E F Noël (spelled like the word ELF without an L)

          Ask yourself, "Where does food come from."  Select the best answer:

                    A)  The refrigerator.

                    B)  A grocery store.
 
                    C)  Industrial farms, backyard gardens, et cetera.
 
                    D)  The Earth-Sun biome (we are food).
 
                    E)  Non-dual "energy" [energy = best metaphor] comprises every thing.
 
          Your answer indicates your present level of mental-awareness:
 
          All modern-humans, with a basic language capability, begin at the Infant-stage, and assume food originates in their care-giver's kitchen.
 
          At some point, growing humans pay attention to their care-giver while they shop and stock the pantry, subsequently, the juvenile-stage (¹) is attained.
 
          Upon receiving additional knowledge, growing humans become aware of where commercial stores obtain products; some of them learn enough to qualify as Callow-stage (²).
 
          Once abstract-concepts are enthusiastically learned and comprehended (of which, the human microbiome is just one example) the Mature-stage (³) is probable,  However, some "Early-Mature-stage" could revert (especially if the Savvy-stage of emotional development has not yet been reached).
 
          Mature-Savvy humans possess the mental-emotional capacity for the Wise-stage once "Self-Awareness of Self" is experienced (not merely comprehended). 

                    One (of many) "Self-Awareness of Self" recipe-formulas:  
 
                    ◘  Automatic:  Every Self began to fabricate itself, before the Infant-stage, as an automatic drive to survive.   
 
                    ◘  Chemicals:  Spoken language is not a prerequisite to begin remembering behaviors which increase comfort/pleasure-chemicals and reduce discomfort/pain-chemicals.
 
                    ◘  Composite:  The continuing formation of "mental sticky-notes"—throughout all stages of the Self's mental-emotional life—result in a composite of every concept/idea/fear, intermingled with the most-often recalled values/beliefs/desires.
 
                    ◘  Terminate:  The biological "machine-body" behaves in a range from highly-maintained, thru minimally-maintained, to non-maintained (or can even be sacrificed) as the automatic-drive, pleasure/pain-chemicals, and composite of sticky-notes direct the Self (ego) to keep the body alive in order to keep the self alive.

                    ◘  Test Angle:  Fasting tests the automatic drive to consume fuel; exercise and ice-showers test discomfort chemicals; actively contemplating irrational-fears, illogical-beliefs, and undesired-addictions test composited decisions and allow the removal (or addition) of sticky notes.
 
          Once aware of the fabricated attitude-behavior of one's Self, it is possible to filter thoughts as they are conceived; for example:
                    Thought:  *boredom*
                    Self-aware reply:  (automatic dip in brain-chemical urging entertainment - will subside).
                    Thought:  *hungry*  
                    Self-aware reply:  (preconditioned starvation-response when reserve fuel brought online - disregard - use rarely utilized reserves)
                    Thought:  *alert! unfinished chores*  
                    Self-aware reply:  (override - place mental health reminder as current top-priority)
                    Thought:  *unfamiliar territory! confusion imminent!*
                    Self-aware reply:  (fear of change is based on childhood trauma - irrational to maintain sticky note - investigating new terrain only results in more efficient pathways)
                    Thought:  *¡caution! new belief - requires admission of fallibility - ego dislikes embarrassment caused by "being wrong"*
                    Self-aware reply:  (growth is progress - adherence to faulty beliefs is stagnation - ¡new value! prioritize embracing fallibility over maintaining hypocrisy)
          Once aware of the Self—with no past-memory-concepts or future-expectation-plans acting in the roles of lifeguard or governor—exploration of the distinction between self and non-self is not realized as an abstract thought (like a daydream of a hike in the woods), but is understood as an event, experienced in the same manner as a hike in the woods.
 
          However, evaluation of the "non-self experience"—during the Early-Wise-stage(⁴)—requires the Self to reflect on what it experienced after the experienced event is complete. 
 
 

(¹)  Looking forward into future stages is not possible.  (Similar to the thought-experiment, "If you had a time-machine, what would you say to your future-self?")  Those in the Infant-stage can be told that food comes from a grocery store (or watch films depicting shoppers shopping) but, until they have experienced grocery shopping, they can not advance to Juvenile-stage. 
 
(²)  Individuals at Callow-stage (who may refuse to realize or admit they are not yet mature) say-to-themselves, "I know all about biomes!"  Both the answers and the question, "Where does food come from" are metaphors.  Mature-stage requires enthusiastic learning and complete understanding of any and all abstract concepts as the Self becomes aware of them.
 
(³)  Individuals who are Mature-stage recognize their development from reflecting on their experiences.  Nonetheless, some may claim their stage is the apex, deny the existence of additional stages, or denigrate the idea that realizing the true nature of Self leads to consciousness of the non-self.  At every stage, some assume they reached the apex in possible mental-awareness, until looking backward reveals that their previously-held mental-awareness was a stepping-stone.
 
(⁴)  Currently in the Early-Wise-stage, I have come to understand—from reading practiced Wise-Waldo level individuals—that it should, eventually, become possible to communicate non-self experiences in real-time, as they happen.  I will address that when/if it happens to me.  Also, if Wise-stage is not an apex (as proposed by the authors of Spiral Dynamics) that could only be confirmed with future empirical knowledge (or aforementioned time-machine).
 
Footnote under the footnotes:  The title of this essay, and the attached artwork, E F Noël (spelled like the word ELF without an L), is intended to promote discussion and act as an anchor-point for future use. 


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