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Why do we exist? Further, just what is existence? Does it extend beyond life on earth? And how important is the question?

Existence is the "I" feeling. The ego experiences the "I" feeling one way. The self experiences existence more deeply. The deeper you go within, the more significant the understanding. If one identifies with the ego, one will answer the question of existence more superficially, or not answer it at all. If one identifies with self, the answer to questions as to why one exists and what is one's purpose become more challenging and more important to answer with depth and reflection.

Why do we experience an "I" feeling? Why do we feel that we exist? Why, in other words, are we conscious? To answer the question on a biological level, because we have reached this point in our evolution. Humans are conscious. We have become so because we have incredible abilities no other animals have. We can choose right or wrong. We can do good or evil. Other animals act more instinctively. They are guided by instinct. If we receive guidance, it is from reflection and intuition.

But this does not answer the question for the individual. This does not answer the question at a deeper level. One can say, yes, I am the product of evolution. Sure. But that does not answer the basic question. You are telling me that I'm experiencing this because life journeyed to this point and I am a product of that. You have not answered why I am conscious.

Mystics, religious and spiritual leaders, shamans and prophets, and artists, scientists, and many iconoclasts have told us that we are sparks of consciousness, that consciousness is vast, and we are pieces of consciousness. In the 20th century, Carl Jung brought us the concept of the unconscious, an ocean of consciousness greater than we could possibly imagine. From this ocean, we are like tiny cells of plankton. We are fragments of consciousness.

The unconscious is not the negation of consciousness. To become unconscious is to negate one's consciousness. But unconsciousness itself is not the negation of consciousness. Rather, it is a form of consciousness that we are not conscious of. Further, one cannot become conscious of the unconscious by becoming unconscious. Rather, one becomes conscious of the unconscious by becoming more conscious, ironically. Thus, one can infer that the unconscious is a form of consciousness, not its negation, although, for lack of a better term, we call the unconscious unconscious.

Consciousness and its feeling

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