Is Consciousness and Awareness the same?

Question

Is Consciousness and Awareness the same?

Answer 1

Yes.

Answer 2

Yes!

Answer 3

I think awareness is just the ability to perceive, while consciousness also involve the ability to direct attention and behavior.

Answer 4

This, no doubt, is one of the best questions I've come across. Lemme take an attempt on it, however, a complete explanation/understanding is beyond the scope here.

Awareness is to know each moment  If time is to be taken as a function, the smallest unit would be defined as moment. Mind should be 'aware' of every moment. It should 'know' the actions by self and it's influence on other entities/factors, includes other 5 senses. 'World' is smaller and vague measure, Universe is the right measure to be looked at. Awareness is about 'knowing' each moment of 'Universe'. In that sense, death is another phase and we are expected to be 'aware' of it since it too passes through a 'moment'. If one is able to do that, he will be free from chain of life and death, that is the philosophy.

Consciouness likewise does not find a one line definition. In a layman's term, it could loosely be defined as 'being aware'. But when peeped a little deeper, there is more to just 'being aware'. In one line, it is a state of mind. However, we have to take mind as a function here to really solve it. Now, it becomes possible for us to alter it, hence I can affirm the existence of various levels, viz, phenamenol consciousness and altered state of consciuoness. Altered state consciouness is described by Alpha and Beta wave (frequency range  of brain activity). Spirituality is one such study where one tries to connect to 'higher consciousness'. Mind is applied here; this must be understood easily now since we've taken mind as a function.

Hope this helps!

God bless!

Answer 5

Not at all, being conscious simply means that you are alive in the waking world. Being aware means that you are noticing the world around you. I suppose grammatically they could be interchangeable. The term I think you are seeking is sentient. Which means one is aware of themself, and the world around them, and how they fit in and impact that world. Basically consequences to actions are noted.

Answer 6

Awareness is a process. Consciousness is a state but a state of awareness only.What we are aware of determines the level/state of consciousness. Awareness of mundane, external, sensory objects constitute a state of consciousness having it own quality such as division, isolation, tension and so on. Awareness of deep inner realm exalts us to a different level/state of consciousness characterized by unity, peace, expansiveness and so on. However, both are very closely associated, often one and the same. Further, there can not be awareness without a state of consciousness, although there can be a state of consciousness without awareness, especially of sensory awareness.  

Answer 7

both may  be inter-related but they r not the same because awareness is being aware or attentive of anything happening around whereas consciousness is being  confident  or boldness

Answer 8

If you are unconcious, a loud sound or pinching cannnot wake you up, but loud sound or pinching can make you alert and you will be aware to avoid it.

Answer 9

wow, rhwyogis answer is lovely. wonderful, thank you.

Answer 10

I will respectfully submit an answer from the perspective of yoga philosophy. When we speak of awareness and consciousness we are discussing the nature of consciousness in relation to the Absolute. Awareness is considered to be the Absolute primordial principle, the underlying substratum of existence. Ultimately, there can be no consciousness without awareness, but awareness is without consciousness. Awareness is actual, eternal, immutable, whole and without parts. Consciousness is a state of duality, the ephemeral reflection continually playing out on the surface of awareness. Consciousness is continually changing, pulsating from unmanifest to manifest. (birth/death, the arising/falling of thought) Consciousness is relative and partial while awareness is Absolute, the totality, still, silent and that which consciousness appears upon moment by moment. Awareness makes consciousness possible, is present in all phases of consciousness and is present even in the deepest sleep. In relation to awareness we can view consciousness as the rising and falling waves on the surface of the unfathomable ocean of awareness.

Therefore, Awareness is the immutable base, the very foundation on which the continual pulsating ephemeral consciousness transpires. (the principle of spanda)  In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna expounds consciousness as the field and awareness as the knower. So, from this statement there is an implication of cognition underlying the five areas of sense perception, the five elements, the five sense organs, the five organs of action, the ego and the mind. This statement by Krishna also implies the underlying Divinity within all beings and the totality of existence. View awareness as the cognitive, changeless background on which all change occurs. If one pays close attention they can intuit the subtle awareness in themselves that has never changed from the time of first memory as their body, mind, self-identity and their subjective projected world around them has been in constant flux. Thus from a perspective of Advaita, non-duality, awareness is the all-inclusive, non-personal cognizant substratum of existence, is subtler than space, is prior to consciousness and is the common matrix of every experience. Experience is the realm of the denser manifest consciousness, duality, the world as we know it.  I have heard it said that from a perspective of quantum physics that awareness is emptiness and consciousness is condensed emptiness. I believe the Buddhists have a similar philosophy concerning that statement. I hope this answer has theoretically  distinguished the subtle difference between awareness and consciousness and has been helpful for you. To fully understand this topic at the highest level, jnana, the mind must be left behind for the higher realms of consciousness that are cultivated in samadhi. Another way is simply to live in the "now" each and every moment as a detached witness to the mind, its motives and the transitory world around you. Thank you for the outstanding question!

Answer 11

pretty much

Answer 12

I think its like the difference between looking and seeing.

When your eyes are open they are always looking at something but to actually see something is a much more detailed and cognative process. So is consciousness vs. awareness, I guess.