What Consciousness is Not: What is Consciousness?

While the following topics are related, to equate them with consciousness can lead to confusion:

  • Brain activity or mental processes
  • Awareness
  • The conscious mind
  • Transpersonal psychology (the psychology of spirituality and meaning)
  • Parapsychology (the study of ESP, mind-matter interaction and consciousness survival after bodily death)
  • “Paranormal” phenomena such as psi and telepathy
  • Techniques such as hypnosis, meditation and lucid dreaming
  • Conscience (an inner feeling of right or wrong)