Is Consciousness An Illusion?

by Robert Wilkinson

This question was asked in an internet group I subscribe to. I thought about it and came up with a compact answer.

I put it "To imagine the idea of consciousness being an illusion is to be conscious, so no. Consciousness IS, and is embodied in infinite perception. Perception is the illusion in infinite forms."

Let's unpack this sequence of ideas, and of course, you will have your own way of being conscious of consciousness and what it is or seems to be, and what it's not or doesn't seem to be. Really, just what IS consciousness, and what is illusion?

The first sentence attempts to illustrate the futility of trying to judge "consciousness" using the dualistic mind. The mind is often prone toward falling into delusions and illusions, which is why we cultivate Viveka, or Divine Discrimination that knows the real from the unreal. While I've often wondered if what was occupying my consciousness at a given moment was an illusion, it was never my awareness that was an illusion, but rather the perception that was the attention of my consciousness.

That gave rise to the second sentence, which offers that consciousness just IS-BE, and operates through perception. Consciousness (to me) is a higher undifferentiated awareness that attaches to perceptions rooted in the 5 senses and the mind. That's why we can "be aware" without necessarily "being aware" of a given thing. Meditation proves this excellently.

The third sentence explains how consciousness operates through perception that focuses on "the 10,000 things." Since all forms are impermanent, to identify them as "real" in any way is an illusion. Maybe a comfortable and apparently real illusion that will last for many years, but still an illusion. All forms pass away.

So the objects of perception could be considered illusions made real only because we focus our perception on them. How real would they be (to us, anyway) if we didn't perceive them? And we cannot know another's perception of reality, since we are not them. We can know what they relate to us, but we cannot know what they're experiencing beyond general descriptors.

That said, consciousness, being inherently undifferentiated, is infinitely spacial and luminous. It transcends all forms that are perceived. So we can be conscious of something without needing to go to perception which uses the senses and the mind to describe what it is aware of. That's why we don't need a weatherman to know the sun is shining.

Perception attaches to objects and categorizes them using "name and form" descriptors. As we move through infinite perceptions, our consciousness is either consciously or unconsciously attached or non-attached to those perceptions, depending on our mental development. That's why we can be aware of the apparent existence of an illusion while knowing it is an illusion. Consciousness is inherently inclusive, since it's non-dual.

Just a few thoughts to consider about consciousness and illusion at the intersection of Fate Street and Freewill Street as we move and groove down Eternity Boulevard.

© Copyright 2014 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[magenta]

I love and am so very grateful for your wonderfully pithy response, Robert ! Though it take a lifetime - or a few - may we all know the simple awareness of Being... which is just one more of the many ways of saying it.

In my notes, I just found something which you might enjoy, if you haven't heard it already.
It is an interview question from a doctor of psychology - on a You Tube clip, I think - to J. Krishnamurti, and the latter's response.

Dr: "Would you summarize the teaching in only one sentence?"

K: "Attempt without effort to live with death in futureless silence."

Whoa...

magenta

[Robert]

Hi Magenta - Thanks for checking in with this. I believe we can know that "simple awareness of Being" by learning how to get out of our own way, and let go of clutching at who we believe we are. "Slipping down the timestream..." Thanks for the JK quote. He was truly one of the best, a very human man with very human failings, and yet a great Sage and Initiate (though he would of course deny that!)

Long ago my street experiences gave me a take that approximates JK's answer: "Learning to 'not sweat it' productively while being aware that your next moment is not guaranteed."

Hi all - On a related note, someone named Richard over at the comment stream (who seems to be living his higher awareness in a conscious way) offered "Robert, if there is an illusion, it is that limitations exist, in my opinion." I gave him this short answer:

"I agree, Richard, with everything you said. I also have decades of living an experience of being a Consciousness in a body with feelings, 5 senses, and a mind. My first response was a bit condensed, so didn't go into the limitless nature of being an Eternal Consciousness. And while the 5 senses and the mind are the means by which we believe we measure experience, a weakness of the mind is the tendency to fall prey to illusions. I believe that's part of the mechanism that we transmute through mental training."

I suppose this could lead to a great discussion and more articles....