To understand consciousness we need to understand present moment awareness (PMA) PMA is all there is, as nothing really exists before or after it. Therefore consciousness can only exist in PMA.
Everthing that is outside of your PMA is a memory (thought) or an idea (thought) but even those only exist in PMA, so you can only be real in PMA, no where else and nothing outside of your PMA can be real, because it's not in your PMA.
So what happens to people when they leave your PMA? They cease to exist. They cannot be real because you cannot perceive them in your PMA. How do you know the staue of liberty is real? It can only ever be real when it's in your PMA, any other time it is just a thought.
Thoughts are not consciousness, they are a product of it.
Consciousness is the ability to define your present moment awareness, that's where you exist and only where you exist. Nothing else is real or matters unless you put it into your present moment awareness.
Present moment awareness is where all the power is, because that's where your consciousness is. That's why whatever you're placing in your PMA is so powerful, because it is the only place it's real.
I said that consciousness defines your present moment awareness, but I think it's the other way around, present moment awareness defines your consciousness.
HTH
Jeff