Take a look at the above video compilation of animals' reactions when the see their bodies reflected by a mirror.
The first reaction among most is thinking the mirror reflection is another animal. They try to play with the other animal.
After becoming frustrated at this, they begin to realize that they are the animal in the mirror. They see how their activities are reflected. Either the other animal is imitating them or it is a mirror that is reflecting themselves.
The lesson from this is that animals - even lizards - have a sense of self. They recognize they are alive and they recognize life when they see it.
This recognition is shared by all living beings, including humans. We all feel a sense of self and we recognize we are alive. This sense of self comes from within. It comes from the reality that we are each living beings within these temporary physical bodies.
This is the very basis for the urge to survive, and the very basis for evolution - the urge of each individual self to survive. Without this sense, there would be no evolution, because there would be no urge to survive. There must be an awareness of self in order to desire survival.
Therefore, evolution is not simply about the evolution of physical bodies. It is about the evolution of each self within the physical body.
