Looking at ‘my’ Elm this morning, I notice that it is striving to keep up with the Willow next door! But, the Elm is cautious in the spring and compensates with lasting longer in the fall. The geese are active too, but the goslings have not been spotted yet. However, as we say ‘What is not yet, may come still!’

This aft Juliet and I go shopping at the Patisserie for her ‘laying in’ visit of her daughter. This will be a quite different event from the usual and it has me a bit curious, which should not make me forget to return Juliet her fixed computer.

Looking at ‘my’ Elm this morning, I notice that it is striving to keep up with the Willow next door!

Yesterday’s coffee with Jack lasted past three pm as we entertained each other with stories and philosophical insights. So much so for males who don’t converse! We are always short of time!

Jack urged me to summarize my ideas on ‘Existence Divine’ in five or seven points. I have made efforts of this kind, but none of them have so far stuck as definitive. An other try won’t hurt though, so I’ll try once more below. I may just use the points of our conversation yesterday as a basis from which to proceed.

Yesterday I made a start - heading only - with a writing about consciousness. The lead up to this was a remark by Herman in his Sunday presentation. ‘Consciousness is not self generated, but comes from the creator’, was his statement in the introduction to the Sunday presentation.

My immediate reaction was that consciousness is acquired, as I have deduced from my studies and stated in years gone by. I mentioned this to Jack yesterday and this led to our discussion about our basic assumptions regarding human existence and ‘creation’ of the ‘universe’.

At this point here and now I am torn between writing more on the process of consciousness acquisition and my wish to use yesterday’s discussion as a basis for that summary that Jack urged me to make. I think I’ll take Jack up on his challenge, while the recalls of our conversation have not yet all faded. This in contrast to my take on consciousness acquisition which is firm for me and quite clear from human ‘history’ and earlier. A process which I characterise at times with: “From spear to space walk!”

A process which I characterise at times with: 'From spear to space walk!'

Where to start is always the challenge, but like with my talk on the Maya, it may be best to begin at the beginning as Winnie the Pooh is reported to have said.
9:54am after a short break I start with an overview of points:

1. We humans use our own size and life time as a reference for what is very small - particles and very short processes , versus the very gradual processes of the universe that is far and wide. We may have a biased position in this, just like society in the Middle Ages centered the universe around the earth. Do we have a bias in our world view that is human centered?
2. Laws of the universe are unstable, stars have proper motion and constellations change configuration, planet orbits alter, a third of the elements decay. Then there are many processes that are inherently indescribable, such as chaotic and random ones and others. Think of the three body problem of sun, earth and moon.
3. What we human do do-well, is observe and look for order in the world of our experience and so create order out of basically unstructured events that occur around us. This order is recognised by humans as an outcome and necessity of being conscious no longer ‘protected’ by instincts - that limit experience - as are the animals. Thus we create the structure from observation, but then ascribe it to some ordering principle personified as the ‘creator’. The world over and through time, humans have come up with various experience ordering frameworks that were originated by powers whose existence and origins was never questioned.
4. These frameworks define narratives for the human society and its members who constructed such traditions as handed down know-how. These traditions formed and defined the identity of the community, the members and their purpose, doing so to this day.
5. This ‘historical’ process has had a very rich outcome, as can be observed in the world around us. But, it does have its problems, which no longer can be blamed on backwardness of one teaching over an other, or the superiority of the latest version of an ordering frame work. We humans are now faced with taking the responsibility using our conscious awareness with the acquired ethics and realise that we ourselves are the responsible party that has to solve the problem we confront and at times create.

   This [#7] is salvation in the old religious framework terms, where #6 is our redemption!

6. Our task as humans in the realm of humanity within Existence Divine - knowable in part as is evident - are to explore the full range of possibilities of human existence within our own realm but in turn contained within Existence Divine.
7. The conscious awareness of our position within existence as we understand it obliges us as well, to discover the connectedness with consciousness through out the universe and existence in its totality. This in order that continuity of conscious awareness can be passed on from one temporary world to the next!
   This is salvation in the old religious framework terms, where #6 is our redemption!

This concludes the points for now. From studies about human learning that I did in the 1970-ties I know that a lesson should have no more that seven new concepts at the very most! So, here they are, seven new concepts but no more!
<10:22am and 11:43am~