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The Seventh Lesson: The Unfoldment of Consciousness.593
“knows,” but is not able to think of himself as knowing—he does not “know
that he knows,” as we do. He experiences the physical pain and discomfort,
but is spared the mental discomfort and concern arising from the physical,
which man so often experiences.
The animal cannot shift its consciousness from the sensations of the
outer world to the inner states of being. It is not able to “know itself.” The
difference may be clumsily illustrated by the example of a man feeling,
seeing or hearing something that gives him a pleasurable sensation, or the
reverse. He is conscious of the feeling or sensation, and that it is pleasurable
or otherwise. That is Physical Consciousness, and the animal may share it
with him. But it stops right there with the animal. But the man may begin
to wonder why the sensation is pleasurable and to associate it with other
things and persons; or speculate why he dislikes it, what will follow, and so
on—that is Mental Consciousness, because he recognizes an inward self, and
is turning his attention inward. He may see another man and experience a
feeling or sensation of attraction or aversion—like or dislike. This is Physical
Consciousness, and an animal also may experience the sensation. But the
man goes further than the animal, and wonders just what there is about the
man he likes or detests, and may compare himself to the man and wonder
whether the latter feels as he does, and so on—this is Mental Consciousness.
In animals the mental gaze is freely directed outward, and never returns
upon itself. In man the mental gaze may be directed inward, or may return
inward after its outward journey. The animal “knows”—the man not only
“knows,” but he “knows that he knows,” and is able to investigate that
“knowing” and speculate about it. We call this higher consciousness Mental
Consciousness. The operation of Physical Consciousness we call Instinct—
the operation of Mental Consciousness we call Reason.
The Man who has Mental Consciousness not only “feels” or “senses”’ things,
but he has words or mental concepts of these feelings and sensations and
may think of himself as experiencing them, separating himself, the sensation
or feeling, and the thing felt or sensed. The man is able to think: “I feel; I hear;