Self Integrity, Slime, and Karma

First, consider this quote from “Slime Mold as Master Engineer” on research reported in Science News:

“The slime mold has no central brain or indeed any awareness of the overall problem it is trying to solve, but manages to produce a structure with similar properties to the real rail network…” [This behavior] “is really difficult to capture by words,”

This exemplifies the impetus to maintain self integrity I discussed in my last post on Extinguishing Self. I see this impetus as extending throughout creation; it is the driving force to be, do, and succeed, and results in feats of engineering in humans and slime molds alike.

On the surface, humans and slime molds appear vastly different. Viewed more deeply, the only significant difference I see is that we think that we know whereas the mold just knows without thinking that it knows. Seeing ourselves special (e.g., wise and intelligent beings created in God’s image and such), we lack the humility to see the sameness we share with the rest of creation and suffer as a consequence. Ah, to return to the innocent humble bliss of the slim mold.

Seriously though, Karma could provide a way back to that innocent bliss. Although, the hitch here is that ‘returning’ (as opposed to moving ‘up’) is traditionally viewed as a consequence of bad action in life (i.e.,bad Karma). Of course, I imagine just the opposite would be the view from a slim mold’s paradigm. Its version of Karma: Being moved ‘up’ in the next life to a thinking human state as a consequence of its bad actions.

Of course that’s silly, but so are the irrational ideals of good, bad, beautiful and ugly. Ideals like these are simply our projections of what pleases (attraction) or pains (repulsion). Indeed, I see no good, beautiful, bad or ugly in Nature, either in the wild or in humanity. Sure, we humans do some pretty ugly repulsive things to each other and nature, but these are only symptoms of underlying imbalance, not the result of malfunctioning ‘free will‘ or temptations of the devil. Wasn’t it Christ who said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). The Taoist version of that could be, It is because people are ignorant that they fail to understand me.