Our highest potential as a species is our ability to achieve full self-reflective consciousness or "knowing that we know." Through humanity's awakening, the Universe acquires the ability to look back and reflect back on itself-in wonder, awe, and appreciation... In the spacious mirror of reflective consciousness we begin to catch glimpses of the unity of the interwoven fabric of the cosmos and our intimate participation within the living web of existence. No longer is reality broken into relativistic islands of pieces. If only for a brief moment at a time, existence is glimpsed and known as a seamless totality. To explore our gradual awakening to the aliveness and unity of the universe ... awakens the intuition that a living presence permeates the universe.
Duane Elgin - The Living Universe