Читать книгу The Element Encyclopedia of the Psychic World: The Ultimate A–Z of Spirits, Mysteries and the Paranormal - Theresa Cheung, Theresa Cheung - Страница 199

A funtion of the mind, generally thought to incorporate qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and one’s environment.

In popular language the term ‘consciousness’ denotes being awake and responsive to one’s environment; this contrasts with being asleep or being in a coma. The term level of consciousness’ denotes how consciousness seems to vary during anaesthesia and during various states of mind such as daydreaming, lucid dreaming, imagining, etc. Esoteric techniques such as meditation and pathworking and shamanic techniques such as chanting, rhythmic drumming or dancing, as well as experimental techniques such as sensory deprivation and narcotics to induce hallucination all involve altered states of con-ciousness. Non-consciousness exists when consciousness is not present. There is speculation, especially among religious groups as well as occultists, psychics and spiritualists, that consciousness may exist after death or before birth.

Consciousness is notoriously difficult to define or locate. Many cultures and religious traditions place the seat of consciousness in a soul, separate from the body. Conversely, many scientists and philosophers consider consciousness to be intimately linked to the neural functioning of the brain.