Consciousness is completely connected to the idea of mindfulness. What you are not conscious of, you cannot be mindful of. What you are mindful of, you are conscious of.
For most humans we do not try too hard to contact our unconscious selves on a conscious level. The problem with that is that what drives most of our actions is our unconscious selves. Without awareness of what is within our unconsciousness, we are acting out without control. We are behaving in a mindless fashion.
Getting to know yourself and becoming mindful is about exploring yourself on a conscious level, knowing your conscious thoughts and perceptions and how they drive you. It is about knowing what experiences and memories shape those thoughts and perceptions so that you know why you think and perceive like you do. It is about digging under the surface to what is often hidden deeply to see what is ultimately even driving what and how you remember things. That is the unconscious.
Consider a memory you shared with someone else sometime, when that person responded something like, “Were we at the same event, because I do not remember it at all that way?” Why don’t we remember things the same way as other people. That is because even what we choose to remember and how we choose to remember is not driven consciously. It is driven by the unconscious. Bringing the unconscious into the conscious level takes courage and work. What is underneath can be scary and painful, but if you do not do it, you will only manage to be mindful on a surface level. True mindfulness cannot be achieved without digging below the surface to see yourself fully.
If you have some really painful things under there, trauma, abuse, neglect, bullying, violence etc. It is often most helpful to look at those things with the support of a professional, either a therapist or counselor of some level. You might find things that cause you to suffer that you have been ignoring. Try not to hide from them. They are driving your actions on a level you are unaware of, and you cannot heal them, if you cannot see them. Healing is about becoming aware and mindful of all of who you are. You cannot accept yourself without knowing yourself fully. Seek support if you become aware of anything traumatic or super painful. You don’t have to look at those things alone.
-Namaste