Difference between awareness and consciousness

[Ewwerrin]

Hi, interesting question.

Consciousness feels more like beingness (being and becoming) to me. And awareness feels more like direction/choice/freedom.

No idea why tho. They are very similar indeed. I guess every person who uses a word, gets to choose what they mean by it. Which is a funny realisation I am having now. It feels like this question is hinting/pointing at a deeper level of communication.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing all of your perspectives.

From a monk trained in non-dualism.

https://youtu.be/xFOoV47KLEw

Notice he uses consciousness and awareness interchangeably. He also makes the distinction between subject and object. Subject is unmanifested and object is manifested. Witness vs. Reflected. Non-duality vs. duality. So yes, in the technical language of non-dualism awareness = consciousness.

As a side note he talks about different objects one can use as a focus of meditation. Breathe, sound, smell, taste, thoughts, etc... Then there's open awareness meditation also called choiceless awareness or resting in awareness.

So the practice of meditation can be open or focused, and for all the focused forms of the practice there's something called the observer trap. This is an excellent reason to practice open awareness at least some of the time. It's an incredibly beneficial and powerful practice for those on the path of non-dualism.

[no1wakesup]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

What do you think?
It's an interesting difference...I never understood it and used to use
the words interchangeably.

Awareness is the space you can perceive whether filtered through conditioning or fleetingly percieved within in gaps of no interpretation. Conciousness has no measurement yet allows Awareness to become in the first place