What Is Consciousness? A Simple Way to Understand Awareness

By Dr. Katie Eastman & Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino

The word consciousness can sound complicated, but at its heart, it’s very simple. Consciousness is awareness—the ability to notice what’s happening in and around you, to reflect on it, and to choose how you want to respond.

Some describe spiritual consciousness as awareness that goes a step further—awareness that connects us to meaning, values, and something larger than ourselves (Mayer, Spirituality and Consciousness, 2000). In everyday language, spiritual consciousness is the practice of pausing long enough to ask:

“Does this choice align with who I want to be? Does it connect me to others and to life in a meaningful way?”

One way to picture consciousness is as a “space between.” It’s the pause before reacting, the breath before responding, the moment of reflection that lets us move forward with intention instead of on autopilot. That sacred space is where spirituality lives—where we align our choices with our values and strengthen our sense of connection and oneness.

In Uplifting: Inspiring Stories of Loss, Change, and Growth, Dr. Katie shared how people in times of change often discovered this pause, even when life felt overwhelming. By slowing down, reflecting, and choosing in alignment with what mattered most, they found new ways to live with compassion, courage, and purpose.

This is also the foundation of The Change Guidebook: How to Align Your Heart, Truths, and Energy to Find Success in All Areas of Your Life. In it, we explore the Ten Factors of Change—Imagine, Believe, Focus, Plan, Ask, Network, Collaborate, Sustain, Adjust, and Celebrate—all rooted in consciousness. When we become aware of our inner dialogue and energy, we move from resisting change to co-creating it. Consciousness allows us to see that change is not happening to us—it’s happening through us.

The same principle runs through Dr. Eastman's Re-Create Model—Retreat, Evaluate, Clarify, Respond, Explore, Accept, Turn, and Evolve. Each step depends on awareness. Without consciousness, change feels chaotic. With it, change becomes an opportunity for growth and connection.

In both The Change Guidebook and Uplifting, we’ve seen that consciousness is the bridge between who you are and who you are becoming. It’s what transforms fear into faith, reaction into reflection, and survival into soulful living. Consciousness doesn’t have to be mysterious. It’s simply noticing, reflecting, and choosing in ways that bring you closer to your values, your relationships, and your sense of belonging in the world.

And that is where peace begins.

In our upcoming book, The Peace Guidebook: How to Cultivate Hope, Healing, and Harmony for All Humanity, we take this next step together—moving from change to peace. Once you’ve awakened awareness through consciousness and learned to navigate life’s transitions with compassion, the next evolution is learning to live, lead, and love from peace.

Peace is consciousness in motion—awareness turned into action, grounded in love, and expressed through how we treat ourselves and one another. It’s the daily practice of choosing calm over chaos, empathy over ego, and alignment over reaction.

✨ Reflection Prompt:

Where in your daily life could you create more “space between”—a pause to notice, reflect, and choose with intention?

Then ask yourself:

How might that pause become a pathway to peace?

Would you like me to add a final short paragraph or call-to-action (for your website or Facebook post) inviting readers to pre-order The Peace Guidebook and join the Percolate Peace Project?