What does it mean to be conscious? It's a question that leads to an intimate investigation of ourselves, of who we are. It's a very hard question to follow up on. The longer we hold the question, the deeper and more difficult the investigation. Consciousness is what knows itself. We possess this in rudimentary form when we are healthy and awake. It is our sense of being present. It is usually overshadowed by compulsive thinking. We typically identify ourselves within compulsive thinking, and from that perspective we have only a dim sense of being present. When we learn to get a feel for that dimension in ourselves that is presently conscious, we are paying attention. As we pay more attention, that dimension in ourselves begins to grow. We begin to feel ourselves as self-aware without thinking. This self-awareness becomes an energetic process. We begin to feel this energy within us like an electromagnetic force, what I call the Force of consciousness.