My body is a veritable galaxy of Units of Consciousness working to instantiate "me."
As you can see by the above diagram, the simpler the UC, the more of them there are. While there is only one "me" (represented by the blue triangle), my body is comprised of 11 organ systems made of 78 organs, which are in turn comprised of 50 trillion specialized cells made up of such a large number of atoms and molecules that I don't know how to read or write the numbers. The more organized and complex the UC, the fewer of them there are. Note that the "Mind" or ordinary consciousness, as well as the subconscious, are artifacts of the organ systems, organs, and cells that make up my body. In other words, the mind is the meat's thought process, not the Self's.
My Self UC sits atop this hierarchical mountain of countless UCs, all working to instantiate my body. While I may believe I am the only conscious entity inhabiting this body of mine, my physical body is actually home to all of these aggregated UCs, each with their own jobs to perform, each laying down their own karmic record. Lucky for me, their job is to hold me together and facilitate this life of mine, and they generally go along with the program and do a good job.
Another basic trait of my aggregate UCs is this: "The more UCs of the same level of complexity that are laterally linked, the greater their shared perception of here and now." This means that when you add all of those UCs together that make up my body, their aggregated consciousness is about as aware as my singular Self UC. And those aggregated UCs (my "mud" and "meat") are everywhere I am! No wonder I can get around so well without my conscious Self paying attention!
The "Ego" is my subjective sense of who I am, and it is largely a reflections of my Self UC's choices (karma) and the memes I cling to (my beliefs and narratives). My Ego also reflects my body's aggregates and their karmas and meme choices. Ego is not identical to the Self, as the Self UC is the immutably perfect soul that exists independent of material instantiation.
Personal Note: Two weeks ago I took a bad fall on the street while walking the dogs and landed hard on my chin. Yesterday, the dentist pulled out a tooth that had cracked in two during the fall. As the dentist wrestled with the tooth's roots, I realized that this tooth was its own little entity, and that she had been mortally wounded in the fall. Unable to do the job she was instantiated to do any longer, it was time for her to go. Later in the evening I felt a sadness for the tooth's demise and imagined that Whoville was holding a wake for the dearly departed tooth. I looked forward to falling asleep so that my governing UC would be available to attend the party, maybe even give a brief eulogy. "She took one for the team," I'd say. "She is free now to move on."
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