When three pictures merge into one

 

I asked my mother once why she didn’t stop smoking and she replied that then she would only eat compulsively, and her weight would go up. She said she didn’t like that alternative either. I was young then and didn’t know what this struggle was about. It seemed like a strange response.

 

The three faces the Japanese describe are really about conditioned neural networks. The brain lights up differently when we are at work versus when we are home or hang out with our lonesome self. Some people try to be the same, some people monitor themselves in each situation. Either way, the neurons fire differently, and we react differently when someone really gets to us.

 

Awakening is already a big deal. We see the world with new eyes. The neural wiring changes and our environment responds accordingly. Yet, the networks remain separated. There is still a little rewiring ahead. One day we see the boss and the co-worker not much differently than our partner or child. Everyone is God speaking, not because we believe it, but we see it. We are the world, and the entire brain vibrates silently in eager anticipation of what is no matter where we are.