Feeling, Knowing, Embracing

This came to me in my hypnagogic state early two mornings ago.

There are three stages to greater awareness; feeling, knowing, and embracing.

I'll use the example of mindfulness. 

One FEELS (has a vague notion or hint) mindfulness may have some benefits.

As the person begins putting mindfulness into practice they come to KNOW it’s something that works, helps, etc. 

Eventually the person reaches a point where deeper revelations present themselves. They don’t just feel or know it. They understand mindfulness not as a fact or tool to be implemented in some mechanical sense. They open themselves to EMBRACE it which expands their awareness of themselves and their surroundings.

The Body of Theseus

An odd thought occurred to me this morning. Is the human body a Ship of Theseus? Our cells are replacing themselves by countless numbers every second of every minute of every hour of every day. If that is so what really makes us who we are? Are we the same person we were at birth? I suspect not. It turns out it’s not the physical form that makes us who we are. We are indeed that Theseus ship. 

I’m certain when parts were replaced on the ship they weren’t replaced with parts exactly identical. A deck plank might have a slight warp the one before it did not, etc. So does that happen with us? Does one regenerated cell that is slightly misshapen from its predecessor change the others and down the line change our physical form slightly? The “infrastructure” that helped to create and contain our “essence” is being replaced daily, but the essence remains. This is one I’ll be pondering for a while.