The Perfume of Silence

1. Consciousness is the Foundation of All Experience

You are the consciousness in which your bodymind and all other body-minds appear.

The Primacy of Awareness. All experiences, whether sensations, thoughts, or perceptions, arise within consciousness. This awareness is not a product of the mind or body but is the fundamental ground of being. It is the "I-am-ness" that is always present, even when the content of experience changes.

• Consciousness is the screen on which everything appears.
• It is the observer of all experiences.
• It is not limited by the body or mind.

Subjective and Universal. While individual minds and bodies are limited, consciousness itself is not. It is both subjective, in that it is the "I" that experiences, and universal, in that it is the same consciousness that is present in all beings. This understanding dissolves the illusion of separation.

• There is only one hearer, one seer, one perceiver.
• Consciousness is not personal, but universal.
• It is the source of all things.

Beyond Interpretation. Our interpretations of experience, such as labeling some sensations as "me" and others as "not me," are conditioned habits. The true nature of experience is simply the appearance of sensations and perceptions within consciousness, without any inherent separation.

• What something appears to be is not necessarily what it is.
• Never take interpretation for fact.
• All you need to do is to see it for what it is: an interpretation.

2. The Illusion of Separation Creates Suffering

When we identify with this interpretation, we feel separate, but in the absence of any interpretation, we discover that our body is consciousness.

The Root of Misery. The belief that we are separate entities, distinct from the world and each other, is the root cause of suffering. This illusion of separation arises from identifying with the body and mind, which are limited and transient, rather than with consciousness, which is unlimited and eternal.

• The belief that you are in your body is simply an interpretation of your actual experience.
• The feeling that this presence is limited is simply a limited sensation appearing within this same unlimited presence.
• The biggest obstacle on the path is to think that the natural state is necessarily a pleasurable one.

The Ego's Grip. The ego is the sense of a separate "I" that is constantly seeking fulfillment and avoiding pain. This creates a cycle of desire and fear, which perpetuates the illusion of separation and leads to suffering.

• Negative emotion always has this apparent separate entity for its foundation.
• The ego thinks that this approach is ineffective because it claims, “I don’t see myself dying.”
• The one who has eliminated the problem is the continuation of the problem.

Dissolving Boundaries. True love and compassion arise from the dissolution of boundaries, from the understanding that we are all interconnected and share the same consciousness. This understanding allows us to truly love others, not as separate entities, but as expressions of the same universal being.

• It is this very dissolution of “other” that makes us truly capable of loving an “other.”
• When we are unencumbered by the drama, we have a deep connection with others.
• We see their beauty and their love for the truth.

3. The Mind is a Tool, Not the Master

The mind is an object that comes and goes. Everything that is objective is limited. The subject has no limitations.

The Mind's Limitations. The mind is a powerful tool for navigating the world, but it is limited by its objective nature. It is a collection of thoughts, feelings, and perceptions that come and go, and it cannot grasp the true nature of consciousness, which is beyond all objects.

• The mind is a bag full of thoughts and images.
• There is no mind other than the concept of mind.
• The mind cannot go further than that and, at this point, we understand clearly that a personal consciousness is not our experience.

Higher Reasoning. The mind can be used to clear up confusion and to investigate the nature of reality. However, at a certain point, it must become silent to allow the deeper understanding of consciousness to emerge.

• Higher reasoning uses the mind as a tool to clear up the confusion.
• Understanding is always the result of giving up some past opinions.
• Thought doesn’t lead to reality. It only takes us to its own ending.

The Mind's Proper Use. The mind's proper use is to create, to survive, to find happiness, and to celebrate it. It is a tool for approaching the truth, but it is not the truth itself. When the mind has reached its limits and cleansed itself of all accumulated theories, it becomes naturally silent.

• The function of mind is to create. It is a tool to survive.
• It is also a tool to find happiness and to celebrate it.
• When we give up all opinions, then we make absolute progress, which means progress towards the Absolute.

4. True Emotion Arises from Impersonality

“True emotion” refers to any emotion that does not depend on a separate “I” entity for its existence.

Beyond Personal Drama. True emotion is not tied to the personal "I" or the story of our lives. It arises from a place of impersonality, from the understanding that we are not separate entities but expressions of the same universal consciousness.

