Self Identity

 Consciousness objectifies all thought objects and all sense objects. When Descartes wrote "I think, therefore I am," he really should have written "I am conscious, therefore I am." Consciousness produces all thoughts. Thoughts do not produce consciousness. Consciousness happens to be the basis and the ground of all experience. and everything that humans can think or sense can only be an experience.

A camera cannot take a picture of itself unless it has been positioned in front of a mirror. In such a case, it is the reflection from the mirror that takes the picture, not the camera by itself. Similarly, brain function cannot be conscious of itself without the consciousness that it produces. If brain function produces consciousness, then it can only be conscious of itself from the standpoint of the consciousness that it produces. But since consciousness can say nothing about anything of which it is not conscious, then consciousness can only be conscious of its consciousness of its brain function by means of an expanded consciousness. But then, in order to be conscious of that expanded consciousness, consciousness would have to expand still further toward infinity. Since a limited mind cannot reach to infinity, then that connection to infinity could be made by an Infinite Consciousness. This process could be called the spirit of the human being.

All of this means that humans can be conscious of their consciousness that expands toward infinity. This also means that consciousness cannot be a material substance produced by brain function since brain function could not possibly produce a material substance that moves toward infinity. Consciousness has to be immaterial. This means that consciousness uses brain function to make a person capable of experiencing one's own physical body and the material world.

Consciousness of consciousness cannot be an illusion. Consciousness of consciousness is a system that effectively produces everything of which a human can be conscious. Consciousness of consciousness also produces the intelligence of humans that enables humans to manipulate their thought objects and sense objects so that they can formulate new systems that benefit themselves and others. In human experience, illusions are always useless and mean nothing unless a fiction writer uses them to tell a fanciful story. Systems that work to produce a desired, beneficial result can only be real, and all the thought objects and sense objects that compose such systems must also always be real. Illusions only occur when consciousness formulates false systems or unworkable systems that always comprise real thought objects and/or sense objects. A unicorn or a lie would be examples of such false systems. Certain false systems do exist which can produce temporary feelings of excessive pleasure or excessive pride, but these systems always prove to be destructive in the long run.

Every individual, intelligent human knows intuitively that he or she possesses a consciousness of their consciousness and that forms the basis of a person's self identity.