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Why We Can’t Let “Consciousness” Become a Buzzword
No kidding: our lives may depend on it.
This post was prompted by a friend of mine who recently attended a workshop on “Conscious Capitalism,” which subsequently splintered into further discussions on “conscious culture” and ‘conscious leadership.”
First off, breaking down the asymmetry between “consciousness” and “capitalism,” (which are directly opposed in practice considering the latter is currently predicated on unmitigated acquisition), would be a whole other post, but it did make me beg the question: “how are we framing ‘consciousness’ in our current discourse?” And then a slightly panicked, “oh s**t. We need to pay attention to this.”
I believe that maintaining a precise standard for the definition of consciousness could spell the difference between our destruction and survival as a species.
Let me explain.
Consciousness Defined
First, what do I mean by “consciousness?” I draw from the works of Eckhart Tolle and the ancient tradition of Tantra to define consciousness as an activation of the inner witness. When we do this it allows us to bring a deep awareness and unattached presence to everything in our lives: our actions, decisions, thoughts, routines, practices, possessions, reactions to events, etc.
