Lower forms of Life.. Snails, tadpoles, worms, bacteria

Originally Posted by metal68

I must quickly say, I think some people thought I was suggesting that animals were less 'worthy' when I said lower forms of life. Not at all; I have 3 x cats and I value their lives more than some of the people I meet. I was probably meaning complexity and also trying to understand the function of say spirit bacteria in a spirit realm. It's one of the things that people who are sceptical on such things often use on a sliding scale to discredit the idea of survival after death.

Thanks for clarifying, but even so... It's based on a false premise. Those beings are only less complex when using a (false) human standard. It's no different from saying that short people are less complex because a tall standard is used. Even though science might claim that a snail is less complex than a human, the scientist can only "know" this by comparing the snail to humans. What we know scientifically today can change dramatically tomorrow. We don't truly know that snails are less complex...they could be physiological and spiritual geniuses for all we know.

I don't mean this to be argumentative, only to point out that when we get caught up in the "better than" story, we are making a huge mistake. Spiritual/metaphysical knowledge, just like science, changes all the time, as it should.

All that said... I think we forget that bacteria are necessary for life as we know it. We have an abundant diversity of wonderful bacteria in our digestive systems. Everything serves a purpose in life, and therefore in spirit. Some might argue that bacteria are group souls, and perhaps this is correct. But is each type of bacterium a separate group? Are all bacteria in one group? And snails... Are they group souls? How can anyone truly know this? An experience as a snail seems to me, from my human POV, to provide deep lessons in being in the moment without rushing.

Everything has a soul. Everything. For now, we can only guess at how those souls function...or believe whoever is currently popular on TV or the bookstore.

My response when these things come up and there is serious argument from the other side of the issue is, "Who says?" When that simple question is taken to each new level (argument), it becomes clear that we really don't know much. Or, put differently, using some of Byron Katie's method a little differently:
- Can you absolutely know that it's true?
- Who would you be without the thought?

Thanks for the topic, Metal. There've been some interesting, thoughtful responses.

[Angel Cat Princess]

I wouldn't say that cats and dogs, for example, are lower life forms (than humans) for they are capable of a very pure love that few humans are capable of.