Consciousness

The term consciousness is often used to refer to conscious awareness, which is the knowing of self and the knowing of existence. When statements are made that consciousness is everywhere and in everything, the word is being used in a different fashion. We who experience conscious awareness tend to believe that inanimate objects (rocks, water, wind) do not experience conscious awareness. We believe these objects and this energy (wind in this example) does not experience self awareness and is not aware of existence. How then, can this be described as consciousness? The same or a similar linguistic pattern is used when described “conscious” and “unconscious”. We understand that “conscious” refers to conscious awareness, while “subconscious” or “unconscious” refers to the activities of living of which we are not consciously aware. This is a very long list, breathing, moving blood though the body, digestion, growing hair, etc. If “consciousness” and “subconsciousness” are both consciousness, then linguistically, phrases like “consciousness permeates everything” and “subconsciousness controls everything which does not require conscious awareness” are very similar statements. An orange tree know what to do to find water and nutrients, grow branches, leaves, blossoms, and oranges. In the linguistic patterns above, we would describe an orange tree as “having” an unconscious mind of some sort, but not conscious awareness of the existing of “self”. When you look at reality from this perspective, the entire Universe, from small string to the largest cluster of galaxies, exhibits characteristics of consciousness that for some reason we refer to as unconsciousness.

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