Last night, I was reminded of a short film called ‘Antworks’ by Catherine Chalmers, I saw a few weeks ago of beautiful leaf-cutter ants making artwork in Costa Rica – yes, you read correctly. It is totally entrancing but it is not until the very end where you get a sense of a consciousness that understands and appreciates the art they have made. You can make your own minds up at this link https://vimeo.com/25976354
So, what makes consciousness? I am sure this has been discussed in detail by greater minds over the ages but I think that our understanding and parameters are changing as we, as human beings, become more spiritually aware. Is it possible that we are missing so much because we do not have the capacities to comprehend the subtle nuance of other intelligences and consciousnesses? Many indigenous peoples often attribute spirits to objects the ‘Western World’ naïvely perceives as inanimate.
In parts of my Druid course, we spend time with a special rock or stone we have ‘adopted’ to learn a different scale of time and space. How our constantly hurrying humanity must seem like the ants in the short film to these wisdom keepers.
So how do we increase our perception of other beings? One easy way is to sit and meditate with your back against a tree, actually sit on a large rock or hold a stone, allowing yourself to drop into a state where you visualize and breathe in time with the other being, feeling and softening into their pulse.
But be careful you don’t squash any ants if you are sitting outside!
