The Difference Between Consciousness and Awareness

To raise your level of consciousness, you have to raise your awareness.

This begs the question: Are awareness and consciousness the same thing?

The answer might not be a simple yes or no because who really knows what consciousness is? If you find him or her or it please let me know.

Nonetheless, there are some differences we can explore.

Here is a little disclaimer: The following is just mental masturbation. Trying to understand awareness and consciousness engages the mind. And involving the mind is what keeps you from directly experiencing awareness and consciousness. So don’t take the following concepts too seriously.

What Is Awareness?

Let’s start by figuring out what awareness is.

You are reading this article right now. Hence, you are aware of the fact that you are reading. And you might also be aware of the meaning of each word and sentence.

But what you are perhaps not aware of is your being aware. Although now you are.

Awareness simply put is everything that is inside your conscious experience. To make it more clear, you can imagine your awareness as a bubble. And this bubble can move, expand and contract.

For instance, if you are focusing deeply on one task your awareness is usually narrow. You are not aware of the background sounds, and if you are in a deep flow state you might not even be aware of time.

In contrast, if you don’t focus on anything in particular you can expand your awareness.

And if your awareness is unfocused it can include many things at the same time.

You may even be aware of your inner experience (thoughts, emotions, sensations) and your outer experience (sounds, sights, smells) simultaneously. This state is referred to as open awareness.

In that sense awareness resembles attention, and to some degree, they are indeed the same experience.

While you can keep your attention only on one thing at a time, awareness, however, can include many things. And awareness can also come in the form of enlightening insight, knowledge, or understanding.

When someone informs you about environmental issues you may become more aware of the environment and the impact your behavior and decisions have on the environment.

Let me sum up what we have found out about awareness:

• It is focused and non-focused attention.

• It is your perception or knowledge about a situation or fact.

• It can move, expand, and contract.

What Is Consciousness?

Now it gets a little trickier. While we can, to some degree, observe and deduce what awareness is, consciousness is a little bit different.

When asked “What is consciousness?”, Buddha would remain silent.

We don’t know what consciousness is. And we can’t solve this dilemma by thinking about it.

Some people say that consciousness is inherent in every sentient being. This excludes plants, rocks, and other inorganic materials. Others say that every life form has some form of consciousness, which still excludes rocks (poor rocks). Yet again other people say that everything has some form of consciousness (yes, even rocks!)

Another theory states that consciousness is the underlying universal field of all existence. This means that consciousness is the fabric of reality. It is in everything, around everything, through everything.

Consciousness is your coffee and your smartphone.

Personally, the last theory appeals to me the most. There are, for instance, countless reports of people having out-of-body experiences as a result of a near-death experience.

They float in the corner of the ceiling observing their own body being reanimated. And afterward, they can accurately report where everyone stood and what was said in the room.

Out-of-body or non-localized experiences of consciousness are not only reserved for people on the verge of death.

Mystics, sages, meditators, yogis, spiritual practitioners, and psychonauts report about altered states of consciousness that often envelop whole humankind, the earth, and the cosmos.

Hence, consciousness is formless, eternal, and infinite. You might even say that consciousness is akin to the idea of God.

Although it can be fun and stimulating talking about the subject of consciousness, by talking about it we miss the point.

This is what all the sages and mystics have been pointing toward. Stop talking about the nature of reality, be it.

So What’s The Difference?

Awareness and consciousness can be different from each other but they can also be the same.

I have called consciousness the deeper layer. The reason is that, for instance, you can be unaware of how much you love someone, yet the love still exists in your consciousness.

Nonetheless, you shouldn’t attach yourself to this concept because words are not the thing.

Here is what the late Indian guru Nisargadatta Maharaj says about the difference between awareness and consciousness:

“Awareness is primordial; it is the original state, beginningless, endless, uncaused, unsupported, without parts, without change. Consciousness is on contact, a reflection against a surface, a state of duality. There can be no consciousness without awareness, but there can be awareness without consciousness, as in deep sleep. Awareness is absolute, consciousness is relative to its content; consciousness is always of something. Consciousness is partial and changeful, awareness is total, changeless, calm and silent. And it is the common matrix of every experience.”

In his description awareness seems to take the place of what I have called consciousness earlier.

For most people, however, awareness precedes consciousness. Usually, we are aware of just a few things in our experience.

Yet, the degree of awareness differs from human to human.

Some humans are aware of their own existence, feelings, emotions, and sensations. Others are aware of the sources of their emotions and sensations.

Some humans react automatically when affected by an impulse. Others are aware of being affected, aware of the impulse, aware of their reactions.

Some people “just say” whatever crosses their minds. Other people are aware of their thoughts, aware of how they conceptualize, analyze, and conclude.

There are some humans, however, whose awareness exceeds their own bodies and their own minds. They are aware of other humans and aware of the thoughts, emotions, and feelings of those around them.

For some people, awareness extends even further. They are aware of nature, trees, animals, and energies. Their awareness exceeds their minds and the physical world related by physical senses.

Some humans are aware of the underlying nature of all existence. Those humans are commonly called “enlightened”.

When your awareness is untainted by concepts, prejudices, judgments, and beliefs, you will start to experience everything as it is. And with this unfiltered perception, you awaken.

Awareness and consciousness become one. Or more accurately, they are one – you just become aware of their oneness.

Here is are a few attempts to describe the non-graspable with words:

• Pure awareness is a kind of Is-ness, which is consciousness.

• Awareness, in its unfiltered form, is consciousness.

• When awareness merges with what it is aware of, there is no distinction between awareness and consciousness.

Start with Awareness

To avoid making this only a philosophical exercise, I want to offer a takeaway.

Instead of trying to understand the difference between awareness and consciousness, we should start being aware.

Start to observe your experience. Be aware of your emotions, thoughts, and sensations. Don’t try to rationalize them, just be aware. Awareness is not thinking.

Often, to resolve inner problems, we want to first understand where our problems stem from. But that is a tedious unpractical approach. Start with awareness and the understanding will follow.

There is no need to study psychology to understand yourself. Observe your experience and explanations will naturally emerge.

Awareness is the key here. The key to happiness, the key to insight, the key to living life.

Are awareness and consciousness the same? Perhaps. Who knows. In the end, does it really matter?

All that matters is to awaken to life and you do this by being aware/conscious.

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“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.” – Lao Tzu.

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Luka

Hello friend! My name is Luka and I am the creator of mindfulled. Here you'll find illustrated essays and stories about spiritual awakening and the art of living.

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