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| A nice day on the Mawson Trail |
It
seems that there are different ways in which people use or understand the word
“conscious”. In some contexts it seems to have more weight. It is very focused
and intense; it takes a lot of energy; it involves mental struggle and toil;
it’s tiring. In this sense it can sometimes include a sense of
self-consciousness. It can mean being very clear and disciplined in your
relationship with your own mind. "Stay focused," you tell yourself,
on the breath, or the hips, or the feet.
In
other contexts it is lighter, like being conscious that your clothes fit well
or that it's a nice day.
So
the differences between being conscious and being mindful depend on how one
uses the words.
It
seems to me, though, that there are people who think that there are only two
ways to think: either you are conscious in the sense of being focused,
attentive and self-conscious, or else you are not thinking at all.