• Negative emotion always has this apparent separate entity for its foundation.
• At the end of the story we don’t need to tell the story; we simply note the absence of a storyteller.
• When the ego is not present, true emotion, true beauty, true love, and true impersonality blossom.

The Source of True Feeling. True emotions, such as love, joy, and compassion, are not dependent on external circumstances or personal identities. They are expressions of our true nature, which is pure consciousness.

• When we are unencumbered by the drama, we have a deep connection with others.
• At the moment we see this love of the truth in someone, we are touched very deeply at a place where we are one.
• When we are happy, we don’t know that we are happy, because happiness requires childlike innocence.

Impersonal Love. Impersonal love is not distant or cold, but rather a deep and intimate connection that arises from the absence of separation. It is a love that is not based on the thought or feeling of being a separate person, but on the understanding that we are all one.

• By “impersonal” I simply mean not based on the thought or feeling that we are a separate person.
• It is this thought and feeling that actually prevents true intimacy and lovingness.
• Whenever we love, we disappear as a person.

5. The Present Moment is the Gateway to Truth

Everything is always happening here and now.

The Illusion of Time. The past and future are concepts created by the mind. The only reality is the present moment, the "here and now," where all experiences arise and dissolve. By focusing on the present, we can escape the limitations of time and access our true nature.

• Everything is always happening here and now.
• The space in which the bird sings is not a geometric or a physical space. It is a different kind of space, which we could call the “here-and-now space.”
• Every “now” moment is an opportunity for enlightenment. Every future or past moment is a non-opportunity for enlightenment.

The Power of Now. The present moment is not just a point in time, but a timeless space of awareness. It is the key to welcoming the body and the mind, and to experiencing our true nature in the presence of objects.

• The “here-and-now space” is the key. It is the bridge that enables us to transpose the enlightened state with respect to the world, to an enlightened state with respect to the body and the mind.
• Let thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations unfold freely in this space, just as you let perceptions, such as the song of the birds and the sound of my voice, freely unfold.
• Now is the key to welcoming the body and the mind.

Surrender to the Now. Meditation is not an effort to achieve a certain state, but a surrender to the present moment. It is the willingness to let go of the mind, the body, and the world, and to rest in the silent presence in which they appear.

• Meditation is to simply let your thoughts, feelings, and perceptions freely evolve without any agenda.
• Meditation is very simple. It means to surrender the mind, the body, and the world, from moment to moment, to the silent presence in which they appear.
• Surrender the one who does anything, who wants anything, who is afraid of anything.

6. Understanding Dissolves the Ego

Understanding understands itself.

The Nature of Understanding. Understanding is not a mental process but a timeless experience of consciousness recognizing itself. It occurs in the absence of the mind, between the question and the formulation of the answer.

• Understanding doesn’t happen in the mind.
• Understanding takes place in a timeless moment when the mind, the content of the sentence, is not present.
• Understanding understands itself. It returns us to our true nature, consciousness, which is pure intelligence.

The Ego's Demise. The ego, the sense of a separate "I," is a misunderstanding that is dissolved by understanding. When we see clearly that the "I" is not a real entity but a thought or feeling, it loses its power over us.

• The I-thought is not a problem as long as it refers to consciousness.
• The moment we see our desire to change things, we are free from it.
• The moment we understand that the illusion comes and goes, it is no longer a problem, because it is seen for what it is.

The Path of Self-Inquiry. Self-inquiry, the question "Who am I?", is a tool for investigating the source of the "I" thought and feeling. It is not about the ego itself, but about going upstream from the feeling to the ego and from the ego to its source.

• In self-inquiry we are not interested in who is having the feeling, but in what is the source of the I-thought, the I-feeling, the ego.
• We go upstream from the feeling to the ego and from the ego to its source.
• When we reach this sense of lack that has no cause, we have already reached the legs and the arms of the ego.

7. Love is the Path and the Destination

The purpose of these dialogues is love.

Love as the Driving Force. Love is not just an emotion but the fundamental energy that drives the search for truth. It is the passion and dispassion that fuels our interest in understanding our true nature.

• The purpose of these dialogues is love.
• It is a movement from openness to openness.
• The real question is not in the words and the real answer is not in the words either.

Devotion to Truth. True devotion is not directed towards an object or image, but towards reality, God, or consciousness itself. It is a pure and passionate interest in the truth that is not tainted by objectivity.

