universe is just so f_____g beautiful!!!  Now, sometimes I wonder:  Is the Universe beautiful because it IS, or do we think it is because we were raised here and it formed our minds and so we accept it?  When we get to see a representation of a spiral nebula, is it really beautiful?  Where does this beauty come from?  From ourselves, the perceiver, of course!  This is our judgement about it.  But, I mean, my goodness!  What else would a person think?  “It's boring.  It's just a buncha stars.  I wanna go home and watch video.”  Well, that's a point of view, but I just don't think it's as developed as it could be.  So, I'll stick with–“It takes my breath away.”  Think about it:  oceans, deserts, forests, rain forests, glaciers, waterfalls…this is the Expression of the natural way of things!  It has become one of my mental constructs, and I call it “The Wild Divine,” like the book of the same name.  That is why I get to look at a special toy with a message just for me and your modem won't work.  It's just wildness, but with a purpose.  (This juncture approaches the question: Why do sadists get to run governments and start wars and kill babies?  But that's not the question I'm answering here, and I've got to go get the roast ready at some point.) 

So, I think The Wild Divine grows everywhere, and that consciousness becomes expressed through The Wild Divine in so many ways, because consciousness is a holy part of creation that is important to be expressed, much like beauty.  Much like physicality.  Isn't it awesome to enjoy a physical dimension, where things can “really” exist?  What a giant toy!!!  What a heart-burstingly beautiful creation!  It doesn't just happen for us, it happens all over!  We are God playing hide-and-seek, looking at our own miraculous toys.  We are responsible for knowing Who We Are and remembering it.  That's what I think, but it's not very scientific!

Amen to the Wild Divine, expressing itself in and through everything. I have to keep this short but Martha, I second all of your exclamations! “Thou art God” (to quote the Man from Mars). I tend to be more of an experientialist than intellectualist (Grok is an even better word, again from Heinlein), and the experience is so powerful I find it hard to even verbalize. Hence my cop-out of saying “YES!” to your comment instead of writing a bunch more stuff myself. However, I will add this, by way of going back to Donan's original question. Last night I saw an illustration of our Milky Way galaxy. It showed the position of our solar system – even in our galaxy, which is but one of many millions of such formations in the universe, we are perched out there on one little remote arm of the spiral. I found it humbling to imagine the myriad of life forms that in my opinion most surely exist, came before us, and will come after us. I don't need intellectual proofs of this – the wildness of the divine and the sheer hugeness of that playground… as diverse and amazing as our single planet and as intricate and complex as we humans are, no way are we, our planet, and the dimension in which we exist the only stuff of that divine expression of itself!