I Think, Therefore I Am
“Ego cogito, ergo sum” … Rene Descartes
Most of us have heard the statement, “I think, therefore I am,” by Rene Descartes, the French scientist and philosopher. The time was the 1600s and it was a great time for thinking and understanding. What made this philosophical quote one for the ages is the fact that many people still debate what it actually means.
Recognizing the mindset of people during Descartes life, most people dealt with life with an attitude of “Just the facts, ma’am.” Based on the human senses, beliefs were pretty limited and simple. Descartes seemed to recognize that there seemed to be a separation between the body and the mind. In other words, if I am thinking about my body, I can’t be my body. Obviously, we can’t be what we perceive. I am not you because we are separate and I am aware of you, so you can’t be me and I can’t be you. Philosophers just love this stuff.
Descartes was not actually the first to acknowledge this as many religions have recognized that we are not just the body. Most of them have led us to believe that there is a soul and somehow this soul is ours, but again it makes us believe that we are separate from the soul. So, where do we really stand in reality and what does this have to do with our life and our experiences?
If we look at this from the position of form, or the physical body and its separation from other bodies, it seems pretty simple. I am this man and you are that woman, and so on. If we look a little deeper at this then we have to include that me, as a body, must include everything that it takes to be this body. My body requires millions of cells functioning simultaneously, blood and other fluids, biochemical processes, hormones, enzymes, and millions of other components. However, for these components to function in order for me to be my body, it requires things outside the physical limits of the body in order to function. The body cannot survive without them, so they must be included in the overall definition of myself as the body. Let’s include some of the obvious; water, oxygen, nutrition, etc.
We must also include those indirect components that are required for these components to exist. They might include the plants and animals, the farmers, the equipment, etc. But, these can’t exist without their requirements which might include shelter, their nutrition, their skills, etc. We must include the past circumstances that were required for them to be present. Our parents were certainly required for us to be a human body. Also, their parents and their parents and their parents. And the parents of all of those involved in our moment to moment functions, and their parents and so on.
What about all the components that were required for the individuals in the past to function, the groups and society as a whole? If you think about all the millions and millions of things that are required for you to exist in the body in this moment, you will see that the list is unending and you can begin to realize that your body, which must include all of these other components, without which it could not exist, is unending.
Reason starts to tell us that believing that we are our bodies is like the grain of sand believing that it is the beach. Even from a physical, separate state of awareness, if we really look at it, the separation becomes so small that it becomes insignificant.
If we take another look at it from a different perspective, we might look at ourselves as energy. It is now accepted by all scientific communities that everything is actually made of energy. We know that energy has all sorts of expressions, the densest of all is form or matter, which includes our bodies and all the other forms in our world. There are many other energies in our world ranging from ultraviolet to electricity.
There is also that type of energy that makes even the scientists scratch their heads; subtle energy. This energy is so subtle that it cannot be detected by our most sophisticated technology. The best thing we can do is to see the effects of this type of energy. While scientists are bouncing photons off each other in order to get an idea of what subtle energy does, it doesn’t take much common sense to witness these energies. How about love, sadness, grief, enthusiasm and many others? All you have to do is look into your pet’s eyes and you will feel the affect of subtle energy.
If we look at the subtle of the subtle energy, then we have this bizarre matrix of energy of which all things are derived. Our old buddy Albert Einstein came to believe that all things only exist because of this energy. For the sake of discussion, let’s call this energy consciousness. I use this because we now know that this energy not only has energetic abilities, but it also has intelligence. Yep, it is that vital energy that controls our universe, makes planets and stars, energizes your cells, produces your smile and wags your dogs tail. This is the vital essence of all life.
Since we know that consciousness is the energy of life and out of consciousness matter is created, how can we explain how energy becomes matter? Scientist are trying to explain how this works but at this time, have not been able to do. Hint: They never will. But that aside, why is this important and why have you read all of this science stuff and what does this have to do with your health and your pet’s health?
The answer lies in the function of the smallest energetic particle; the quark. This little energetic bundle holds the key and opens up the doors to the unlimited. After the invention of the electron microscope, scientist believed that they could actually look at the quark, instead of just knowing about it in a scientific equation.
Two scientists who were studying the characteristics of quarks were the first to set eyes on the little energy bundles. When the first scientist looked into the microscope he was amazed to visualize the quark. He studied the little fellow, wrote down his notes, describing what it looked like and how it behaved. When it was time for the second scientist to do the same, something extraordinary happened. He looked at the same quark as the first scientist and made his notes about its appearance and its behavior. When the scientist compared notes, they were completely different. What they soon realized that the quark was an energetic potential and that it did not become a particle without someone looking at it and creating a belief about it. It literally looked and behaved according to the scientists beliefs.
Imagine now, that your body and your pet’s body is made up of a gazillion of these quark energy particles. In reality, it exists only as a potential until you look at it and apply your belief about it. Then, and only then, does it become form. This is not some mystical philosophy. This is proven science.
Obviously, the exact nature of how this happens has still not been discovered, but the fact is, we (our form, our bodies, out pets, our world) are created from our thoughts, our beliefs and our perspectives. The saying, “If you want to change your life, change your beliefs” is a scientific fact. Keep this in mind when you are dealing with your health issues. If you see illness, maybe you better take a look at your thoughts.
