Consciousness could be a basic element that we are unable to perceive. The entities with apprropriate mechamisms process that element to make that entitity aware of that experience that consciousness gives. It might be all to difficult for us to understand or too difficult for us to function if we fully understood consciousness. Each person may experience what gets to the brain via the senses differently. And individually, even as a specieis, our brains might be deliberately giving us perceptions that consciousnes wants us to have. If this does not make sense to the reader, I understand the feeling.

It would be interesting to know what or why a thought becomes conscious. Similar to what Professor Koch used as an example: as a thought ‘pops’ into a teenagers head and they do something stupid. What makes this thought conscious and what makes a person act on that thought, or not act on that thought. Maybe there is more to reality that we can perceive.