As sometimes happens, through a rather odd series of coincidences, I've been having my nose rubbed in something that's really not the centerpoint of what I need to (or should) be focusing on. This isn't a common occurrence in my life, but it's not exactly rare either, and I have learned over the years that it's better to devote some attention to it or it will come back to me in a much more demanding, if not insistent, way at some other time, most likely a time when I'll have no time for it at all. In retrospect, say, in reflecting on my recent series of postings, I can see where this has been bubbling up toward the surface.
There is no doubt in any of our minds, I'm sure, that we are -- and should be -- seen, experienced as, and taken for individuals. Though more pronounced in some than in others (whereupon it is most often referred to as an "ego"), somewhere "in there" -- in our heads, or brains, or minds, or ... -- there is something we think of, and call, an "I". It is not clear what this "I" consists of or how it comes to be, but it's pretty clear it is there. I have very materialistically perceiving friends who will be quick to tell you that whatever that "I" is, it is an illusion. After all, there is only matter, and the laws of physics and chemistry, and these do not (at least up until now) actually allow for the presence of this "I".
Some of you are shaking your heads in some kind of amazement, and I can understand that. Science is a wonderful tool and it has provided us with a lot of knowledge, but it is not the be-all and end-all of knowing. It is, as it's name implies, a way of knowing, but not the way. It is good for some things, and not so good for others. It is good when it comes to physics and chemistry, for example, but it starts getting weak in biology (has trouble dealing with the issue of "life"), and it certainly has nowhere to start when it comes to something as elusive as our I's, that is, with human consciousness in particular, but consciousness in general. Whatever makes up what I call/think/believe is my "I", it's not material, that's for sure. So, for the moment, we're just going to let the materialists stew in their own self-contradictions and move forward into this, admittedly, mysterious domain.
We don't have to delve deeply into any kind of science, or psychology, or neurophysiology. For the moment, it is sufficient that we simply stop, recognize and acknowledge that there is this thing, or person, or whatever, we call an "I". What is more, we also know -- or at least strongly suspect -- that there those others running around whom we refer to as "human beings" appear to also have such an "I" and that they, too, know they have one, and most likely suspect that we do to. I realize that this seems a bit obvious, but as I never tire of repeating: digging into the obvious, rooting into whatever it is we take for given and for granted, is an extremely rewarding, and sometimes enlightening, experience.
In other words, I'm aware of myself and I am aware of others. These others appear to be like me in that they are also aware of themselves and aware of others. And, all of us are aware that everyone else is aware. This isn't gobbelty-gook, it's a genuine starting point.
In fact, there is a very famous panel on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, entitled the Creation of Adam. It's a special painting, not only for its central placement on the ceiling, and not only because Michelangelo, who absolutely detested painting (he wanted to sculpt), painted it in a single-day, but he also painted it freehand; that is, without the aid of a charcoal tracing, which was the normal method of producing such works of art. In this picture God is about to touch Adam's index finger with his own ... or perhaps, He is merely pointing at/to Adam. What does it matter?
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