How to call It?

We can more easily define what it is not: it is not a function, not a part of our being or of our nature, it is not an instrument, nor is it an observable phenomenon; it is not an activity of our brain; it is neither our personal possession not anyone else’s. Looking at it carefully, one can neither dissociate it from existence itself, nor from something akin to joy or plenitude – even though our experience of it may be limited to a few fleeting seconds seeded in the course of our lives. If we do sometimes happen, either in an unexpected or apparently accidental manner, or through an intensity of concentration of the whole being, to perceive it, yet its actuality, presence and proximity are in no way depending on or resulting from any instrumental effort or any physical, emotional or mental activity.

And yet, without it, we are not!

This inability of ours to situate or identify the very reality of consciousness is actually the exact indicator of our separation – we are separated of this continuum which informs all that is.

Nonetheless we do make use of the term in different occasions to designate “something” which our intelligence cannot define. Thus we say: “in our soul and conscience…” to mark a depth of choice, commitment or integrity; “he is conscious, doctor…” to signal that the son has come out of coma; “I am conscious of the confusion my conduct may have caused…”, to confirm that I acknowledge my responsibility; “to become conscious of certain influences…”, to refer to a complex process of distancing, observing, discerning and evaluating; “to return to a waking

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