When I was a youngster, probably seven or eight, my father took me with him when he drove to a local farm to pick corn for use in the café the family managed. We drove for a significant amount of time down local dirt roads to a farm with a field of growing corn.
We went into the fields with our bushel baskets and filled them with corn-on-cob. Dad showed me how to choose the corn to pick and how to snatch the cob from the stalk.
On the drive home I was amazed to observe the numerous fields of corn we passed on the way back to town. I can distinctly remember thinking to myself, why did I not see these fields of corn while we were driving to the farm earlier?
Today I have an answer to that question. I now say that on the way to the farm I was aware of corn-on-the-cob but on the way back home I was conscious of corn-on-cob. There was a very significant difference in my perceptions regarding corn-on-the-cob before and after the experience.
We are aware of many things but conscious of only a small number of things. We are often aware of the experience of driving while not being conscious of the experience. We were aware of Iraq before the war but now are conscious of Iraq. There is a very important distinction between them and it is important for us to recognize this difference.
To be conscious of a matter signifies a focus of the intellect. Consciousness of a matter is the first step, which may lead to an understanding of the matter. Consciousness of a matter is a necessary condition for the understanding of that matter. Consciousness is a necessary but not sufficient condition for understanding to take place.
When discussing a topic about which I am knowledgeable, most people, because they recognize the words I am using, treat the matter as old stuff. They recognize the words therefor consider the matter as something they already know and do not consider as important. Because they are aware of the subject it is difficult to gain their attention when I attempt to go beyond the shallowness of their perception. The communication problem seems to be initially overcoming their awareness and reaching consciousness.