We Are Not Who We Think We Are

Lichen is leading the way in many ways to a greater understanding of species. When it was first suggested that  lichen were actually two species, algae and fungi, the reaction was disbelief, disbelief that  two species could cooperate and appear as one organism. But it has proven to be  the case and was  eventually accepted by most scientists. Then a research discovered that it was actually made up of much more than just algae and fungi, that there were other organisms to be found. The research continued to the point where the researchers came to the realization that in fact every lichen was made up of multitudes of various bacteria and that it was an essential component of lichen's ability to grow and thrive. 

This knowledge has also arrived at our doorstep. We have come  to  understand that we are filled with trillions of bacteria in our  gut and  in our  brains and in fact our own cells are out numbered by these organisms. And......that we have adapted to these creatures in such a way that we are learning that our health is dependent on them living in our bodies. Our recently developed knowledge about our gut or small intestines and our relationship with the bacteria tells us that they are strong determinates of health. 

Science is discovering that we cannot in fact see ourselves as single species, but an integration of many species and that the rest of the animal and plant world is too. 

There are philosophers and students of eastern religions who profess that we  do not live in a binary world of either  or, me or not me, but in an integrated world in which all things are connected. Rupert Spira describes this nonduality and  we are  continuing to learn that  this is the case in ways that until now we did not understand.  

Deeper dive: Merlin Sheldrake   Rupert Spira