Up till now, I have in general referred to human consciousness as an individual and separate thing apart, although I have referred to the possibility of a shared consciousness. In fact it is nothing of the kind. In any relationship, even something so transitory as advocate and witness, the consciousness is shared to some extent. Everyone knows that communication does not depend on words. Even in an intellectual argument it depends on mutual understanding; words are mere cyphers to convey ideas. Much more so when the affections or emotions are involved to any degree. Mutual understanding depends on a shared consciousness. When someone refuses to have the same shared consciousness as you in an argument, you say, “Oh, he is perverse and contrary”. On the other hand the reluctance to share consciousness is considered much more normal when different social classes are involved, or between ourselves and foreigners.
I spent a lot of time discussing the effect on a man's beliefs and actions through his belonging to a team. Naturally this effect takes place through the consciousness. There is no other way for it to take place. A person is only affected by sensations reaching him through his senses, and not even these have much effect on him until he becomes aware of them. In other words, until his consciousness is affected. It is just the same with a more intimate relationship, such as friendship or marriage, except that here one expects to find a shared consciousness, whereas in the team relationship one would find it only occasionally. In the team one usually has to obey orders (even if they are politely phrased); in friendship one hopes that this is replaced by mutual understanding. The function of discipline is to make a number of individuals work in unison; understanding enables them to begin to work in harmony. So if the common experience of mutual understanding is anything more than an illusion, more must happen than for the consciousness to be affected. It must be shared; it is the only other thing that can happen.
In the shared consciousness, naturally you become aware of the mutual…