- The self awareness of the conscious mind (danielleeadair.wordpress.com)
Lucas Cranach- The elder Adam and Eve. This was a popular subject in 16th century art and is an interesting painting in terms of self awareness. It is capturing the moment in the biblical story where Eve takes a bite from the apple from the tree of knowledge and is about to give the apple to Adam. Adam in doubt, she has been transformed by eating a piece. The animals around them lived in a semi aware blissful state, after there is more self awareness with Adam and Eve. It is a process we all go through as babies are born in a blissful state and don’t even know they exist having a continuous blissful state and acquire later on that we are separate from the world and within conflict within the world. We are thrown out of our own garden of Eden by consciousness. No body knows like humans of our own existence, our own minds and unique position we occupy. Humans are the only beings that can reflect on their own mind.
- Theodore Roethke (Wikipedia)
Theodore Huebner Roethke (/ˈrɛtki/ RET-kee; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book The Waking, and the annual National Book Award for Poetry on two occasions: in 1959 for Words for the Wind, and posthumously in 1965 for The Far Field. His work was characterized by a willingness to engage deeply with a multifaceted introspection, and his style was overtly rhythmic, with a skilful use of natural imagery. Indeed, Roethke’s mastery of both free verse and fixed forms was complemented by an intense lyrical quality that drew “from the natural world in all its mystery and fierce beauty.