What is Consciousness?

Even though it's impossible to say for sure what consciousness is, we can make some broad, general statements that most people can agree with. After all, every person is to some degree an expert, because if you are alive, you are conscious.

We will begin by saying that consciousness is the animating principle of the universe. The animating principle has been understood by every culture that has ever existed on earth, and has been called chi, prana, Spirit, Ka, life force, etc.

In our model, when a person or an animal dies, the animating principle leaves and the body decays. When a flower wilts, the consciousness of the flower leaves. When a one-celled amoeba dies, the consciousness of the amoeba departs. Everything that lives is conscious!

As human beings we don't really think that flowers and insects and amoeba's have consciousness. But for the purposes of this book, we will say that they do. The animating principle of consciousness is the Source behind all of the biological life on our planet. Quality vs. Quantity

We begin our discussion of consciousness by describing it as a static. A static is defined as something that is self-aware, but which has no moving parts and no mass; a pure potential or causative influence that has unlimited scope. In other words, consciousness exists independent of matter and energy, which means that all life forms continue after the body dies. This concept is ancient, and is known as reincarnation.

A quality is an observable characteristic, feature, or aspect of the animating principle. In physics we might call it a scalar, a dimensionless quantity with magnitude, but no direction (time is an example of a scalar). In this sense consciousness, although itself not measurable, may exert an effect or influence which is observable.

A quantity, on the other hand, is something that can be seen, felt, or heard by the senses of the body, and/or is measurable or detectable with instrumentation.

In the physical universe we can observe the qualities people exhibit. We say: "He has character" or "She is full of life." These are reasonable statements but they cannot be accurately quantified. If asked, "Why do you say she is full of life?" we may observe that she is always cheerful, has lots of energy, and participates in many activities. But it would be hard to write a mathematical equation to describe the quality called 'full of life.' The reason qualities cannot be accurately specified is because they stem from consciousness itself, which may change its mind at any time and so exhibit entirely different characteristics. For example, a person (let's call him Moe) who is angry a lot might decide to lighten up and take things less seriously, and will demonstrate remarkably different characteristics from that point on.

We cannot observe how Moe changed his behavior patterns because that process is invisible to us, but we can notice how much more friendly Moe is to his family, friends, and co-workers. We cannot know precisely why Moe changed either, but Moe does. Moe has used the most powerful tool of consciousness to alter his behavior and feel better about himself: he has made a new decision. One of the things we can say about consciousness is that it has the ability to think, to decide, to prefer. A decision or a preference leads to a new state of BEING, and from that state of being, a new way of feeling, and a new set of actions will result.

A decision, in other words, is a very powerful thing, because before one can act, one must have made a decision to do so. The content of this decision will determine what actions will be taken. If one wanted to bake a cake, one would not randomly throw ingredients together; one would operate off of a recipe. You would not walk across the street without thinking about the possibility of oncoming traffic. These statements are obvious but their importance is often missed.

All action is preceded by thought.

There has never been an action that did not involve a decision first; even if it's as simple as turning your car into your driveway. It is obvious that you could decide not to turn into your driveway after a day of work; you may decide, on an impulse, to go to the gym, or to the bar, or to see your girlfriend. To quote the Buddha, "All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make our world."

The importance of thought, and being, is mostly not understood. Action is considered far more important, for it is action, it is said, that gets results. Yet all of that action is based upon a state of beingness. For example, James might want to learn how to play the piano. First he assumes the beingness of one who can learn to play the instrument. In other words, you have to BE something before you can DO it. You have to have the idea of it, before you can start. The better James is at assuming this beingness, the faster he will learn. I assure you from personal experience and observation that if you cannot BE a person who can play the piano; you can never learn to play.

Before James knows how to play he says, "I want to be a piano player." After a few years of study and practice, he can say "I am a piano player." Both of these statements use a form of the verb to be. One might say, "Yes, but the only reason James can say he is a player is because he can do it." True enough, but that is not how we look at it! We say, "I am a piano player," we don't say, "I do piano playing." Why is that? It's because we instinctively recognize the power of thought and the primacy of consciousness as source for all of our actions. We understand that being encompasses doing; or, in other words, that action is a subset of being. Being is first, then action, then results. This might seem trivial and obvious, but it is not! In order to change your situation, you need to create a state of being within yourself exactly matching what it is you want to accomplish. Around this idea is a very important principle in the Universal Operating System, and we will discuss it in great detail.

Without a clear and firm decision about something, there can be no concrete results. We have all seen people who just drift along in life; they never seem to have a direction and wander aimlessly from one job to the next, from one relationship to the next. I remember asking such a person, "What do you want out of life?" At first she was startled, as if the idea had never occurred to her before; finally, after several tries, she shrugged and said, "I don't know."

Consciousness has the power to decide, and when a person does so, he or she creates a state of beingness, or orientation, which guides action. When James decides to be a piano player, we do not see him take saxophone lessons, or enroll in a martial arts class. Of course, he might do this as a result of other decisions he has made, but again, those decisions will guide his actions in those areas.

The conditions of your life are a precise combination of all of the decisions you have made.

Everything you do is preceded by a choice; your own choice. One might say, "Yeah, but if you're forced to do something by circumstances, or by physical violence, then it's not your choice." We will see later on that although this is an accurate statement on the surface, it hides a more fundamental truth. We will see that a person is always at cause-point over his or her life! We will also see how the decisions you make directly affect your feelings and emotions, and how you can use the power of consciousness to feel better.