I saw a post of yours where you said, "I like to contemplate the darkness behind my eyelids and be aware of my consciousness in that way." But I have two questions (I don't know if they're the same thing):
1- What does "being aware" or "being conscious" mean?
2- How exactly does one "be aware of consciousness"?
Hi Anon, I'll try my best to answer!
I feel most people in this community get caught up in the details and feel like they need to "control" or "perfect the process", when really the biggest part of it is letting go and having faith (no, not belief or trust!)
FAITH in this situation is simply detaching yourself from the outcome. Leaving the ego's need for control or proof alone, because the ego will always talk, but you need to stop disengaging with the thoughts that arise. (and no, this doesn't mean if you do interact with them once in a while out of habit that "all your process is ruined"! You don't have to be perfect; this is not a process or method because you aren't trying to achieve anything! )
1. What does “being aware” or “being conscious” mean?
Simply put, it means you are noticing experience as it happens.
More specifically you are:
- aware of thoughts
- aware of feelings
- aware of sensations (body, breath, sounds)
- aware of silence or mental space
The key point is you are not the thoughts themselves; you are what notices/observes them.
2. How exactly does one “be aware of consciousness”?
This is where people get confused. You don’t “reach” consciousness like a destination. ("IT'S" (YOU) ALREADY WITHIN YOU, IT'S YOU, YOU ARE THE SOURCE!!!)
Instead, you notice that awareness is already happening right now.
A practical way to understand it:
- You are hearing sounds → awareness is there
- You are noticing thoughts → awareness is there
- You notice even silence/emptiness → awareness is still there
So “being aware of consciousness” just means recognising yourself as awareness itself, not just as the ego, thoughts, emotions, or your human experience BUT the thing that witnesses it all. Recognizing that everything you experience is already appearing inside awareness, including the sense of “me.”
You don't need to do something extra. Why? again, you aren't trying to achieve a state! IT'S YOUR NATURAL STATE SINCE IT IS JUST YOU WITH NO IDENTITY OR LABEL! The void is when consciousness is aware of itself when it's not playing a role.
So notice the experience and then realise that you are the one noticing and sit in that silence.
It can sound like something dramatic or profound should happen, but because awareness is already what you are, it often feels very natural and even ordinary.
In simple terms, you’re realising you are more than the 3D reality, your thoughts, or your identity. You are the awareness observing all of it.
Practically, this means not getting pulled into every thought, feeling, or doubt that comes up. They WILL still appear, but you don’t fight them, analyse them, or cling to them. You let them pass and return to simply being aware; whether through silence, observing the darkness behind your eyelids, self-inquiry (“who is aware?”), or affirmations that help you connect with that feeling.
The key point is that the void or pure awareness is not something you achieve through a perfect method. It’s already within you. You’re not creating it, you’re just letting go of the human mask and becoming aware of what has always been there.
When stripped of all your senses, who is STILL aware? Consciousness and who is that consciousness? YOU. Who is "you"? Pure consciousness before any labels. The source of all creation.
Awareness is already present. Thoughts appear within it. The sense of “I am observing” is also an appearance in awareness. So there is no arrival point where you “become” the observer. The observer is not a thing you find, it is the fact that anything is being experienced at all.
Other amazing posts on this topic I recommend you check out:
https://mind.university/awareness-vs-consciousness-whats-the-difference/
https://nisargayoga.org/everything-is-made-of-awareness-non-duality/
Stillness Speaks / Eckhart Tolle writings