This post is intended to be part one of a series, based on my thesis project on self-similarity and consolidation of identity. I am posting in
the Religion forum because it addresses the spiritual component of how we are all connected. If it seems more suited to the Gray Area or Philosophy
forum, mods please feel free to move it.
Life on Earth (and in the womb) begins as single cells that over time grow, divide, and cluster together to yield higher life forms. Most of us take
it for granted that a trillion cells can work together to say "I THINK THEREFORE I AM." While each cell is a life form in its own right, you
probably think of yourself as a whole individual, physically and mentally separated from the world around you. As a human you are capable of things
that could be considered godlike relative to a bunch of unorganized cells. This higher form of identity (which we might call self-awareness or "I
AM") tends to take hold around two years of age.
While the physical component of life tends to branch out like a tree, the nonphysical components like identity, soul, ethics and so on do the reverse,
consolidating and solidifying over time. As the diagram above indicates, this has already happened on our scale. On the next scale, humans would be
like single cells, with a collective consciousness governing us from above (as a healthy person seeks to nourish their cells for the benefit of life
on both scales.) In accordance with the ancient axiom "As Above, So Below" there is no reason to believe that the unfolding of a higher
identity should not happen.
Since science tends to ignore matters of spirit, a higher mind seems like it could only be religious or supernatural (known as God, Christ, Brahma,
Gaia and by countless other names.) But I believe it's completely natural and inevitable (remember Agent Smith?) for this to happen, given enough
time and the proper stimuli. Keep in mind that the original meaning of the word apocalypse was the revealing of secret, higher knowledge. With all the
duality in our society, finding out we're basically single cells all sharing the same body would fit both the ancient and modern standards of
apocalypse. So it will seem supernatural, but it's natural too. If you can exist as a single mind spanned across billions of cells, why shouldn't
humanity be able to become conscious of itself as a whole? (Aside from the fact that the War Department would be out of a job.)
I'd like to end this post by mentioning an experiment conducted by mathematician Steven Strogatz, where fireflies in large enough groups would
inevitably sync up and flash as one. The video shows the same result reproduced using electronic oscillators linked together that charge and discharge
(like a camera flash.) Keep in mind that even for one firefly to flash once, billions of cells have to sync up and fire at the same time. But there is
no conductor, no king, queen, or "dictator cell" that directs the others. This subtle and ingenious method of ordering new life forms from relative
chaos (a Masonic axiom) is built into all life and always was. Trying to label it as exclusively the work of God or Natural Chance is irrelevant in my
opinion. It just is. While the modern world may seem too crowded for the continuing population explosion, it's our egos that are crowding the room.
If my theory is correct, the atmosphere of apocalyptic chaos we're going through is God/Nature preparing to upgrade our operating system, so to
speak. If our mobile devices (which are crude compared to our brains) can be "telepathic" then why shouldn't we be as well? While we may like to
think we're exempt from the laws of nature, we're all in for a big wake-up call.