WAKING CONSCIOUSNESS

A point of view? A mystery? An I

Consciousness is the degree to which we take in information about ourselves and environment. It may involve ideas, notions, thoughts, sensations, perceptions, moods, emotions, dreams, and an awareness of self.

Since we were born, we have been traveling through regular cycles of consciousness. Now, we travel through one cycle about every twenty-four hours. We sleep, dream much of that sleep, then we wake into an alert consciousness that lasts about sixteen hours. Then we sleep and dream again.

A healthy waking consciousness depends a lot on a healthy sleep consciousness, through again, we are not sure why. Consciousness is a mystery. It is also very personal. Our sleeping habits are highly personalized. Our dreams are our own private worlds. Our waking consciousness is colored by our personality, our emotions, our motivations, and our physical well-being. There are, however, some general statements that can be made about the natural states of consciousness through which we travel every day.