Distorted pocket watch - Timeless awareness

TIMELESS AWARENESS: Two universal truths about time and awareness

Last updated: April 8th, 2019

Two universal truths: There is no time outside of this moment, and there is nothing that exists outside of awareness. Everything is timeless awareness.

The nature of the present moment

Everything you experience, have experienced, or will experience by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, thinking and feeling, both physically and emotionally, happens only in the present moment. Nothing happens or can happen outside of this moment. Everything that has occurred, is occurring, or will occur always happens in the now, and in that sense, time doesn’t exist.

You can’t live in or revisit the past, or move to the future. There’s no future, and there’s no past. There’s only now. That’s all there ever was and that’s all there’s ever going to be. That’s all there is.

What you can do is use your memory to think about the past, or use your mind to imagine the future, but you can’t go back or forward from this moment. Time does not, and cannot, exist beyond this very present moment—the moment that you are in and experiencing right now. You cannot get out of or go beyond this moment.

You don’t even live life moment to moment because a moment, this moment, doesn’t begin or end. It’s a myth to think that you live moment to moment—it just seems that way. Where is the gap between moments? When does a moment begin and end? Can we measure a moment? There is only this unending moment.

The moment that you are in right now is infinite, with no beginning and no end. You don’t have to try to be in the moment—this is futile, because it’s where you already are. You can’t get out of this moment. We are all alive in the moment, for now. There was no start, and there will be no finish. Your life started, and it will end, but the moment did not start, nor will it end.

Everything that ever happened, is happening now, and will happen occurs within this very moment, the same moment, the unending moment. The Big moment. It’s always a “big” moment in our lives, because it’s the same moment. The moment that’s just unconditionally here, right now.

If you believe you’re living moment to moment, you’re using the concept of time to make sense of your experiences. It’s OK to do that, but it just isn’t true; that’s not the way it is. The present moment is outside of time, and there’s no time in the present moment. Time is a concept created by the mind in an attempt to understand the reality of no time. Time can only be measured within the unending moment. There’s no time outside of the moment. The present moment has all the time in the world because it’s immortal. Time is a mentally created concept that we use to help make sense of the continuous happening within timeless awareness.

Try to move away from the moment, and you will find that you can’t escape it. When you notice and become aware of the present moment, it’s always the same moment. It’s not a new moment because the moment never left you; the moment was always here, waiting.

Nothing can exist outside of this moment. There is no outside, and we can’t even say that we are inside the moment. There is no outside or inside; there is just this moment, always. Once you get that it is always this moment, time disappears, but you can still play along, as we need the concept of time to function in the world as it is now, for now.

The same applies to awareness. You can’t step outside of or escape from the awareness that’s here right now. There’s no escape from what’s happening right now in awareness, occurring in this present moment. Awareness and the present moment are one.

Just try to get out of this present moment or step away from awareness. You will find it can’t be done, because timeless awareness is always here. Awareness and this moment are all there is. There is nothing else.

Everything is awareness

There is nothing outside of awareness, because everything is awareness. There is no outside. Everything that seems outside is inside, and yet, there is no inside either. There is no outside or inside. There is just this and only this. This awareness that we want, the awareness that we try to be mindful of, that we try to find, is already here, now.

What is this timeless awareness, this moment?

It is everything. Everything that ever was, is now, or is going to be.

You are part of that unending whole. You are the awareness that you seek.

Timeless awareness

Are your fingers separate from your hand, or a part of your hand? Is your hand separate from or attached to your arm, your body?

There is no separation. You may experience yourself as a separate being with a separate identity, but are you really separate from everything else, or are you an expression of the whole? Are you apart from or part of it? Can you be both?

You surely have and may continue to experience yourself as separate, and you have an awareness of your personal identity, your individuality, your uniqueness, and sense of self. Your memory is unique to you. You hear, see and feel things that are uniquely experienced by you, but is your perspective and experience of separateness or uniqueness evidential proof that you are separate and apart from everything else? Are you apart from or a part of the whole, of everything else? Where does separation in the world start and end? How many separate parts are there to existence? There can only be either infinite separation or none. Existence is either infinitely divided or it is not. It is either wholeness and One, or it is not. Or it is both and neither.

