A unnatural drawing of (When you look at me, what you perceive is a reconstruction of sensory data predicted by the brain and confirmed by sensory reflexes afterwards... The processing of sensory input can take up to two seconds, yet we have the impression of continuous consciousness in the now. The self that receives the image of me processes me through the filters of personality and mind, producing a usable facsimile of me, which can be interacted with. I digress... I could paraphrase your question thusly: Is there a self that is separate from the whole. Wise men say we are one with the universe. The necessary illusion of separation gives our cell of consciousness a burst of perception. We are the universe seeing the universe. Since we occupy unique positions in space, we must therefore be unique...In that sense there is a membrane that one could identify as self....Inside the membrane there is a coherent system that is unique to the rest of the universe, has an identity, and can recognize and interact with other informational membranes. Highest quality of resolution, professional photography, 9K:1.2) (with a landscape:0.2), (stunning, highly detailed, 8k, ornate, intricate, cinematic, dehazed, atmospheric:0.7), oil painting, splash art, teal, (orange:0.3), (by Jeremy Mann, by John Constable, by El Greco:0.7), (acrylic paint:0.4), (by Zdzislaw Beksinski:0.4), (by E.H. Shepard and John Romita Jr:0.8) | Midjourney