one of the enduring questions is whether there exists some core of our being, some higher self, that is lies either beyond or within the deepest realms of our physical body.
my current thinking is that since our consciousness is an emergent phenomena (an illusion of self created from the bundle of recursive neurons), there isn't some core that can be physically located - once we try to parse things out, like hofstadter's imaginary marble, we find there's nothing to be found.
perhaps, another way to think about this is what happens when we strip out parts of our life, bit by bit. extraneous things, like useless add-ons to a product, are chipped away, one part at a time. rather than some tangible existential core, perhaps, it's better considered a quest for the deep knowledge and comfort in the barest minimum.
the metaphorical core, perhaps, is the state of existence of having less and less, until, there's nothing else to take away.
