Yes, it does exist but there is a BIG problem and that is that any attempt at defining consciousness will be circular, defining it in terms of the idea of "being aware" (which, of course, presupposes "consciousness"). Although this is an abstract notion, we cannot truly entirely understand consciousness (or anything else) unless we can view it "from outside", which is clearly impossible. This is kind of like asking a fish what "wet" means; no answer is possible unless the fish knows what non-wet(dry) is which it cannot know. Furthermore, to understand a notion it is absolutely necessary to understand its "opposite" and since the "opposite" of consciousness is unconsciousness - which we clearly cannot understand since we cannot experience it - "consciousness" is beyond our ken unless we define it in some mechanical way that is at best distantly related to the reality (and this is what the artificial intelligence community is going to have to do).

I'm not saying that there does not exist a notion that we all sort of agree on - but I AM saying it cannot be defined with even a little precision without being circular.

So, relax and be happy in being conscious (whatever that may mean) - and ignore the pseudo-intellectuals that enjoy playing mind and word games (which, I would admit, can be fun but can't be taken seriously).

Do you believe you(not your body or things related to you BUT your VERY SELF) are an illusion? Truth is there is no theory on consciousness in science and whatever some scientists say about it is their own personal opinion(which might be based on some scientific arguments).

There are some scientists who have hypotheses that says consciousness alone is real and physical world an illusion. There are some excitements that suggest consciousness can control physical world, for example one's thoughts can influence outcome of 'electronic random number generator'.

Plogsties's answer is good. Whenever you try to define it, the real problem, you end up making circular arguments. You could look at consciousness in terms of the varying degrees to which things can perceive, whether sentient or not. You have more perception abilities than a rock, but certain perceptions aren't as developed as, say, a bat's hearing.

Do you feel "I"? That is consciousness.

Scientists desperately try to prove that the world is nothing but matter and energy.

They believe that there is no Universal Consciousness or God. The bodies made of matter generate energy with the help of internal circuits and chemical reactions which make the bodies live.

If you have a gadget nearby, examine it. The body did not create by itself. Some technician has designed it, filled it with circuits and chemical compounds, provided power connectivity and made it functional. But where is he now? Can you see him? If you cannot see, can you conclude that the gadget is created by itself?

The universe and all the living and non living bodies in the universe with the intricate life supporting systems did not create by themselves. The consciousness feeling "I" within every body, and existing everywhere in the universe, is the creator or God, who is the designer, creator, sustainer and terminator of the bodies.

Scientists conveniently side track the creator or call God a myth, since they cannot find Him or prove Him in their laboratories.

The thing is, nobody can explain why consciousness exists. What's the point of consciousness? Why not a universe that gets along perfectly well with no consciousness, all the systems and biological entities getting along just fine with no consciousness? Isn't it useless baggage?

There are those who say to that, "So? That doesn't prove anything."

It doesn't prove anything but it arouses curiosity.

There are those who want a new kind of science that rejects curiosity.

No such thing.

It depends on what you mean by "Consciousness".

We certainly do think about ourselves and what we are doing and how we do it.

Where consciousness is an illusion is when some claim to be able to change belief or other just by willing it.

NB:

I am curious, why did you list "physics,philosophy are neurology"? And miss the most important study of Consciousness, that is psychology?

Yes, consciousness is how you are aware of yourself and can make decisions. There are lots of philosophical ideas about consciousness- for example Cartesian Duality. In biology, consciousness is an emergent property (more than the sum of its parts: a single cell isn't conscious, but a body made up of cells is) and it is also a marker we use to determine what higher life forms are. The difficulty is determining where we define consciousness. Is a rock conscious? Is a plant conscious? How about a jellyfish?

Its emergent from the host , a single cell has a basic consciousness an energy imprint , as an organism grows so does consciousness , it interacts with the brain/body , as an Evolutional Goodhist I balance consciousness and brain/body with the energy of soul the source energy , increasing energy efficiency , this is explainable within existing energy theory , neuroscience freely admits it 400 years behind energy science .

It certainly does. Or maybe I've been in an amoeba like state of being my whole life but my body is typing this and I am not really aware of this whole scenario, who knows? Not me if its not my consciousness isn't responsible for the idea behind typing this, that's for sure.

Well to start off, a major part of consciousness is awareness. I bet you were very aware of that comment that person made. Let's see about consciousness, Awake, dreaming, sleep, deep sleep, faint, knock out, the area where surgery is done, coma are all different layers of consciousness. In neurology, they refer to consciousness as being directly connected to the nervous system and endocrine system via emotions, thought process, memory, and concepts and physically in the spinal cord. In philosophy, consciousness is the basis for enlightenment, awakening beyond the deepest layers of sleep (not meaning the sleep you do at night but layers of awareness that limit your abilities). Mainly saying we are in amnesia from birth. In quantum physics and metaphysics, there are layers of consciousness where thought can travel and or thoughts can become things. There is more to it than what meets the EYE.

In consciousness, it is the core to mind. Mind is born of soul. Soul is born of spirit and your spirit is born of infinite intelligence which is the mind of the conscious universe that has been plaguing the mind of man since our recorded history . When you start to go beyond the limitations of the amnesia consciousness, which most exist in now, you can awaken the parasympathetic nervous system which is quite different than the sympathetic nervous system which is the basis for enlightenment. Most people living today are subconsciously governed by the sympathetic nervous system and subconsciousness. All this I am speaking of is one being, you, which is why I can see why it's an illusion. There is nothing but you, you are all of it so why separate the individual parts. All is one. You are one in the midst of a bunch of little parts. Such as the body has it's many parts, so does consciousness, and awareness and brain activity, nervous system, endocrine system. All have many but are one. If one part suffers, the whole being suffers. If one part is liberated, the whole being is liberated. So, in a sense, yeah it is an illusion but according to different studies, there are many parts to the one being.