do you know consciousness?
'Being' ('selfing') and knowing ('consciousness') are not inextricably bound together. 

In Buddhism, consciousness is delineated into six types, such can be summarised as: 

(i) seeing; 

(ii) hearing; 

(iii) smelling; 

(iv) tasting; 

(v) touching; &amp; 

(vi) mental cognition (knowing the mind's thoughts, feeling, moods, etc). 

Imagine a mosquito suddenly bites. First, there is consciousness of the touch sensation then, a moment later, the mind thinks: "A mosquito has bitten me". 

The touch consciousness arises 1st, by surprise, without any willfulness. Later the mind creates the idea of "me" or "I". 

Therefore, 'knowing' &amp; 'selfing' are not inextricably bound together because knowing occurs before &amp; independent of the thought of "me" or "I".

This is why consciousness experiences many things the 'self' does not want to experience. If 'self' &amp; 'consciousness' were bound together, the self could decide where to direct consciousness and thus avoid ugly sights, unpleasant sounds, bad smells, etc.  

This is why you define or identify yourself as nothing apart from what the mind is consciousness of. 

You were not born with pre-existing ideas of "my mother", "my father", "my house", "my body", etc. Instead, what happened is the mind first sees, hears, smells, tastes or touches its mother and eventually, later, the idea is formed: "my mother". Similarly, one first day, a small child looks into a mirror and develops for the first time, the idea of "me" or "my body". 

In MN 64, the Buddha taught a new born child has no idea of 'self', 'me' or 'I'. 

In SN 12.12, the Buddha described 'becoming', 'being' or 'selfing' only happens after consciousness, feeling, craving &amp; attachment have occurred.