06-Consciousness

**Consciousness** means a person's momentary awareness of internal and external stimuli, which has two main functions of monitoring oneself and the environment, as well as controlling and directing behavior. In addition to the conscious level, the human mind has other layers such as preconscious memories and the unconscious reservoir that contain thoughts, desires, and automatic skills and indirectly affect our actions. Altered states of consciousness include a wide range; from sleep and dreams that occur in regular nightly cycles to restore mental faculties, to voluntary methods such as meditation and hypnosis that change a person's perception of reality through deep concentration or suggestibility. Also, the use of psychoactive substances, by interfering with the chemical activities of the brain, can cause severe changes in mood, temperament, and level of wakefulness, which, if repeated, leads to dependence and irreparable damage to physical and mental health.