As the storm began on Friday…there was only a hint of what was to come…
This morning…the world looked remarkably different on the surface…but underneath it all…the foundation remains the same…
Upon waking this morning…the ferocity of the winter storm had clouded my view out the bedroom window…
…But it also revealed a hidden intricate pattern of wind and snow…and suggested the existence of a hidden beauty not often available…
The cat sought refuge underneath the chair on the back porch…as the storm intensified…
…But this morning…there was no place to hide…and the overwhelming results of the storm…temporarily suspended the opportunity for refuge…
Many circumstances in the temporal world we inhabit present us with similar predicaments and pose questions for us to consider about the nature of the world we inhabit, often suggesting hidden layers of existence, and making the answers to our questions ambiguous at best.
The subjective experience of human consciousness often presents us with the same ambiguities and poses some of the same questions, particularly when we investigate the mechanisms and cognitive processes of our miraculous brains that facilitate and enhance our experience of the world.
This year, I will be delving into the relationships between our experience of the world, and the fundamental nature of consciousness that informs and supports those experiences. Whenever possible, I will suggest examples of how the two aspects of our existence not only rely upon one another to inform our awareness, but how a blending of the two is essential to our understanding generally.
….more to come….
John's Consciousness 
My innate positivity means I am dedicated to finding some form of beauty in nearly everything. It may be brutal, grotesque even but it is almost never hidden to me. And I see places to take refuge in in your last photo too! Being open to hidden existence – absolutely. Being okay with ambiguous answers – very necessary! I am so answerless and tied to the idea of living in the question, even when it is, as it often is, wtf am I doing?!
X
Your thoughts here provoke mine in such a wonderful way! We need to get more people to not only think harder in this way, but to look harder for what you described as “hidden existence.” It’s not so much that it actually is “hidden,” in the conventional sense of that word, but rather, that it requires us to look and feel in a way that our senses are not naturally equipped to do. Abstract thoughts, profound innate feelings, our sense of connection to other souls living today and in the past, even intuitions and hunches, all point to levels of existence that require us to transcend the temporal boundaries of sense perception and acknowledge the potent inner world that supports our human lives.
Any assessment of what qualifies as “beauty,” whether it refers to what we are looking at or what we are feeling or sensing, clearly depends on both the one perceiving the beauty, as well as the character of what is being perceived. There is a degree of interpretation and one’s perspective to consider when describing nearly everything in this regard, but your characterization of being “dedicated to finding some form of beauty,” speaks volumes about your personal approach that I love so well.
Living the questions in life may not always produce satisfactory or complete answers, but Deepok Chopra says that if we live the questions, life will move us into the answers. It’s up to us to decide which questions are most important for us to spend our time seeking the answer.
There will always be an opportunity for refuge for you in my world, but the cats haven’t got a chance….With warm regards…..John H.