Do Insects Have Spiritual Consciousness?

To understand how the awareness of Insects works, we need to abandon the preconception and idea of what Individuality is.

The Spiritual Consciousness of Insects

 

 

Hurt no living thing: Ladybird, nor butterfly, Nor moth with a dusty wing.

~ Christina Rossetti

 

It is easy for us to perceive the life, feelings, and even thoughts of animals such as dog, cat, horse, and so many others. We have a substantial esoteric literature on the subject, and it will come as no surprise to many people that a dog cats and other Mammals also have a conscience, a spirit, just like humans.

“Consciousness is the structure of virtues.”

~ Francis Bacon

 

We have an ongoing relationship with these animals and also a closeness through identification, so much so that we always tend to “humanize” our pets. A dog is an important entity in the family, considered as ” Fur-son” as ” Fur-person.”  But what about other beings, such as Insects. Are insects aware? Is the ability to perceive the reality and existence of an insect too far from that of a dog? And how about from a human?

 

Insects Feel Pain

We can start this reflection from the scientific point of view. According to science, insects feel pain.

They have nerve endings similar to those we humans have, despite having an exoskeleton. Therefore, it is reasonable to suppose that they have some kind of sensory perception equivalent to what we call pain. They can learn to defend themselves by moving away from something that causes them discomfort. So, we may also think that they have their own cognitive way and environmental interpretation mechanisms to help them to react to the information they receive and to preserve their lives.

Fortunately, the sensory structures of these small creatures are distributed in various parts of their exoskeleton, and they have more efficient pain-blocking mechanisms than humans. Thanks to these apparatuses, a cockroach continues to walk even after having a leg torn off, for example. But it is not because the sensation of pain may not be exactly the same as we feel. But we should not conclude that insects do not feel pain when they are injured.

And if insects feel pain, it is because they are subject to a cognizant process that permits this perception to manifest, even if this awareness is not handled in the same way as human consciousness would.

 

If There is Awareness, There Are Emotions

There is no fundamental difference between man and animals in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness, and misery.

~ Charles Darwin

Emotions are the proof, the consequence of having a conscience. The universal definition for ’emotion,’ which is applied in academic fields such as neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy, is challenging to be accepted by science. While there are hundreds of different meanings for emotion, the most universal definition we can find is that emotion as the result of expressive behaviors associated with different states of the brain. That is, emotions are detected by the brain and transmitted to our bodies in the form of feelings. This goes for the most instinctive emotions such as sexual desire, for example, even the most complex and social emotions such as embarrassment, grief, and shame.

As we have seen, environmental stimuli can trigger emotions, which are processed through the brain and return in the form of feelings. If there is awareness, there is emotion. And if there is emotion, there is also a whole spiritual environment that will sustain the processes through which consciousness would undergo.

 

Proving Insects’ Emotions

“Even insects’ express anger, terror, jealousy, and love.”

~ Charles Darwin

 

An experience with bees became well known amid psychology, as it showed that there is emotional behavior in insects.

If someone broke into your home, surely the fright and dread you would feel would trigger a process of emotions of fear, panic, terror, and struggle. Who wants to see your home broken into? Yeah. The experiment we are talking about has shown that a beehive can react in precisely the same way as us humans. The bees were placed near a moving fan blade for a minute to simulate a badger attack on the hive and make the bees angry. Then chemicals were thrown in to calm them down, but the technique didn’t work very well.

Bees that were shaken by the “invasion” did not react to chemicals that simulated a tempting scent. In addition, there were significant emotional changes in neurotransmitter levels in the emotionally distressed and shaken bees, and alterations in their serotonin and dopamine levels, just as it happens with the human body.

The flies also demonstrate an emotional process similar to that of bees. When flies feel threatened, they react emotionally to a possible attack. Researchers have done experiments where shadows that simulated an aerial predator were cast over the walls. When the false predator was introduced and then removed, anxiety levels potentially increased in flies, which immediately ignored any other stimuli such as food. This suggests that individual states of emotion are felt by these insects, altering their “mindset” and affecting their behavior.

Animal empathy also has been measured through experiments and observation. This time, armadillos were used as a reference to realize how much the emotions of one of the individuals in the community could influence the emotional state of the others. They were also subjected to a stressful situation, while one of the elements was kept separate and fed. When this calmer animal was inserted with the others, without the stress burden they went through, the calm armadillo would eventually influence its companions, making them more peaceful and more cheerful.

 

Collective Consciousness & Group Awareness

To understand how the awareness of Insects works, we need to abandon the preconception and idea of what Individuality is. As humans, we are a singular being, a single consciousness inhabiting our single body of flesh. But when we talk about some animals and insects, the consciousness embodied there can be understood to be a group, not an individual one.

A single consciousness, that is, an individual being is embodied therein as a collective – a hive, divided into smaller parts that form the whole.

This would even be one of the explanations for the incredible network of communication that seems to exist between the members of the hive, an anthill or even a swarm of locusts. With ants, this behavior of “Being” the whole is evident: try to break the line of walking ants. Immediately the information spreads, and we see that ants that were far from threatening intervention, receive a warning of danger and change their course, deviating from the risk. And when one of them dies, they all feel, although the death was only partial because the Being-organism did not die, but a small part of it.

 

Spiritual World and  Evolution

As a thinker and planner, the ant is the equal of any savage race of men; as a self-educated specialist in several arts she is the superior of any savage race of men; and in one or two high mental qualities, she is above the reach of any man, savage or civilized!

~ Mark Twain

 

We all share the vital energy, which descends from the universal energy source that animates all that exists. Thus, everything that is in the matter has a spiritual origin and fulfills a specific function inside this system, within a dynamic that sustains and accepts the incarnation logic. If something exists, there is an impact on the astral world, which means that behind each world of the animal, mineral, and plant kingdom there is a spiritual dimension that works to maintain the energetic balance, the function, and relationship within these beings and their places inside the material world.

Most likely insects and other species of animals are not subjected to the laws of Karma, as we are as humans. Their actions are likely not to generate karma, for their level of consciousness is mainly driven by instincts and power of the circumstances than reflection and broader perception of their very existence. But they exist, and have a function, they are beings, they are life, and they have the right to be treated with respect.

Notice the nature and almost invisible interaction that exists between all animals and plants and their environment. Even the most insignificant being has a role to play, an effect on the balance chain that sustains nature. If the flies are missing, the frogs starve. Without frogs, other insects proliferate, and we lose control of important vectors in the spread of diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, malaria, yellow fever, zika, and many other conditions. Everything is connected, and all the pieces are important in the evolution puzzle. Insects evolve, learn, embody, return to the spiritual dimension of origin, and follow an evolutionary journey.

Interesting to think that way, Yes? This view connects us more closely with the nature and diversity of life. Earth Spaceship is not ours, and we share the planet with thousands of other consciousnesses besides the human one. It’s funny to think, but even a mosquito is a being, has a mission, a function in a matter of which nature is made, and has a singular spiritual vibration as well.

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About the Author

Cathedral of the Soul intends to undertake the challenge of creating a multidimensional healing space that is dedicated to those who seek to enrich, enlighten and heal themselves while serving and assisting in the healing of others. Cathedral of the Soul is one of the many spiritual outreaches of Humanity Healing International, a registered 501C3 nonprofit with Church status. https://cathedralofthesoul.org

Cathedral of the Soul is developing an Animal Ministry program. If you want to volunteer and help animals, join the Facebook groups @circleofprayersforanimals