World of Separation

We exist in the world of separation in the realm of oneness (which is, in reality, the only “Other”). Measurement is a language that recognises this separation. Thus, out of the One come the many and out of the many, emerges One. In the bible it says that HaShem is hidden in plain sight (or could I say, hidden from plain sight.)

Awareness of Self

Now, in this realm of events,

there exists at least one element that is aware of its own existence

The only way to know this awareness is to communicate it. Once this communication protocol has been agreed upon, one can test the veracity of one’s experience. Naturally, one would be drawn to those with similar views, and thus we form a kind of consensual reality that is always an approximation of reality. The (r)evolutionary step here is not to increase communication amongst our species, but to increase our capacity for “inter-species” communication. Not just between the different cultures and languages of our world, something we have not succeeded in too well – but between us and the animals, between humans and the fauna and flora of our world. Then, perhaps we will be able to begin to communicate with otherworldly beings.

[!note]
How interesting the similarity between ‘I’ and ‘1’ in the English language – for in other languages, the word for ‘I’ is very different. In Hebrew, for instance, it is ‘ani’, consisting of three letters, and in Afrikaans, it is ‘ek’, and in French, ‘je’. Another interesting fact here, is that in English we write the personal pronoun ‘I’ capitalised, whereas in most other languages we do not!

Communication of self

Probably all living things are aware of their existence, but few are able to make some external representation of that awareness. We, as humans, have been gifted with the ability to communicate our inner thoughts to one another in a mostly meaningful manner.

Which brings us to the gift of speech, which the sages say differentiates us from the animals. I would express it in a more modern manner, by saying that the ability to communicate, to express myself in meaningful ways, is the differentiation. It requires, at its core, some self-aware element that would be the source of this communication—the purpose thereof.

[!important] Idea
Could one include the response of an (AI) method to a request? That would require one to speak of primary and secondary sources, and bring the debate into the area of intention or overarching goal. For instance, is the response of a teller in a bank the source of the message being conveyed, or is the banking system? Then again, is the banking the true source, or is it just a part of an even larger dialogue?

Awareness of Other

The interesting paradox of this “self-awareness” is that there has to be an “other” that is aware of itself. Or something which is not that which it is aware of. There has to be a separation of some nature between the being and whatever in the being that is conscious of itself—conscious enough to be able to represent itself.

This is based on the fact that in order for something to exist, there has to be something else that is not that which exists. A separation. Simply, for a fish to exist in the ocean, it cannot be water. One could say that there needs to be three elements – the “thing” itself, the border or skin that defines/contains the thing, and the outside that is separate from the contained “thing”.

This, combined with the ability to communicate coherently to one another, brings greater awareness of self and of other. Now the journey truly begins.

[!note]
Malchut: First step: establish the ego, one’s kingship in this world (ego).
Yesod: Once your foundation in the world is well rooted, the next step is to develop a strong foundation in your own self. It is not a foundation that should anchor you even more in the world, but a foundation upon which you can begin the journey (of two legs) to the world that awaits us all.
This can only occur by having a strong enough personal foundation to be able to find balance and harmony between the duality of self and other through both personal and community service. This nourishes both the particular and the general, the immanent and transcendent, opening up the gate to one’s higher I, and the beauty and splendour of your (and other’s) being.
Netzach & Hod: This awareness is based made up of two elements. One that is “involuntary”, in that it just “perceives”. The other is that the being has the ability to “receive” and cognite his (or her) experience. It is made up of the innate aspects of life, and the particular, individual apprehension of that experience, which is unique to the person.