May
6, 2001.
The primary purpose of consciousness
is to bring man
into closer contact with his
environment;
it can also have a collateral
affect of
separating him there from.
It is like a potion that keens
the sight one moment,
and blinds the next.
Consciousness is what differentiates
man’s relationship to the world around him from all other life on this
planet;
whereas they take physical conditions
as they come,
(having no capacity to change
them),
man has developed a more intimate
relationship with
the conditions.
As instinctively cunning as
they may be,
if a tiger is not engaged in
a hunt, and is at rest,
his eye reveals no interest
at all in the activity around him,
while under all conditions,
the eyes of men are in constant
motion,
reflecting consciousness’ unbounded
curiosity in
the world in which they live.
Other creatures, (metaphorically
speaking),
live their lives almost as helpless
guests of an inn keeper,
(the planet’s ever changing
physical conditions),
with whom they have no personal
relationship,
or communication;
they are together physically
-- yet in any other sense,
they are detached, existing
in two separate worlds,
with the environment furnishing
a place to stay,
and the creatures having to
take whatever is provided,
with no ability to ask for a
change in their living conditions, and unable to go elsewhere,
(since there is no such place).
Men on the other hand have developed
a more intimate relationship to the circumstances in which they live:
one moment, coaxing them, then
wooing,
soothing & caressing, and
the next,
demanding, bending & forcing.
It is a closeness that is unique,
and which rewards man with singular
benefits.
Surprisingly, from the view of
a few,
the very consciousness that
so well serves man,
also has its downside:
if not constantly watched,
it can interfere with man’s
own instinctive cunning.
Due to its endless interest
in the world around it,
when it is not assisting in
one of man’s hunts -- it roams;
it goes off on dream-expeditions;
soaring into the future; sliding
back to the past,
but in some manner --
always roaming.
Man’s physical instincts, (however),
never go anywhere.
They stay home --
where they belong.
But their operations can be
detrimentally affected by the energy siphoned off by consciousness’ constant
roaming.
In most cases the effect is
too minimal to do any harm,
or in fact, to even be noticed…….except
again by the few.
This condition, natural &
common to man,
does
catch their attention,
although they rarely recognize
it for what it is,
and give it embarrassing names,
and outlandish explanations.
Nevertheless, the actual source
of all that,
(as poets would have it): “Troubles
men’s souls”
is the wandering nature of consciousness.
One minute a man driving a car
benefits by consciousness’ ability to read a road sign that warns: “Bridge
Out Ahead!”
-- his life is saved,
and he is pleased;
a split second afterwards the
same consciousness is railing about squandered tax dollars spent on a
shoddy highway system.
Then
-- if he is one of the, one-in-a-million few,
and he suddenly becomes conscious
of
his consciousness,
he is displeased,
and begins to rant about himself
even more harshly than he was
just doing
about the roads, (or whatever).
A dog can warn you of potential dangers --
his barking can also be annoying.
Some
people want it all;
some
people are never satisfied;
some
people are not all
people,
.....and
the some who GET
IT
are glad they’re not.
J
"Skip
the dualism shit," shouts bootsy, "And get-on-the-one
--
-- then you've got it!
No more dancin' with morpheus."
Dr. Devlin notes: "Nicotine is remarkably similar to acetycholine,
a major neurotrasmitter, and thus may enhance certain brain functions,"
but is quick to add that this still is no reason to give up smoking.
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