• We are devoted to reality, to God, to consciousness, not to an object, a fragment, an image.
• The kind of devotion that is the foundation for the search for truth is very pure.
• Ultimately, all human beings are looking for the same truth.

Love as Dissolution. Love is the dissolution of boundaries, the understanding that we are all one. It is the force that makes us truly capable of loving others, not as separate entities, but as expressions of the same universal being.

• This love is the dissolution of boundaries, the dissolution of all the makes us think and feel we are separate from each other and from the world.
• Strangely enough it is this very dissolution of “other” that makes us truly capable of loving an “other.”
• Anyone who loves beauty and truth will presumably express them.

8. Surrender is the Key to Freedom

Surrender the desire for more.

The Nature of Surrender. Surrender is not an act of will but a letting go of the desire to control or change anything. It is the willingness to accept the present moment as it is, without resistance or judgment.

• Surrender the desire for more.
• At the moment of surrender, we feel a deep emotion that is the resolution of conflicts.
• Surrender the one who does anything, who wants anything, who is afraid of anything.

Surrender of the Doer. True surrender involves the surrender of the one who does anything, who wants anything, who is afraid of anything. It is the understanding that the doer is an illusion, a thought or feeling that arises in consciousness.

• Surrender the one who does that.
• This one is an appearance. This one is made of thoughts and feelings.
• When this one is silent, then the world, the body, and the mind are surrendered to silence.

Freedom Through Surrender. By surrendering the desire to control, we find true freedom. We are no longer bound by our fears and desires, but are free to live in the present moment, in accordance with our true nature.

• Realizing that we are not an entity, we take our stand as consciousness, and allow this exposure and relaxation of the knots in the body and the mind, with loving indifference.
• Surrender to not knowing.
• Just say “Yes” inside. That’s all it takes.

9. Everything is an Expression of Consciousness

Everything that is occurring, is occurring in this space. We could call it consciousness.

The Unity of All Things. All objects, including the body, mind, and world, are appearances within consciousness. They are not separate from it, but are expressions of its infinite potential.

• All thoughts, feelings, and perceptions are free-floating in this space.
• In fact, there is no separation between the world, the mind, and the body.
• They are all appearances within this space.

The World as a Dream. The world is like a dream, a play of appearances that arise and dissolve within consciousness. It has no inherent reality of its own, but borrows its reality from the consciousness in which it appears.

• The world does not exist if it is not appearing in consciousness.
• Any object is simply its appearance in consciousness.
• The object borrows its reality from consciousness.

The Divine Play. The universe is a divine play, a dance of consciousness revealing itself to itself. It is a game of hide-and-seek in which consciousness hides itself and reveals itself at its own pleasure.

• Eternity is in love with the productions of time.
• It is a game of hide and seek in which it hides itself and reveals itself at its own pleasure.
• Diversity is beautiful. Consciousness likes to live at the extreme of all its possibilities.

10. The Perfume of Silence is the Ultimate Reality

What remains is the real meaning of the words, that to which we refer when we say “I,” the true answer to the question, the perfume of silence.

The Essence of Being. The true meaning of words, the true answer to the question "Who am I?", is not found in concepts or ideas, but in the perfume of silence, the underlying presence that is always there.

• The words must vanish for their true meaning to be understood and in that moment we realize that we do not understand what is said in these pages; we are that understanding.
• The real question is not in the words and the real answer is not in the words either.
• What remains is the real meaning of the words, that to which we refer when we say “I,” the true answer to the question, the perfume of silence.

Silence as the Source. Silence is not just the absence of sound, but the source of all things. It is the space in which all thoughts, feelings, and perceptions arise and dissolve. It is the ultimate reality, the true nature of consciousness.

• Silence is that which remains after an experience has vanished, whether that experience is a thought, a feeling, a sensation, or a perception.
• Silence is not objective, it is not perceived. It is that which perceives.
• The perfume of this presence will become manifest.

The Timeless Now. The perfume of silence is always present, in the timeless now. It is not something that we have to seek or achieve, but something that we already are. It is the ultimate answer to all questions, the ultimate fulfillment of all desires.

• This presence is completely independent of whatever is appearing within it, just as the mirror is not stained, disturbed, or destroyed by the images it reflects.
• This presence is like a mirror without borders. Everything is reflected within it. Nothing limits it.
• Offer your mind and your body to this presence.

Last updated: February 3, 2025