Do Microbes have a Cosmic Consciousness?
The meaning of cosmic consciousness is debated by mystics, sages and every day folks, but for this post, I'll go with the definition by Canadian psychiatrist Richard M. Bucke, published in Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind in 1901. According to Bucke, the main characteristics of cosmic consciousness are joyfulness; a revelation of the meaning, purpose, and aliveness of the universe; a sense of immortality; a loss of fear of death, and an absence of the concept of sin. In Bucke's definition, light is also important. Cosmic consciousness may feature an experience of being “immersed in a flame or rose-colored cloud."
Before we consider the question of whether or not microbes have a cosmic consciousness, we need to consider if an organism needs to have self-awareness to attain cosmic consciousness. Are microbes self-aware? Not in the way you and I might be, or other mammals for that matter. By themselves, microbes react biochemically to environmental perturbations such as heat, cold, pH, and oxygen levels, but as a community, as a microbiome, they also interact with host organisms that are self-aware. So, perhaps at some point, the biochemical and physiological communion between the host consciousness and the concentrated population of a resident microbial community may form a consciousness that transcends that of the microbes or the host alone, forming a type of "cosmic consciousness" born from the combined symbiotic or mutualistic relationship between these two collections of cells: the eukaryote (host) and the prokaryote (bacterial).
Take for example, the mutualistic relationships that have evolved for eons, Vibrio fischerii – within the squid, or Thioautotroph Bacteria, the Tube Worm Symbionts (https://www.microbewhisperer.com/2018/09/13/microbial-guide-teaches-about-heaven-and-hell-endosymbionts-and-tube-worms/).
Vibrio fisheri form a mutually symbiotic relationship with a special type of squid. They do this for protection because the squid provides an environment that provides a constant source of nutrients for this bacterium, and in turn, V. fischeri gives their hosts advantages from their ability to produce bioluminescence.
Among the millions of bacteria swirling in the warm Hawaiian waters of the baby bobtail squid, only V. fischeri is the chosen one, with the ideal gears and tethers on its microscopic body that align perfectly with the internal special organs of the squid, a place V. fischeri calls “home.” And this microbial collective, creates light, in response to its host's need for luminescence. In Bucke's definition, light is an important feature of cosmic consciousness, as is immortality. By replicating themselves in every growth cycle, bacteria like V. fischeri are certainly immortal in that sense. And they also live within the light that they produce.
We humans also contain resident microbes that inhabit our skin, and live within the internal parts of our body, such as the oral mucosa, the gastrointestinal tract, and uterus. These microbes number in the trillions, and were introduced to us as we were exposed to the microbial populations of our mother and subsequently, by close family members. The populations of microbes that are part of the human microbiome, have evolved to co-exist with us, and perhaps this evolution can someday sync us up so closely with our personal microbiomes, that it manifests as a joined consciousness!
As a Microbe Whisperer, tuning your awareness towards your resident microbial populations, to your microbiomes, is the first step on this journey.
In Joy, JeM YinJoy
Please visit Microbe Whisperer at the Cosmic Awareness Fair, on Saturday, January 19, 2019. JeM YinJoy will be giving readings and selling the Microbe Whisperer Cards for Environmental Healing: Divination and Education. I will see you there! JeM YinJoy
