Awareness and Consciousness
One proceeds the other. But which one, Fool?
Yes, it would seem like this would be a “What came first? The Chicken or the Egg?” conversation, but it’s not. It relates. We are ALL conscious. Here’s the thing though; Our consciousness is not created equal. We are NOT all starting at the same start line (if this was a race). The reason our consciousness is not the same is because of our awareness level. Think of awareness as food for your consciousness.
You have to immerse yourself in an enviroment to KNOW or to PERCEIVE
You can only be conscious of what you are aware of. If you are not aware of the oncoming comet that will destroy the Earth, then your consciousness cannot not relay that to your reality and no such doom is impending. BTW, I’m joking about the comet. Maybe. Let’s dig in!!!
Where Do You Get It?
Your awareness is derived from your focus and attention. Where you place your focus is what you are most aware of. This is the the heart of your perception. You perceive what you’re exposed to. Similarly, what you DON’T focus on equally gains your awareness. Confused? For example, let’s say you are aware that there is a war going on between Russia and the Ukraine. For whatever your reason, you haven’t the least bit of interest in understanding the reasons behind the war or any current news. You are intentionally ignoring the scope of the war. You are, therefore, aware that you are ignoring a major global event. I think that’s what they call willful ignorance. LOL.
Awareness has more to do with perception and knowing
You are aware of what you are not aware of. You are limiting your consciousness. Protecting it, almost. You’d rather rely on someone else with a greater awareness of the war to fill you in on the details when you decide to ask. But in that sense, there would only be a transfer of awareness because that person may not know much about it either. Your perception of the war will be myopic.
As a child, your awareness is configured by the environment created by your parents (or parent). Once they hand you over to the school systems, your perceptions are gathered by the environment of the classroom, putting you at the mercy of the teacher(s). Some parents hand you over to your local church for vacation bible school or Sunday school lessons. These days, social media governs your awareness level. Insomuch, social media controls your consciousness to a degree. It is the new authority. It is the new parent that you feel you have to check in with or else it’ll get mad.
Defined.
Let’s make a distinction between Awareness and Knowledge. Awareness has more to do with perception and knowing — as opposed to experience and education. Awareness isn’t concerned about how many years you studied at Yale, nor is it about if you can barbeque ribs better than your neighbor. I think the main difference is awareness is acquired moreso through your sensory functions and not a book, school, teacher, or instructor. This is why I reference your environment a bunch. Consider this; If Knowledge was what fueled Consciousness, then it would be fairly impossible to increase your Consciousness without schooling of some sort. Your degree IS NOT an indicator of Consciousness levels.
What Do You Do With It?
Awareness is fuel. It is expensive fuel. Why? Because it requires time. It takes time for awareness to pump into consciousness. You have to immerse yourself in an enviroment to KNOW or to PERCEIVE. Basically, if not only then to use your sensory functions. If you’ve ever been in a bakery, then you are aware of the smell of fresh baked bread or the sugary scent of fresh made donuts. You don’t learn this from a book or thru word-of-mouth.
These days, social media governs your awareness level.
Elevated consciousness — because of increased awareness — will affect your Mind. It will inspire you to come up with a new business idea. It will lead you to find a new job. It will convince you to offer a marriage proposal to your other because you KNOW he/she is the one. It will increase your confidence because whatever you have been exposed to has given you an understanding that perhaps others don’t have.
The Mind.
This is Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud territory, honestly. I encourage you to study them and really get immersed into their ideas. By doing this, you’ll increase your knowledge, but NOT your awareness. You would then have to start to observe yourself, during awakened and resting states and cross-examine their works against your own day-to-day as a case study. This real-time work will increase your awareness of the subject. How does the Mind play a role in this?
Consider that everyone living has a Mind. The Mind, not only has a consciousness, but a subconsciousness and an unconsciousness. Depending on the philosopher you study, these aspects may have different names (e.g. pre-consciousness). But that’s just it, these are aspects of a Mind. The Mind is not just one thing. It’s capable of more than what you’re probably allowing it to do. No offense! All of these aspects support awareness. Have you EVER tapped into your Subconscious Mind? If not, my assumption is you are not aware of it or have no knowing of its existence or can’t pinpoint its influence on you.
What do you think? What’s your awareness level? Where are you at in your journey through consciousness? The thing about this subject is that no one can grade you. Most can’t discern the difference between intelligence and awareness. So this is a question you have to ask yourself.
