In my previous article, I showcased the ‘You’ symbol — a way to understand yourself as an organisation made up of two key departments: Body and Consciousness.
Click here to read that – ‘This Symbol Helped Me Understand My True Self’
While the body is well-understood — its mechanics, biology, and nutrition. But consciousness? Still kind of a mystery working behind the scenes.
So, I asked myself:
What exactly is consciousness made of? Can it even be visualised?
And that’s what led me to try something radical:
Drawing consciousness — to decode its core components and give it a shape.
Before we dive into the sketch, let’s first get a quick sense of what consciousness actually is.
What is Consciousness
Consciousness is one of those words we use often but rarely define.
It is a complex metaphysical phenomenon, and different scholars and belief systems have defined it based on their own understanding, opinions, and experiences.
But we still lack consensus.
Yet, it is the most essential part of our existence — what separates us from the rest of the species and has allowed us to imagine and create endless possibilities.
It’s important to note that consciousness is an intangible entity — it can’t be measured or seen. So, consider this an alternative perspective as I try to define it.
To understand consciousness, let’s start with understanding its structure:
What are its primary components?
The Components of Consciousness
A few years back, I bought an audiobook titled ‘The Power of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle from audible.com.
I had recently started listening to audiobooks — they suited my lifestyle far better than traditional reading, fitting seamlessly into my daily routine.
To be honest, I feel a bit restless flipping through pages of a book — so this felt like a more convenient and flexible way to absorb new ideas.
So I began playing audiobooks while driving, commuting to work, or during any spare moment I could find. (Of course, only after enjoying a few of my favourite songs!).
I was also encouraged by the fact that Indian teaching methods have traditionally been verbal since ancient times. Knowledge was passed down orally — from master to disciple — rather than in written form.
India, with its rich heritage of culture and tradition, has remained a breeding ground for mysticism and philosophy — witnessing the dawn of spiritual thought in the Rigveda (c. 1500–1200 BCE) and the profound synthesis of devotion, duty, and self-realisation in the Bhagavad Gita (c. 500–200 BCE), along with numerous other timeless works that have shaped the collective wisdom of humanity.
Being a native Indian, I was somewhat exposed to the phenomenon of consciousness and the importance of the inner self and was naturally curious to expand my understanding of it.
I began looking for a modern book that could explain these timeless ideas in a simple and relatable way — one that could answer this question at the heart of my curiosity:
Who am I, really?
Then I pressed play on The Power of Now.
The very first chapter opened with this statement:
You are not your mind.
— Eckhart Tolle
This transformative thought instantly stirred my point of view and was a perfect teaser for what was to come.
I’ve now read this book several times to further my understanding of the matter, and later bought a printed copy in both Hindi and English to keep as a treasure.
Eckhart’s work beautifully distils what many early schools of thought — Upanishadic, Sankhya, Yogic and Buddhist — have long explored: the realms of consciousness, expressed in a way that resonates with today’s readers who may not have the time to delve into the depths of ancient scriptures.
I can say that this book has had the most profound influence on how I see myself. In fact, it inspired me to develop a visual representation I call the ‘You’ symbol — my way of expressing the structure of who we are (shown in my previous article)
Thank you, Eckhart, for writing this transformative masterpiece.
In various sections of the book, Eckhart explains about thinking, voice, and presence, which I would like to refer to as the three components of consciousness.
I’ve taken those ideas further and created a model of consciousness: its shape, its components, its states, and how they influence our wellbeing and daily lives.
Now, let’s look at the components of consciousness.

Illustration by the Author
Consciousness comprises 3 key components: Thinking, Voice, and Presence.
A brief look at each of them:
1) Thinking [T]
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- It’s our ability to think, imagine, rationalise, analyse…
- We are supposedly the only species to have developed the most advanced form of this component.
- However, in the modern age, we have almost exhausted this capability — due to always living with distractions and constantly thinking about something or the other, i.e., a foreign vacation, a weekend getaway, a new gadget, house renovation…
- Due to this constant practice, the Thinking component works in autopilot mode and we often find it hard to be here and now without thinking about something.
2) Voice [V]
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- Also known as the internal monologue, or the inner speech, or auto self-talk.
- You may hear your voice play out phrases and conversations in your mind about anything.
- It’s a constant stream of thoughts, narratives, and dialogues that accompany conscious experience and perceptions.
- Varies from individual to individual; some might have an absence of it, and some may have a highly functional Voice (even interrupting).
3) Presence [P]
-
- Presence is being fully present at the moment, completely here and now.
- Can be considered as Flow as defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi — where we experience heightened focus, effortless concentration, deep immersion and enjoyment in any activity.
- Presence by default means absence or inactivation of Thinking and Voice.
- A really precise explanation in the words of Eckhart Tolle — “Presence is pure consciousness”.
The three components of consciousness remain in a constant flux — sometimes dominated by Thinking and Voice, and other times by Presence.
Hence, they are depicted in two different arrangements in the above image, and together form the symbol of consciousness.
These components then give rise to the different states of consciousness, which have a direct bearing on how we feel, behave, react, and lead our lives.
Every day, from the time we wake up until we sleep, we live in different states of consciousness.
In the next article, we’ll go deeper into that.
Until then, try this simple experiment:
Pause.
Observe your thoughts and thinking.
Observe the voice in your head.
— Inspired by Eckhart Tolle
This observerer is the real ‘You’.
References:
Tolle, E. (2000). The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment [Audiobook]. New World Library.
Tolle, E. (1997). The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. Namaste Publishing.
Claremont Graduate University. (n.d.). Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Claremont Graduate University. https://www.cgu.edu/people/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Manmohan is a Writer and Creator. He writes about discovering potential and purpose–through understanding ourselves– and the transformation journey that unfolds afterwards.
His newsletter, The Infinite Pivot, shares ideas on how to break the status quo and pivot from being the current to a greater version of ourselves (The Infinite You) that makes an impact.
Learn more
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