Consciousness can definitely be studied and learned. Everyone can teach something about consciousness; however, none can teach consciousness itself. It can only be attained through association (satsang) with individuals in whom we see a glimpse of spiritual attainment (divine consciousness). For example, for Ram it was Vashisth, for Vivekananda it was Ramkrishna, and for Paul Brunton it was Raman Maharshi... For every seeking soul, there is someone to guide them towards that Self. However, such a person must be sought out honestly, and recognised (identified). Honesty here mostly means being open minded and free from ego. Openness plays a very important role in the spiritual journey of seekers of the ultimate truth (not the relative truth). Consciousness best touches us when we are innocent and open.
In Upanishadic lore, there is an anecdote: once upon a time, a group of seers who used to live on the outskirts of a village, touching the boundaries of a forest, meditated deeply upon the deity of their mutual choice in order to have a darshan in person. Deity agreed and promised to return the following day when everyone was ready to conduct a yagna. Next day, the seers prepared themselves for Yagna; they kept roots and fruits to offer the deity, waiting eagerly for him, remembering his subtle form, which they were accustomed to seeing during their meditations.
Meanwhile, a wild boar came and started eating all those roots and fruits that were kept for Yagna. Seers beat up the boar black and blue, shooed it away, and sat back down before Yagna-Vedi, waiting for the deity. After a while, after the Yagna-Muhurt had passed, no one appeared in front of them, not even a messenger of God, to comfort them. The seers went back to their meditation. To their surprise, the deity appeared smilingly in their meditation. They prayed, “What mistake have we made, Lord? Why didn’t you appear before us?” The deity said, “I had come very much in flesh and blood and right at the appointed moment, but my form was that of a wild boar!”
With innocence, openness is also needed to look for a real guru. Most of us are carried away by brand presence and miracle mania. Neither of these two are attributes of ultimate spiritual attainment (supreme consciousness).