Do rocks have a consciousness?


 Be true to your nature, an individual, like a round and polished stone among the jagged throng!

That is what this little round stone said to me in reply to a question I had been asking myself.  Namely, "Do rocks have a consciousness?"  And what it said is the caption you read under the picture itself, "Be true to your nature, an individual, like a round and polished stone among the jagged throng!"  How do I know it spoke to me thus?  It was on a hike I made to Ponytail Falls in the Columbia River Gorge earlier this month.  I was planning on hiking to Triple Falls by way of Horsetail Falls, but there was a landslide that blocked passage to Triple Falls leaving me two choices.  I could continue on, to the Oneanta trail head and walk back down the Historic Columbia River Highway or, I could go back the way I came.  I debated for a few minutes and ultimately decided to go back the way I had come.  As I passed behind Ponytail Falls, I turned around to look at the falls one last time.  As I did so, I wondered if I might be able to get a better picture of the falls from down closer to the stream the falls fell into.  So, I backtracked yet again to get to the side of the stream, and as I was making my way down the bank, I was looking for solid footfalls.  That is when this rock stopped me in my tracks and spoke to me.  This rock had been calling to me the whole time, helping me with my choices in direction and even having me backtrack twice so it could deliver its message and an answer to my inquiry.

The small polished round stone spoke to me in another way as well.  As Joseph Campbell had put it in one of his talks, Nature creates in circles.  Nature's consciousness, if you will, is that of a circle.  We exist in a circle, as you can see by looking out at the horizon.  Campbell also referenced a 12th century idea that God is an infinite sphere whose circumference is nowhere and whose center is everywhere.  Alternatively, the consciousness of man is a square.  This is why we create cubical shaped homes and buildings.  Nature doesn't create such things.

This rock wasn't just saying the above to me, it was showing me that it is me.  It was a mirror of who I am and who I can be.  I am that polished stone, becoming more and more polished with the passage of time, among the jagged throng.  How powerful a message it sent me that I have a choice to be my own individual self, even while surrounded by the jagged throng.  The jagged throng, all the while thinking they know what is best, thinking they know what is right.  Even when all those about you are losing the precious moments of their life by living with the shoulds and musts and thou shalts rather than being authentic to themselves.  Cast off the thou shalts and to thine own self be true.  You are a gift in this world and in this time.

What other lessons can we re-learn from time spent in Nature, especially when combined with such contemplative questions?  Does the earth have a consciousness?  What is Nature trying to communicate to us?

For what questions has Nature provided you with an answer?

What questions do you ask Nature?  Answers are awaiting you if you are willing to be your authentic self and ask away.

What Color Is Your Economic Meltdown?

In Richard Nelson Bolles best selling book What Color Is Your Parachute?, the author lays out several tips and strategies for those seeking jobs in order to help them through what could easily be considered one of the most stressful times of their life and for this he is to be commended.

That said, it seems that in our current culture, everyone is out to get that golden parachute that ensures them they will be set no matter what. The problem is, through the re-distribution of wealth from the poor to the already wealthy, we are seeing a mass of inept members of the good ol' boys club get there golden parachute and leave the company and its shareholders and employees in ruins.

We don't seem to want to take personal responsibility for our actions in this country anymore and everyone of us is to blame for allowing that to happen. Why aren't we keeping our leaders responsible for their actions?

Over the past eight years, the administration has been absent, letting the corporations run rough-shod over the citizens and Constitution of our once great Nation. We don't have a Government of the people right now, we have a Government of the corporation.

Like my fellow blog contributor, I am hopeful that Obama can deliver on the change and hope he so often talks about, and we should give him that opportunity. His inspiring message of change and his life's example of where living with hope can take you, were one of the reasons I voted for him. Let's also let him know we are ready for that change by stepping up to the plate to be the country we once were - willing to answer the call for sacrifice to help our fellow man or woman.

Are we willing to sacrifice our television, our toys, and our free time to engage in working hard toward solutions for the economy, alternative energy, infrastructure, and environment? Are we ready to rekindle our sense of responsibility for our own actions? If not, who else can we blame but ourselves?

Let's each ask ourselves, "What can I do today to contribute to my cause?," whatever your personal cause may be. Maybe the answer won't come immediately, but if you keep asking and keep searching, I promise a solution or idea will present itself.

There are huge issues out there that need to be fixed. We must work together to find solutions.

What's your idea?