Tony
16th October 2012, 08:08
Consciousness and Awareness.
We sometimes get confused about the word Consciousness, I know I do!
(This is just one dictionaries description of the word.)
Conscious.
Adjective.
aware of and responding to one's surroundings; awake.
• having knowledge of something; aware : we are conscious of the extent of the problem.
• ( conscious of) painfully aware of; sensitive to : he was very conscious of his appearance.
• concerned with or worried about a particular matter : they were growing increasingly security-conscious.
• (of an action or feeling) deliberate and intentional : a conscious effort to walk properly.
• (of the mind or a thought) directly perceptible to and under the control of the person concerned.
Consciousness.
Noun.
the state of being awake and aware of one's surroundings : she failed to regain consciousness and died two days later.
• the awareness or perception of something by a person : her acute consciousness of Mike's presence.
• the fact of awareness by the mind of itself and the world : consciousness emerges from the operations of the brain.
We tend to use it as a way of saying, we are conscious or awake, conscious awareness, or perception. And consciousness as a faculty of the mind. It generally describes being aware of external events, thoughts and feelings.
But it can go much deeper and subtler than that. We can be conscious/aware, but we can also be aware or conscious of awareness or consciousness itself. In fact we are that very awareness or consciousness.
While 'we' are awareness or consciousness there is still an element of “I”. As in “I” am aware, “I” am awake, “I” perceive. That is claiming the awareness and is a duality.
At the deepest level there is only 'awareness', no “I” involved. This is easily seen in meditation. When no “I” is involved, it is pure awareness.
Ordinary consciousness can have clarity, but 'pure awareness' is a beautiful upgrade of clarity. So that is why sometimes consciousness and awareness may be used differently.
Using words is difficult, they just have to be understood when used in context.
Dictionaries are useful, but can befuddle our understanding.
Spirituality is beyond words.
Quite often one will see videos or read threads, where "I" is mentioned several times. This tends to indicate that the person is talking about "me" more than the subject. It's a very subtle difference, but it has quite a negative effect. It's part of Orwell's "double speak", it distracts us from our truth.
Tony
We sometimes get confused about the word Consciousness, I know I do!
(This is just one dictionaries description of the word.)
Conscious.
Adjective.
aware of and responding to one's surroundings; awake.
• having knowledge of something; aware : we are conscious of the extent of the problem.
• ( conscious of) painfully aware of; sensitive to : he was very conscious of his appearance.
• concerned with or worried about a particular matter : they were growing increasingly security-conscious.
• (of an action or feeling) deliberate and intentional : a conscious effort to walk properly.
• (of the mind or a thought) directly perceptible to and under the control of the person concerned.
Consciousness.
Noun.
the state of being awake and aware of one's surroundings : she failed to regain consciousness and died two days later.
• the awareness or perception of something by a person : her acute consciousness of Mike's presence.
• the fact of awareness by the mind of itself and the world : consciousness emerges from the operations of the brain.
We tend to use it as a way of saying, we are conscious or awake, conscious awareness, or perception. And consciousness as a faculty of the mind. It generally describes being aware of external events, thoughts and feelings.
But it can go much deeper and subtler than that. We can be conscious/aware, but we can also be aware or conscious of awareness or consciousness itself. In fact we are that very awareness or consciousness.
While 'we' are awareness or consciousness there is still an element of “I”. As in “I” am aware, “I” am awake, “I” perceive. That is claiming the awareness and is a duality.
At the deepest level there is only 'awareness', no “I” involved. This is easily seen in meditation. When no “I” is involved, it is pure awareness.
Ordinary consciousness can have clarity, but 'pure awareness' is a beautiful upgrade of clarity. So that is why sometimes consciousness and awareness may be used differently.
Using words is difficult, they just have to be understood when used in context.
Dictionaries are useful, but can befuddle our understanding.
Spirituality is beyond words.
Quite often one will see videos or read threads, where "I" is mentioned several times. This tends to indicate that the person is talking about "me" more than the subject. It's a very subtle difference, but it has quite a negative effect. It's part of Orwell's "double speak", it distracts us from our truth.
Tony