Having listened to a few Alan Watts lectures, and having past knowledge of Panpsychism, and Buddhism, I had an interesting thought/conjecture about the nature of Consciousness and Death.
I do not know what happens after you die, “I” (an interesting concept) do not remember it… but I like the ideas put forth by Alan Watts, and Buddhism, and have had, what I would describe as a moment of “enlightenment” or Satori. Or what Alan Watts would call “Waking Up”; which for a secular humanist is odd indeed.
A few days after, I had a semi-waking thought (I was in between sleep and being awake);
Expanding on the the Guitar metaphor about the strings being too tight or too lax, and the “middle” tightness being just right:
Your life are the strings, your memories the music.
The Guitar is your consciousness on which life and memories are foundationally built on. The memories and life are your individual music that is rarely unique, but still personalized, and individual to you.
When you die, the strings are cut (think of the Fates from Greek myth cutting the string of life). The music stops, your ego and “self” dies, but the music you played has intrinsically changed the guitar.
The type of music you play, changes how the wood seasons, a person using the same guitar will know it is their guitar by the sound. And so like this, the consciousness is shaped, and “changes” with each “rebirth”.
The essence of the life led remains ingrained in consciousness, but the memory, the ego, the self, dies.
No way to test this… but I like the idea none the less.