The Universe is a Green Dragon Brian Swimme
Precis by Hope Taylor

The Self

The self is an unseen self-organizing activity which cannot be captured by language. It is a universal presence, an invisible, unnameable mystery we call unseen shaping. Of course what is invisible is just as real as the visible. This unseen shaping activity is not physical. It permeates us and connects us to the earth’s unseen shaping or embryogenesis throughout the universe as a cosmic dynamic.

What is a self? Everything is a self. There is nothing that exists outside of the unseen shaping activity. E.g. atoms, flame, tornados, trees and humans all present a centred unseen shaping activity. The mystery is who shapes the tree, the child, the atom?

A Tree is a self: it is more unseen shaping than leaves, roots, cellulose or fruit. What organizes all this activity? The same with humans, who organizes your thoughts?

The self organizes.

The earth is a self-organizing process of astounding complexity and achievement. We are the self reflective mind and heart of the whole process. The earth organizes itself so it can maintain the narrow band of conditions enabling life to unfold and continue. The whole process is alive. The dynamics that fashioned the fire-ball, and the galaxies also fashions your ideas and visions. The whole process is present in our own personal self. The prokaryotes manufactured the oxygen content of the atmosphere. Who told them to stop when the oxygen level reaches its peak?

We are the self-reflective mind and heart of the whole process, seeing and reflecting upon the presence of unseen shaping in all creation.