We are focal points within an intricate web of becoming, caught in forces we cannot see or touch, but know only by their behavior.

The threads of awareness between the one and the many are often beyond the horizons of our perceptions - but not beyond our knowing.

We can know them by changing our interval of awareness, seeing changes over longer or shorter intervals of time.

As we alter our interval of awareness we begin to see the intercommunications between the beings around us. These interactions are worth seeing. They are the forces of nature manifesting each being, all change, and every direction. To know them is to grasp the fundamentals of life.

Two 1/5000th of a second photographs taken five minutes apart show remarkable changes in a cuttlefish's form, texture and color as it moves through its domain on a Solomon Islands coral reef.

Although the photographs show more detail than I saw as I swam after the creature, they do not provide an accurate representation of either the cuttlefish or the chase. The cuttlefish was constantly changing its position, shape, and color during the event. Pictures taken at other moments would have shown a much different animal in different settings.

Behavior Zones

A motion picture would yield a more representative likeness of the creature's real biological form and movement but would actually be a series of still photographs projected at 1/25th of a second on a screen. Because the human interval of awareness is about 1/16th of a second, the projected still images would seem to be a continuous, flowing movement. It would seem real, but familiar, within our normal horizons of perception.

Suppose we saw the event from a longer interval of awareness.

If we could somehow see the trajectory and changes of the cuttlefish over the entire five minute interval, the animal would be a tube-shaped behavior zone threading through the sea over the reef.

The tube would change density, texture and color as it came near the coral, twisted over the sand and finally dwindled into the distance in deep water. Its shape would reflect the interaction of the awareness and movements of both the cuttlefish and myself as we responded to each other.

If we could record the cuttlefish's behavior over its life span, the shape of the being would be a web of tunnels through the sea where it habitually hunted for food, sex, safety and competitors.

We can think of this extended interval of behavior as a communication web created as information flows through the thread of awareness of the cuttlefish, controling its size, shape, speed and direction of movement.

Follow this thread through the communication webs of fish, coral, and the nested community of the coral reef.