I'm pretty sure someone else can come up with a better definition. To some degree I relate bring conscious to being awake. Ive never been consciously aware when Im asleep(except for the few lucid dreaming episodes), so I cant say anything about that. But it is very easy to meditate when washing dishes or going out for a walk or just listening to music. The simpler the activity the easier to meditate. There are a ton of people back home(India) who take this seriously. We call them yogis. These are the people who are devoted to life and the mechanics of existence. There are university like places where this is explored too. We call them ashrams - A community of yogis and aspiring yogis . These places have existed for 1000's of years. And they've come up with so much literature describing their findings over all these years.