Another Spiritual Practice in the Woods

There was a time I was caught in a rain storm in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.  I pitched a tarp to get out of the rain to eat lunch.  The rain was coming down so hard by the time I finished eating that I decided to stay put for the night.

            Wiling away the afternoon beneath the tarp thoughts of Descartes came to mind, especially his observation: “I cannot doubt that I am.”  It raised this question “Who am I?” and I sought an answer.

            With so much time on my hands that afternoon and no one to talk to, gave me a perfect excuse to ruminate about my restless reasoning.

            So I wondered, would I be me if I were to lose a part of my body like a finger or toe or even a hand or foot.  Of course I would.  What about losing an arm or leg or both, or even all four?  Certainly I would be me.  Though highly crippled I’d still be the person I am now.

            As simple as it sounds, I would still be me if I lost any part of the body.  I’d still be me without eyes, ears, nose, tongue.  And probably so if I lost all of them.

            The tragic case of Terry Sciavo came to mind.  She had lost consciousness and remained in a vegetative coma for many years.  Her life was sustained by artificial means. 

            Was she still there?  We presume she was for the issue of removing the life-support tubes was debated across the nation.  The argument that they would be taking her life if they removed the artificial devices that kept her alive was based entirely upon the assumption that Terry Sciavo was still in that wretched body, despite its vegetative state.

            This brought up a new question: Am I my mind?  Where was Terry Sciavo during all those comatose years?  Perhaps my mind is not synonymous with consciousness, for Terry Sciavo was certainly not conscious during that comatose period.

            The same question comes up when I wonder where is my mind when I sleep?  Both mind and consciousness do not seem to be there when I sleep—at least not in the same way as when I am up and around.

            We’ve got terms today like the subconscious mind and the unconscious to deal with such states as sleep and comas.  And they’ve now found ways of classifying types of subconsciousness.  These categories, though are barely distinguishable from descriptions of life itself.

            All my ruminating brought back childhood questions: Aren’t we pretty much like the light in a light bulb that scatters about into space when we flick off the light switch?

            While this reasoning did not tell me much about who I am, it told me much about what I am not.

       I am currently writing a book about my spirituality in the wilderness.  And it will be published on Smashwords with my others.  Meantime, there is one that I will publish on June 1st that has a good bit of spirituality in it. It is Fleeing a Fearsome Father.  And it can be sampled now at any ebook retailer or at Smashwords.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/528639