Consciousness varies

In past articles, I described consciousness as awareness but we must ask: Does awareness differ from person to person? Clearly, everyone has consciousness, however, like so much of psychology each person's consciousness is different.

We seldom, if ever, consider that our understanding of the world is different from another person's understanding. When we talk to someone, we expect to be understood because we assume their understanding of the world is pretty much the same as ours.

This assumption is only accurate when we consider group consciousness, or collective consciousness, which was discussed in previous articles. Group consciousness is an awareness or conscious understanding unique to a group. Each person in a group adopts the group's collective consciousness but if we compare one group to another, we find that the collective consciousness between groups varies.

There are many examples that reveal how consciousness also varies among individuals who don't belong to groups. Consider how we simply assume that language is the same for everyone who speaks the same language. This common assumption is inaccurate.

One person might use different and unique words, phrases, slang expressions, ungrammatical sentences, and so forth, more often than, or completely unfamiliar to, another person. If such a person is in conversation with someone, the two people won't understand each other due to their differences in language use.

This variation in language directly relates to differences in their consciousness but language variations include more than grammar and slang expressions. Since psychology is associated with language, the shadow, the inner feminine and masculine, complexes, the ego and the Self (each presented in previous articles) also influence a person's language and therefore, consciousness.

Another example is education. Whatever knowledge we acquire in school, in life, from friends and parents becomes part of our consciousness. Clearly, knowledge varies from person to person. As a result, consciousness varies.

As you read this article, hopefully you are learning something new and different, resulting in a change in your consciousness. If, however, you are a member of a group or are fixed in your understanding of the world, your collective consciousness or individual consciousness respectively, could easily resist learning and change.

These examples, alone, provide us with evidence for how consciousness varies. When we look at our culture, our government, our families, our friends, our neighbors and people just walking by on the street, it is important to remember that their consciousness varies from ours. This will help us be more understanding and accepting of other people.