We humans are conscious.
Consciousness is the word that originated to refer to the faculty that allows sentient beings to be aware of, to have knowledge of, their existence and experience.
To be sentient, to have awareness, first there must be consciousness.
How consciousness arises is a mystery.
Humanity simly does not know.
Nor does humanity know if consciousness exists in and of itself.
Ideas like consciousness is ‘who we are', or 'higher self', or fundamental to ‘all that is’, are assumptions and beliefs used to try to explain the mystery.