The Triangle of Consciousness
Between consciousness and reality, between subjective awareness and the objective universe, which one comes first? Is reality separate from consciousness? Or are they two sides of the same coin that make us who we are and how we make sense of the universe and the things we experience?
I want you to imagine our existence and how we make sense of the world as a triangle. This triangle is made up of objective reality, our subjective awareness through our senses, and time. Together, as I see it, this is what consciousness is made of. I call it the triangle of consciousness.
Here’s an example I recently read in a book: Imagine that you sat down to read a book. You were 30 minutes into the activity when, just as you turn the page, you realize that your clock is chiming.
A moment ago you were not aware of the chimes, but suddenly, the noise has entered your awareness. At that moment, you can remember the sounds you were not listening to and count the chimes you did not hear. There have been three already, and you go on listening until you find that it is now six o’clock.
This is a very powerful example because you can check that you counted correctly, but a similar thing happens all the time with background noises.
You may suddenly become aware of that drilling noise out in the road or the children playing in the front yard. Until that moment you were not aware of it, but now it seems as though you can remember what it sounded like before you became aware of it.
It seems almost as though someone, if not you, had been listening all along. These experiences are so familiar that we tend to ignore them, but they are worth thinking about a little more carefully.
This is episode 9 of The Concept of Consciousness. I’ll see you in the next one.
This is a part of a series exploring The Concept of Consciousness.
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