What is consciousness?

Perhaps our consciousness is something like gravity in that it cannot be created/destroyed, but it is a force that acts upon a vessel (our brains).
It permeates our minds. Hence why we have dreams. When we are asleep we are still experiencing things (which is arguably consciousness) except it is not real so we call it the "unconscious." However, the consciousness vessel still exists while we are asleep.

I have been pondering consciousness in relation to memory as well. It seems the more conscious one becomes, the more there is that has to be remembered less often. By remembered I essentially mean experienced. Our vessels are what cause us to create possession (ie. "I," "you"). The more complex something becomes, the more conscious it becomes. So that it does not seem that we are complex because we are conscious but we are conscious because we are complex. [Perhaps it is not such a bad thing that it seems we are changing the food chain, etc. If we as humans are able to form a singularity with machine (genetic engineering?), then it seems we will evolve and will no longer be reliant on such animals and perhaps new animals will evolve and develop with us. ]

In the instance that infinite consciousness exists , there would be no need for memory as well as no existent possession. However, does consciousness need a vessel or container to permeate? If so, how can consciousness be infinite if it must be bound to matter thus always causing it to be "possessed."