consciousness

I'd like to share my thoughts on the popular idea of creating our own reality:

The best response I've seen to the statement, "You create your own reality" is from Ken Wilber when he says something to the effect of, "You don't create your own reality, psychopaths create their own reality." In other words, while our thoughts and perceptions affect the way we see the world, there is still an "objective" reality that exists independently of us and acceptance of objectivity is what separates "normal" people from "dangerous" people. It goes back to the Zen koan of, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?" The 4 quadrants approach, as I understand it, would say "yes and no." Yes because that's what trees do, we know that scientifically, and no because actually nothing occurs outside of consciousness. You can't say that it made a sound if you didn't experience something indicating that it did.

For me, that brings up the miraculous point of consciousness. We can experience the world because we are conscious. Without consciousness, creation would have no experience of itself. Or shall I say, the degree to which creation is conscious is the degree to which it is able to experience itself. So there is probably some elementary form of consciousness in a Hydrogen atom, some prehension that maintains its integrity as an atom from one moment to the next. But there is a much greater awareness in more evolved creatures. As it has been said, the universe evolved eyes so that it could see itself.

But a prominent object in consciousness is thought, and it needs to be taken seriously, not as the sole arbiter of creation, but as an important one. I've found through examining my experience very carefully, every action begins from a thought or feeling that I act upon. So it is crucial that I make the effort to focus on that which is highest, because that's the only way it will come through consistently.