What Are The Similarities And Differences Between Consciousness, Awareness, Emptiness And Nothingness?

[nexusoflife]

I have read several books on spirituality and enlightenment and I have also been meditating seriously for the past three years and have had a few unitive experiences. And in my experience all of these labels are essentially pointing to the same thing. However I would like the perspectives of others on this topic in order to gain a more integral understanding of this as I have much to learn.

[S33K3R]

From my experience they are all the same like you say. I believe they are words, tools to be used to pry open the consciousness to allow change in. One word may trigger a reaction where another doesn't due to different life paths, paradigms and experiences. I believe generally they are all the same though?

[Joseph Maynor]

I tend to use awareness and emptiness myself.  These terms have the sense Leo provides, with some modification due to my idiosyncrasies.  But all in all they mean what you think they mean.  Consciousness is more of a layman's term.  Nothingness is a term I like less than emptiness.  A bottle may be empty, but it is still something.  Paradoxically, I am empty, but I am still something.  I would never say I am nothing.  Others might contend that they are nothing, and that's their prerogative to do so, but that ain't me.  I'm pretty sure.  Emptiness is when you are standing in the middle of your input portals watching the content float in -- it's  the space in which the inputs arise.  Awareness is your noticing of these inputs, or not.  Maybe you lack awareness in a moment.  But just because you lack awareness in a moment doesn't mean you stop being empty in that moment.  You are always empty.  So, I do not believe that emptiness and awareness are synonymous.    

Edited June 22, 2017 by Joseph Maynor