The Distinctions of Awareness, Consciousness, Alertness, and Focus.
by Michael Benner, author of "Fearless Intelligence"

The Distinctions of Awareness, Consciousness, Alertness, and Focus.

Awareness is fundamental to all things. Commonly, awareness is a synonym for consciousness, except Awareness is typically considered to be Absolute, while consciousness is relative.

Awareness is Life itself — the Ground of Being. Consciousness varies as deep sleep is different from the REM sleep state and awake and calm differs from intense fear and panic.

Consciousness, in other words, is inconsistent. While driving a car, you may be consciously sitting at a red traffic light, but not alert when it turns green. So you continue to sit, conscious but not alert until the driver behind you honks their horn.

Focus refers to our center of attention, our ability to concentrate, and the stability of our intention to observe interest, significance, meaning, or purpose.

If we use a camera as a metaphor, awareness would be the camera itself. Consciousness is the ISO speed of the light sensor, alertness is the exposure of shutter time and aperture, and focus refers to the focal point of the lens.

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Steve Auchettl

Founder of SMA Digital & Co-Founder of PriceGuide.ai

2 年

This is such an insightful article. Thank you for sharing Michael.

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