For me, consciousness is a state of awareness of self, so a ‘conscious person’ is someone who is actively engaged in being aware and creating awareness. To know thyself is a journey through consciousness; it is cultivation of self. Consciousness helps us to experience every moment of life with presence of mind. When all of our layers of life converge in harmony to give us the present moment, consciousness allows us to experience oneness, which is manifested as peace.
With consciousness, we can choose to know, then decide to let go and be. Without consciousness we see life as ordinary instead of sacred; we miss how the universe is conspiring in helping us achieve what we want; we forget about the journey and place all of our hopes and dreams on the destination. With consciousness we don’t need external validation, we are self empowered.
Sometimes taking out the trash helps us to achieve consciousness. Sometimes connecting with our ancestors helps us to achieve consciousness. Sometimes the thought of impending death helps us to achieve consciousness. Consciousness is not an end or a beginning; throughout our lives we are constantly journey through different levels of consciousness.