685. The central factor in the terrestrial human being's experience of life is its "sense of its I". But this experience has come about only gradually through evolution. The mineral, plant and animal forms of beings, terrestrial human beings excepted, do not possess this sense. The mineral and plant manifestations as well as an extremely large part of the animal manifestations are automatic functions, that is to say "knowledge C" from a previous spiral cycle. But the reaction of the meeting between these automatic functions and Nature's manifestation of energy is the first thing the living being begins to experience in a spiral cycle. This experience begins, as we have mentioned elsewhere in "Livets Bog", as an "inkling", which afterwards becomes an increasingly detailed, living realisation in the being, and in this way finally becomes an awake, clear day-consciousness. In its initial stages this day-consciousness is therefore not a realisation or experience of the being's own identity, but, on the contrary, merely a realisation of the outward impact brought about by Nature's manifestation of energy. The impact of Nature is therefore the first thing a being realises or becomes aware of. The tiny, new-born child lying in its cot has still not the slightest sense on the physical plane of its own physical identity. It experiences only the reaction of the meeting between its organism and Nature, which in this case means its parents' loving care or the satisfying of the needs and requirements that the organism has for its existence. Just as the little child has no detailed understanding of its experience, perceiving it merely in the form of "pleasure" or "displeasure", so it is with the life of all forms of plant beings, with the one difference that whereas the elementary stage of consciousness in the little child is only a repetition, in the plant being it is a permanent stage, which it can raise itself above only through evolution's immense span of time, and in this way pass into the animal's stage of consciousness. But throughout this entire area of evolution, and part of the way into the animal kingdom, it must continue to live in the zone of the impoverished consciousness of instincts and inklings. It does not know itself and has never thought about itself. But since it must constantly experience the reaction of the energy streaming from its own being as it meets Nature's energies, it cannot be avoided that the being increasingly notices this reaction. It finds itself unceasingly in this reaction. And this becomes the first form of the living being's awareness. In time the animal being experiences that something other than itself exists. It then begins to distinguish between itself and this other. And in this way there arises the first elementary forms of "I-consciousness" or the beginnings of the terrestrial human being. This being distinguishes between itself and everything else that exists in life, both objects and beings. In star field no. 6 we see this symbolised. The white triangle here signifies the "I". And the large triangle with all the colours of the basic energies symbolises the universe, Nature or this "something" that the I feels itself to be separate from. As a result of this separation, the concept of "it" emerged. This "sense of I" and "sense of it", which together in reality forms the basis of the being's "sense of individuality", is the sixth basic answer to the mystery of life.