Becoming Conscious

I'll provide just a short excerpt here, one worthy of meditation. I find that Tom Lynch's book reads a little like poetry. He slows me down and draws me into his present, his place.
"Whether I wish it or not, there is only and always engagement, only and always intimacy."
It speaks of our human unconsciousness that we feel we have discovered and must convince one another of our belonging to the particular place where we stand. How did we become so unaware?
Even more importantly, how do we awaken ourselves to what is immediate and real?