Here's my hypothesis:

The brain is like a halogram. A halogram is a shape in 3 dimensions, made of dots. If you remove some dots, the shape remains the same, but the clarity of the image changes.

The brain works like a halogram - neurons are either firing or not. If more neurons are firing properly, there's more awareness, because there are more connections in the halogram. Humans are very good at pattern recognition, and more connections means better chance of recognizing patterns.

If less neurons are firing, there's less awareness. While the perception and the phenomenon of having awareness exists in both states, the depth of perception and awareness is changing. With less neurons firing, there's less opportunity to recognize patterns.

it is very difficult to comprehend a more dense or deep experience of awareness while being at a lower level.

For example consider dreaming versus waking self. During dreams, you are aware, but not aware that you are dreaming. The capacity for rational thought is diminished. Even within a dream, the dream's clarity changes. It may be a haphazard bunch of random imagery without a clear plot, or it can be a long, clear and vivid experience, where you may think and even make rational decisions.

The quality of the waking consciousness is also prone to changes. On some days, the brain just works better, and is capable of deeper thought, more emotional awareness, better perception and creativity, while on some days, everything turns into "wallpaper", without any real meaning to it.

I really like this idea, and it seems to explain a lot of brain phenomena. I'm thinking of creating a kind of a test or a self assessment to test this hypothesis.

What do you think?