Hello Curious Jenn,

The seed came into being when you imagined it. The tree came into being when you imagined it. The idea that the tree would grow from the seed came into being when you imagined that. And now you’re looking for more things to imagine, and you’re asking someone reading the forum to help you come up with novel ideas about the seed and the tree.

But understand that whatever you imagine, that is the universe. Ideas explained by people who call themselves “scientists” help you create myths to build your understanding, but the myths you accept are just stories that are meaningful to you.

One interesting myth is that single-celled plants evolved into colonies of cells that eventually evolved into larger and more complex colonies that specialized some cells to be reproductive cells, aggregating into seeds, at first in small cell clusters, and later in larger bodies. So cells and trees evolved at the same time, from single celled plants dividing to form more plants to colonies of cells splitting off to become reproductive colonies, to seeds that become trees.

Interesting story.

But it’s only relevant if you make it one of your stories. It only matters if it matters to you. Only what is part of you is part of the universe.

The scientist tells you, “No, that’s not right. What I say about the evolution of plant cells is right.” OK, that’s right for the scientist. That’s her story. But it’s not your story. It won’t be unless you want it to be.

Here’s what’s meaningful, Curious Jenn. The entire universe is in you. And that universe is whatever you believe it to be.

Prior to the eighteenth century, people believed the sun revolved around the earth. The earth was the center of the universe, they thought. Were they wrong? Absolutely not. They were right. That was their world. They lived their lives, loved, had children, wiped their tears when their loved ones died, and were thoroughly, completely alive. Their universes were what they believed, thought, and lived.

Your universe is what you’re believing, thinking, and living. If you believe, think, and live love, compassion, and caring, that will be your universe. If you believe, think, and live anger, getting what you can get by trampling on others, and feeling despondent and bitter about life, that will be your universe. You make your own story.

Then what came first, the seed or the tree? Yes, what did come first? You have the answer. You tell us.

What came first, the mind or the brain? You know the truth. Your story probably doesn’t include a brain. You’ve never seen your brain. You don’t even know you have one, except that someone has told you that you have to have one. You’ve never seen it; you’ve never touched it. And when you die, it will turn into dust.

But you know your mind intimately. You intend to know and you know. You want to remember and instantly you remember. That’s from the mind. I know your mind because I’ve met it from unknown miles away, in another cybergalaxy. It’s separate from your brain. Your brain is dust. Your mind lives forever. But that’s my story. If you listen to me long enough, I hope it becomes your story.

Love and peace, Craig