Barbarians at the feast

An important outcome of evolution is that in day to day life we experience ourselves as apart from the universe. There is “me” here inside this body and then there is “the rest”. We could refine this a little bit; “the rest” also contains “stuff that belongs to me” and “people who are important to me”. This however, does not change the fundamental perception out of which we live our lives; “apart from”, “different from”, “separated from” the universe. After millions of years of existential suffering, we are finally free of the food chain; we live in an age in which we have the most marvellous opportunity to transcend our…