Hi Frank,
It seems to me you are asking yourself some of the deepest philosophical questions mankind has been grappling with since our species made that strange transitional state to self-conscious awareness. Scientific observation of our external surroundings would seem to tell us that the entire Universe is gradually running down towards a senseless state of unrecoverable entropy. OTOH, what we personally feel, what you and I subjectively perceive - the fact that we perceive ourselves as being alive and self-conscious would seem to contradict what the Universe is doing behind our backs! It seems to me that our own sense of self-awareness seems to be built around a fundamental drive to strive to become something better that what we currently are. We desire to evolve either through competitive means or through cooperative means. What we subjectively perceive about our own existence would seem to fly in the face of how we objectively perceive the ultimate fate of the Universe. It's a quandary! I know I cannot answer your conundrum. However what I can do is give you a somewhat Zen-like perception of my own, a way I perceive myself in the universe - one that seems to make sense to me. Perhaps some of what I say might make some sense to you... or maybe not. ;-) So, here goes: I was formally taught that energy & matter are interchangeable. I was also taught that neither of these states of existence can be created out of thin air or destroyed. Since our bodies are made of the exact same "stuff" that makes up the Universe I began to ask myself why isn't my sense of awareness, my state of consciousness just as much an immutable part of the Universe as matter and energy seems to be. Granted, considering such a possibility might lead one to speculate that there must be a "God", but I don't think that's necessarily the case, certainly not in the institutional sense as practiced by most organized religions. What I'm trying to suggest is that not only does the Universe exist in the form of matter and energy, perhaps it also exists as a state of Awareness. Perhaps Awareness can be transmuted, such as when we die, but not destroyed. Perhaps a state of Awareness can only be transformed into a different "state of Awareness" I also noticed that we humans love to play games, particularly games that involve probability and chance. We often find it is a worthwhile experience when where we honestly don't know what the outcome might turn out be. While Einstein once said god does not play with dice, I found myself asking: why doesn't the Universe play with dice. I do think the Universe plays with dice. Perhaps an Aware Universe learned long ago that it is a worthwhile experience to introduce "chance" into the equation, to allow oneself to be surprised at the outcome. I also think our own conscious Awareness is just as much a part of that eternal Universal game as well. If so, throw them, again! Happy Holiday Frank. Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
