Essay for
April/ 2008

The Timeless Nature of Consciousness

One does not naturally identify with consciousness as who you are as it simply forms the foundation of what you take as who you are. Consciousness appears to be just there doing nothing in particular, simply providing basic awareness for the mind to accumulate and process information. On the other hand, the mind is in constant motion, forever doing and becoming this or that, perpetually creating and evolving endless thought-forms and patterns of living. Underneath all that mind activity consciousness is constantly at rest, motionless, silent, and timeless, as time has no effect upon how it functions. Whereas, the mind is unrelentingly time afflicted.

The mind's relentless actions, as opposed to the apparent non-action of consciousness, can be framed as motion within or upon non-motion. Or, the mind moves within the non-movement of consciousness, which is the first of many great dualities to stimulate your recognition that consciousness is the foundation of your existence. Alternatively, it can be stated that consciousness-awareness 'breathes' life into the mind, but the mind is what brings consciousness to life. Both are necessary and essential for your existence. One without the other simply does not work. The problem then becomes one of identity. Who are you: consciousness, the mind, or a combination of both? The associated issue within that question is where does each come from, or do they both arise from your biological brain?

Everything material, which obviously includes the physical body, is in a state of constant change, or is in some manner time afflicted. Hence, the brain that produces the mind has a short lifespan, and it will come and go as everything material has an inbuilt self-destruct clock. However, consciousness that forms the foundation for the mind never alters. It is constant. From the first moment you are upon this planet to your last moment, consciousness never varies. It is unalterable, making it timeless (as it is not affected by time), making it non-material or non-biological as everything material or biological is time associated, but consciousness is not.

Hence, there is a separation of consciousness and mind, as consciousness is unalterable, motionless, and timeless, whilst the mind is in constant motion and time afflicted, making consciousness non-material or non-biological and the mind material or biological. This brings back the original question of identity, what do you identify with, consciousness as pure awareness or mind?

That question is normally responded to with information gleaned from a variety of books and teachers. If you are predisposed toward consciousness, as your identity, then pure awareness is taken as who and what you are. Raising the question, what is consciousness or what does consciousness do, besides simply existing to allow the mind its innate ability to manipulate information in any fashion it wants. However, the one thing the mind cannot manipulate is consciousness, as it is unalterable. Some will suggest that there are various states of consciousness, but that is a misnomer, as consciousness forever remains unalterable. What is perceived as various states of consciousness is in reality electrochemical stimulation affecting the biology. The mind takes that stimulation as a state of consciousness as the mind did not create it. However, consciousness never alters. Everything alters around it and consciousness merely perceives the alteration. The alteration can be chemically induced, mind created, or drawn from the Source of individual consciousness. All those alterations are temporary and have no affect upon what consciousness is or does. Consciousness forever remains, timeless, motionless, and unalterable, indirectly revealing where your effort to understand your existence and the infinite should be focused.

If you are predisposed to taking whatever the mind produces as who and what you are then you normally take that production as your identity, totally ignoring consciousness, or simply taking it as part of the mind or brain that provides a foundation for that manipulation. However, consciousness and mind are separate. Consequently, if you take mind production as who and what you are, you must also include the immovable nature of consciousness. If you do not, then you are using the mind to ignore what it does not want to know, which means mind production is now manipulating you, rather that you it. The mind is a tricky little devil that protects and maintains itself.

Normally, the mind dominates as you can witness and manipulate its production, making the production easily accepted as who and what you are. The problem with that conclusion is the human body, therefore the brain and mind, are a short-term acquisition. If you have accepted mind production as who and what you are, then it is a given that who and what you are has a very short life expectancy. If that is the case, why have moral and ethical standards? Meaning, there is only a legal barrier preventing you from taking and doing anything you want, anytime you want. To prevent that runaway self-indulgent behavior, belief systems have engendered a moral ethic, forming the foundation for a legal system, establishing laws to protect individuals from themselves and others. However, you are required to use the mind for that belief and legal system, and the mind being a manipulator, can always discover avenues to circumvent an imposed ethical or legal restriction and discover multiple reasons to justify the movement.

The choice of identity, consciousness or mind, goes to the heart of existence. The brain-produced mind has volumes written about it. On the other hand, consciousness remains an enigma, and the only reason it remains as such is that it has no apparent purpose beyond providing awareness for the mind to function. However, it does have an enormous purpose, as impersonally embedded within consciousness is a direction that the mind must discover to appreciate the treasure hidden within it.

When that impersonal direction is revealed, and personalized by mind production, an experiential unity arises that removes the endless forms of doubt the mind can create. This unity releases the time-afflicted mind by living within the borderless state of timeless consciousness. The non-movement of consciousness is now integrated with the moving mind as an experiential identity, exposing the impersonal direction within consciousness as what that new identity is. The moving mind now has an experiential foundation for existence that is permanent, timeless, and unalterable. Without discovering that experiential direction, the mind will never be 'at rest', as endless forms of stimulation will constantly keep it moving, forever missing the peace and certitude that is discoverable within non-moving consciousness.

It has been stated, 'first seek the kingdom of heaven, and all things will be added or given'. This means use the moving time-afflicted mind to discover the impersonal direction within non-moving timeless consciousness. Personalizing that discover, by being what that direction is, is the discovery of heaven within. The mind then has an experiential foundation to rest upon that is unalterable and timeless, which is where and when the 'things' will be added or given. It is more correct to state the 'added or given' as released and that release is actualized when the mind is released from its own self-created restriction (burden), making the release within consciousness natural and effortless. Meaning, you may well be standing in the way of what you are trying to discover.

Your true identity is discoverable within timeless non-moving consciousness by using the time-afflicted moving mind for that discovery. Both are necessary and essential elements of that identity. When they are unified through and by the impersonal direction discoverable within consciousness, the mind loses its time-affliction as it is assimilated within the timeless nature of consciousness, making that new identity indestructible for consciousness is indestructible as it is timeless. Then you are home and know it.

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To understand your life you first have to know why you exist.

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