Excerpt from Spiritual Enlightenment
The mind absorbs information through the senses and interprets them as needed for your survival as a person. However, there is not an absolute truth in this interpretation. What is seen by a human is not seen by other species. The information that our minds translate from the world around us is filtered. Each species views the world as it is necessary for its survival. Bats see much less of the world than humans. Their interpretation of the world is through the sounds that echo from their surroundings. Using the world as a mirror to reflect sound back to them. To a human, the bat is blind.
Many animals like birds and reindeer can see what we cannot, having access to an array of ultraviolet lights that we are blind to. For a human, power lines are simply black wires hanging above us. To an animal, these same lines appear terrifying, as bursting and popping lights.
Much of the world has been filtered away from us. For our survival, we see the world in separation. We see borders and distinctions, however, we fail to see the similarities that exist on a deeper level. We define and label each and every person and object in order to find order. At birth, we are named, as we age we are labeled with a race, a gender, a religion, and occupation.
It is in the name of survival in the world and in the society that we have developed an identity of ourselves and the world around us. Therefore we have become separate. We have formed a solid illusion of separation.
All of these names and labels of ourselves have converged to create the self, the ego. The ego is one of the many great deceptions of the mind.
This is why we move through life with a feeling of unsafety. The feeling isn’t always of danger, but of a certain vulnerability. A feeling that you are alone in your efforts in this world. That you are cut off from the world around you, exposed to the world in your aloneness.
You may not recognize this emotion as isolation. It often is disguised as anxiety, depression, boredom. We don’t realize that the root of these emotions could be a feeling of separateness. However, now that you are aware of the possibility, do you feel that you are connected with the world around you? Do you feel one with your surroundings or do you feel a detachment from them?
If you do feel a deep connection with the world it is good. If you are able to see past the illusory barriers between yourself and the world then it is good. However, if you are unable to feel this togetherness, how does it feel?
