What is the consciousness beyond the inner chatter?

It is the same consciousness that is always in there, listening to the inner chatter, interacting with the outside world and experiencing dreams (even though we are “unconscious” while asleep, it’s our consciousness that remembers dreaming at night).

Our consciousness is often likened to a light source. When it is a focused beam of light, we can examine a small object in great detail; we may become engrossed in close examination and our attention can make us ignore what is happening around us.

On the other hand, when our consciousness is not focusing on any single object, we can let our field of consciousness fall over an area and become aware of the surroundings in an instant.

These two states of our consciousness are instinctively known to us, but they require intentional and conscious effort to sustain. If we lose concentration, we fall into another state — the state of getting lost, often in unorganised thoughts.

In this state, we are no longer aware of being conscious. Instead we are drawn into the object and forget everything else. The object can be the movie we are watching, a thought about something that worries us, or a memory with particularly intense emotional charge. In this state, we are not present, we are not being mindful.

Take a moment to consider this:

Are you still in there when you are not being present?

We are always in there, we are the consciousness that is always in there. But our presence is lost when we become identified with thought patterns and emotional states. At times we can be completely overtaken by anger and say things we normally don’t when we are calm. We can get consumed with guilt and do things out of our character to try to get rid of the guilty feeling. To fit in with the society, we may find ourselves acting against our personal values.

Instead of being lost, can we remain centered in our seat of consciousness?

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