No one can experience what it’s like to be you, but does that mean you are set apart from everything else and separate? Does your experience of separateness prove that you are indeed separate? Can you know? Can you be both separate and not (as your finger is both part of, and separate from, your hand and body)?

Look at this from the other side. If a so-called enlightened person experiences them-self as everything and as not separate, is that proof of non-separation, or is that person holding a belief or concept of non-separation? Does it matter whether we think we are separate or not? The reality of whether we are or not, or both, or neither, is not concerned with what you think, and you’re allowed to think whatever you think about it. The enlightened ones are part of awareness and the unenlightened ones are also part of awareness. Their thinking may differ, but what they are is the same as you. The enlightened ones are not outside or beyond awareness, and they are not in an “exclusive awareness zone” or somewhere that you are not. Likewise, the unenlightened ones are not outside or beyond awareness. No one is somewhere else; no one is outside of awareness or inside awareness. No one is alone; we are all in it together. You are not alone and there is only you.

We are all separated by our uniqueness, and yet we are all part of the whole. The whole is not separate from anything. Awareness is not broken off into pieces; it is universally whole and unbreakable, limitless in its infinite expansiveness. Awareness is always here and available for you to experience it as yourself. Your sense of mindful awareness is not yours—it is not manifested by you, because you are the very awareness that you seek. That is what you are.

Does it matter how we experience ourselves? You might be interested in that, but awareness doesn’t mind whether you’re mindfully aware of awareness or not, or whether or not you’re aware that you are the awareness you seek. Awareness doesn’t mind because it is not mind. Yet, paradoxically, mind is awareness manifesting as mind. Are awareness and mind separate, or are they one and the same? Of course, the answer is both. Just as we experience separation from the whole, the mind experiences itself as separate from awareness, yet ultimately, there is no separation. When we are mindfully aware, it’s possible to deeply and profoundly connect with this timeless awareness.

Awareness and this moment are unconditionally allowing of everything and anything. Everything that occurs in the world is unconditionally allowed by awareness, as it has no preferences. Every terror and cruelty imaginable is allowed, as is every act of love and profound kindness. It’s all allowed, unconditionally. Likewise, awareness has no preference regarding your experience of awareness, nor is awareness interested in your understanding of what awareness or the moment is.

If there is nothing outside of awareness, then you must be within awareness. You are awareness.

If you are part of universal awareness, it follows that you are a literal and actual expression of awareness itself, just as everything else is.

Revisiting the two truths

To review, the two universal truths:

Truth One – You exist only and always in this infinite moment, the eternal moment that wasn’t born and can never die. The present moment is outside of time. There is no time in the present moment. Time does not exist in the moment. Time can only exist in mind, and then only in this present and timeless, unending moment.

Truth Two – Awareness is all there is. You are the very awareness that you seek. There is nowhere else to go, as there is nothing beyond the awareness that you are.

You are awareness itself, expressed in this moment, now.

Awareness and the moment have no beginning, and no end.

Awareness is everything. Everything is an expression of awareness.

Awareness is unlimited, and the moment is timeless.

Timeless awareness is here, now.

You are alone. It is only you.

You are everything, and there is only everything.

We are all alone together, and together, we are not alone.

There is only One, one you, and one everything.

You and everything are one. You are everything, and everything is you.

You are that.

And “you” and “that” are all there is.

It is all you, and it is all that.

You are that, and that is you.

[su_panel background=”#f2f2f2″ color=”#000000″ border=”0px none #ffffff” shadow=”0px 0px 0px #ffffff”]Mike Larcombe

image 1: Time distortion via Shutterstock; image 2: reach the sky via Shutterstock
  1. I had the profound experience that lasted several hours and now occurs intermittently, ” All is self”. It is the most difficult to explain and my other selves do not understand. I always remind my moments to get back there, so I can understand why. This experience makes it all worth it and where my answers are located. It was heaven and to know we are connected. I can love you as I love myself. Knowing the distractions, labels, money llusions attempting to remove the heavenly experiences are not successful. The selves are released from the shackles created to bring awareness to all now. Great words, explanation and Thankyou.

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