What Is Consciousness?

In this article we look at what many may think is one of the most important questions to be answered if we are to develop a comprehensive Unified Consciousness Framework; answering the question of what consciousness actually is. Ironically, us thinking that answering this question is vitally important is a fallacy although, for a variety of different reasons, it will appear to be something very important to us at first glance. In a somewhat ironic fashion then, this is the question that has been used as the title of this article. This article will be somewhat lengthy in order to try and answer this question as fully as possible, although not for the reasons that you may initially think would be the case.

We typically think that the answer to this question would be lengthy because the answer to such a question is something that we would expect to be complex in nature. This is especially the case if you have read a number of articles and publications that are focused on this particular topic. The truth though is that the answer is very simple, so simple in fact that it may pass through you undetected, quite literally. In many respects then, it is its sheer simplicity which, coupled with a number of prevalent collective blocks in conscious perception, makes it appear as though it is a complex matter. 

Following on from this insight then, an additional question can then be posed to the reader which is, if the answer to this question is so simple, why is it that we need such a lengthy article to answer it? The truth is that much of the content which makes up the body of this article is devoted towards helping the reader remove much of the complexity that already surrounds this subject matter. This complexity often exists for us, either because we have come in contact with other information on this topic which is itself complex, or because of the variety of different blocks that already exist within our own perception. In other words, much of the complexity that surrounds this subject matter is something that we often layer onto it as a result of our own preconceptions of it.

If we cannot remove these complexities, they can then become an obscuring factor, creating some disconnect between us and the subject matter. This obscuration then distorts our perception of any answers that we come across to these questions, often making the answers themselves meaningless. Yes, it may sound like a riddle or a paradox, but this is the peculiar nature of the process that must be engaged with in order to arrive at some understanding of the most foundational aspect of the cosmos. I can assure you though that, after having read this article and having come to internally realise the information within it, your life will never be the same again. You may think that such a statement is far too bold, but this is not something which is being stated in jest. There is a reason why such a statement is being made, ironically that reason is something which becomes far clearer to us once we have come to understand the nature of consciousness. Paradoxes abound!

The Field of the Study of Consciousness

Firstly, before we dive straight into answering the question, it is worth having a quick look at the field of study which is rapidly developing that surrounds the concept of consciousness. It is only in the last few years that ‘consciousness’ has become somewhat of a buzzword and consequently, as a result of this, a recognizable field for the study of consciousness has started to develop. The development of a recognizable field of study which is directly related to this phenomenon invariably comes with the positive that, once this field becomes more established within the collective, more people will come in touch with the concept, as more academic studies will eventually filter down into society as a whole, similar to what has happened with the study of physics as the field of Quantum Physics has become increasingly popularised over the years.