Consciousness

It is easier for me to understand “consciousness” if I define consciousness as having real access to or being aware of inside and outside things, even if our senses are taking in more than we are aware of at any given time---if we aren't aware of things, we wouldn't call it consciousness.

“Unconsciousness” would then resemble ignorance. If we aren't aware of things we are ignorant of them. To call something part consciousness, subconscious, or unconscious, rather than ignorance, seems to confuse the definition.

“Higher consciousness” would mean having conscious access to more things than lower consciousness, inwardly or outwardly. That is, inwardly more knowledge of the self, and outwardly more knowledge of the world. Intelligence would be a subset of consciousness.

Most living things on earth would have less consciousness than humans, and non-living things would appear to have no consciousness. A God, or Godhood reached in evolution might have access to virtually all things in the world, inwardly and outwardly, which could relate to the old idea of “absolute consciousness.”