Predator of Consciousness

Fair enough.

Can you observe that the "self" is a curved 'spatiality' of consciousness? In other words, my "self" is over here and your "self" is over there? Can you see that? Can you see that the separation between these two "selves" is a consequence of the 'movement' of self-reflection by your nervous system and my nervous system which localizes my sensations and perceptions to one particular body, which is mine, rather than another; that is, yours?

This body has had experiences over time; sensations and perceptions; memories of those sensation and perceptions; relationships with people; performed certain behaviors rather than others. All of that is consciousness of the "self".

Its mechanisms are the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain at the neurological level as well as the psychological level; that is, in relation to its creation of images of itself and other images of relationships and understandings of reality.

But, if you observe the consciousness of the "self" carefully, you will see that it is tenaciously attached to images; and those images change quite rapidly. They have no inherent continuity. But, if those images collapse completely, the "self" will collapse into psychosis.

So in comes the consciousness of the 'thinker' to maintain the existence of the 'spatiality' of consciousness called the "self". And that consciousness has its own requirements, demands and characteristics of interaction.

Can the consciousness of the "self" absolutely be sharply differentiated at all times from the consciousness of the 'thinker'? Not really. Their interaction is more along the lines of a Lorenz "butterfly" strange attractor; that is, people usually oscillate very rapidly from one to the other in a seamless movement.

What is the language of the "self"? Emotions, poetry and the lyrics of songs; sensations and perception of the space-time reality; the evidence for the basis of scientific theory.

What is the language of the 'thinker'? Logic, scientific method, time going only in a forward direction etc.

This is a place to start.

But one must actually stand back and observe how these things operate to get the real story.

You are continually moving from one of these dimensions of consciousness to another in relation to events, emotions, and thoughts conveyed by others.

Michael

Certainly interesting.

But why would you want to put it into the context of dream consciousness"?

But your second paragraph is precisely what I am talking about; the world of "maya", "samsara" or "illusion" is most of our waking consciousness...

Precisely the consciousness that results in conflict and violence.

Michael

I don't know why there are so many disputes over what consciousness is. Consciousness is pure awareness. There is an infinite amount of levels of potential awareness that can be experienced by consciousness.

Ultimately there is no self - consciousness has no identity.

Ultimately there is no thinker - thinking and feeling is part of the experience our consciousness is currently having.

As Bill Hicks stated, "All matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves."