Sentience

Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or experience subjectively.   Eighteenth-century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think (reason) from the ability to feel (sentience). In modern Western philosophy, sentience is the ability to experience sensations (known in philosophy of mind as "quailia"). In Eastern philosophy, sentience is a metaphysical quality of all things that requires respect and care. The concept is central to the philosophy of animal rights, because sentience is necessary for the ability to suffer, and thus is held to confer certain rights.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentience

Our lives at this time in history may introduce another "definition" or area to consider in the investigation of Sentience.  This is the area of "Sentient Potential" a field of study dedicated to the very important questions we may be facing in the not too distant future regarding future techonologies in brain-machine interface. 

I just happened upon the Sentient Potential Website while browsing the internet in my quest for understanding my recent obsession with the concept of Sentience.  In the website the term "Sentient Potential" is defined as:  "the potential evolution, development, and expansion of all intelligence and awareness, a concept that goes beyond “human potential” to encompass the entirety of living and aware beings." 

This new discovery on the internet has me thinking about this vision that has sprung from my subconscious in the past 6 months to become the focus of my work at this time.  The connection between nature and technology has once again entered into the concepts I am working out in images.  (see "The Magical Mystery Stones: June 2013 archives: Magical Mystery Stones )

Mind, nature and technology... the Sentient Worlds that will unfold in the ongoing stories of The Sentient Beings.  Stay tuned.....

Sentient Beings among the Humans

The world of the Sentient Beings has always been here. 

It's just that we don't always see.

The Sentient Beings were in danger of becoming invisible to all.  Jackal turned himself into a man, and tried to convince the people that these beings exist, are all around us.

Jackal can still be recognized by the hole where the moon jumped through him.

When Jackal vanished from the Sentient Scape, the introvert traveled to earth to find him.

It was all quite a mess for awhile.  Most humans mocked Jackal for his outlandish stories, and they could not see the world he pointed out to them.

The Introvert landed in a dark alley far from her intended destination and found herself alone in a hostile world.

And Masquerade knew this was his moment, his one chance to accomplish plans, plans that were born out of greed and fear.

Masquerade

mas·quer·ade

ˌmaskəˈrād/

noun

1. 1. 

   a false show or pretense.

   "his masquerade ended when he was arrested"

   synonyms:

   pretense, deception, pose, act, front, facade, disguise, dissimulation, bluff, play-acting, make-believe; informalput-on "he couldn't keep up the masquerade much longer"

verb

1. 1. 

   pretend to be someone one is not.

   "a journalist masquerading as a man in distress"

   synonyms:

   pretend to be, pose as, pass oneself off as, impersonate, disguise oneself as "a woman masquerading as a man"

He carries a large machete, and hides his stick behinds his back.

What is he hiding?  And how does he fit in with the sensitive and benevolent Sentient Beings?  This character, "Masquerade" has enough pernicious qualities to make us all worried.  He pretends to be much more dangerous than he is, but he is more dangerous than most.  What stories lie behind the pretense of this creature?  They will unfold, when Masquerade confronts the Jackal about her own secrets.

Masquerade meets Jackal in two lifetimes, once before she has met The Introvert, and once after.  As you can imagine, the results are completely different.  Two identical encounters with vastly different results.  

I hope you are enjoying the story of the Sentient Beings.  This story has no beginning and no end, so you can join in at anytime.

You can also follow the story of Jackal, the Introvert and Masquerade on facebook or Instagram, where I sometimes post as I go along.

From Dreaming to Dancing

More Jackal... she is Dancing Jackal, after a long journey via magic arrow.   
During the long and reckless journey she is pierced by the arrow
 and has to land in a canyon where there is no escape. 
Dancing Jackal does not have the patience and reserve that Dreaming Jackal has, 
but she shines like the moon.

       

          While trapped in the canyon, with only a few hours of sunlight, 
           Dreaming Jackal noticed the light of the moon during the dark night, 
and became greedy for more.
This makes Dreaming Jackal a servant of the moon.

      

She tried to jump through the moon, but the moon jumped through her.

