"I wouldn't recommend the pursuit of consciousness to anyone. I would not have chosen it for myself. I didn't. It chose me. If it hasn't called your number yet, don't worry. It will, eventually. It will draft you from your small life and make impossible demands. You will say, “No.” You will say, “It can't be done.” You will say, "I don't want to," and it will laugh at your naivety. It will speak to you in symbols, a language you don’t know. It will shake the stable earth. It will break your mirrors and douse your life with gasoline. It will light your spirit on fire. You will die and give birth to yourself in the same instant, again and again. You will remember that Shakespeare was right: all the world IS a stage. You will wonder why you've been playing so small a part. For an instant you will be ecstatic. You will attempt to embrace your epic proportions and then the phone will ring and you will collapse back into your tiny character, hopele...