Thanks Amos ;-)

I understand what you're saying, Wolfgang.

Re: animals and consciousness... my perspective is that all of creation is conscious, and that each created thing is a tiny spark of divinity. I think that with humans, we have the ability to fool ourselves into thinking that we're separate from the rest of creation (and to cover up our divinity, or at least our awareness of it), and that is what accounts for the behavior that makes us appear to be of a more base nature sometimes than treefrogs (to use the example given earlier). But I also see purpose in everything that happens, and for me, that's an important thing to keep in mind as events appear to unfold in the world.