After the moon jumped through Jackal she glowed all night and hid in a cave all day.
Now she is  trapped in darkness all day long.

Having suffered many days in darkness Jackal became frustrated with the the silence,
and learned to play the rhythms of the moon.

I hope you are enjoying the story of the Sentient Beings.  This story has no beginning and no end, so you can join in at anytime.

These are drawings from my sketchbook; some will be made available as prints on Society6 

at Dawn Patel Art: http://society6.com/dawnpatel

You can also follow the story of Jackal on facebook or Instagram, where I post as I go along.

The Story... no beginning and no end

The story I am telling with the Sentient Beings has no beginning and no end.  

It started sometime... perhaps when I was sleeping.  

It will end sometime... in a future that doesn't exist yet.  

So, like I said, it has no beginning and no end.  Jump in whenever you like.

The Seer.  In his youth he is a runner and a reacher.

The Seer is a Visionary with a third eye in his forehead, which makes him embarrassed and confused.  After all he is not living in a mythical land of Eastern Gods, but rather South Dakota.  At least for now.  He is not sure how he got there and he is certain he doesn't belong.  He has visions, but he doesn't take the time to see them clearly, he just reaches for relief and runs away from his fears.  So... in his youth he is always running and reaching.  I guess you can say at least he's moving forward... but at this rate who knows where to?  He could really end up going in circles if he doesn't slow down.

The Seer, in her old Age.  A cloud covers her third eye.

The funny thing about Sentient Beings, they exist in different realms, times and forms all at once.  While the Young Seer is busy sprinting to who knows where, the Old Seer is unable to use her wings and fly, and she is unable to use that third eye, because it's covered with a cloud.  Her life was hard, and her vision was clouded by pain, loss and disappointment.  She stopped seeing the visions when she started to only see the hardship in her life.

Eagle Eye see through the layers of existence.  

Just when you started to lose hope... in comes Eagle Eye.  She is a shapeshifting spirit who comes and goes from our lonely Seer's life to reveal a deeper truth.  Hopefully to shed some vision on the visionary so he can start using that extra eyeball and not become a hopeless old lady.  Eagle Eye flies above all the realms and sees through the many layers of existence.  Most of use see one, or maybe two layers, but Eagle Eye has seen so many he has lost count.  For awhile she thought there were 13, but she's realized it just keeps going and going and going....

What has Eagle Eye learned that can help poor Seer?  At the moment that's a mystery, because although Eagle Eye can see, he can't speak.  So... I guess they will all have to find another way to communicate.

Stay tuned... some more characters are on the way to help explain all this.  Infinity and Tree are not far behind.

Sentient Beings: The Introvert

The Sentient Beings Sketchbook

At the side of my bed I have a little sketchbook I have titled "Sentient Beings."  The characters that come to me are from another world.  Some might call it the imagination, and some might call it another dimension.  I haven't named it.  But the beings are named "sentient" because I believe every living thing possesses a sentience that we as human beings are too quick to dismiss.

One of hundreds of my quick sketches of Sentient Beings

I believe there is a quality in all things, called sentience, an ability to experience sensations.  This is an argument for an approach to life in which all things require respect and care.

The Introvert.  He is the first Sentient Being I am developing into a character, using paintings and stories. 

So, I have decided to treat my own Sentient Beings with the care and respect they deserve by letting them develop into characters and be a part of a story.  I'm letting them lead.  I'm starting with one character and letting the story develop in its own.  The first character is The Introvert.

The Introvert travels between dimensions in a small world of his own, but it is full of treasures.

The Introvert is very self contained, and therefore able to travel easily between worlds.  He carries with him a rich existence, but is often tempted to stay there, in his little self contained world, because he has everything he needs.  Almost.

The Introvert is Duckling

When he first ventures from his safe little world of his imagination, he lands in a world with lots of water.  And he is Duckling.  He has bright orange galoshes and tiny wings.  His galoshes give him courage and his wings, although small and unformed, give him hope.  With this he ventures out, slowly....

Stay tuned.  We can find out what happens together.