Right now, what we call 'myself' or 'I' is present. That presence is undeniable, for it is this presence that we are. Any attempt to deny our presence would be a thought that appears subsequent to the already present reality of our presence. The presence of our self precedes the appearance of every thought, and as such, nullifies every denial or doubt of it.
Being present is a real experience. We're not hallucinating, imagining or believing our presence into existence right now. Our presence has a reality that exists independently of the machinations of the psyche.
We cannot legitimately deny the reality of our presence. We are that reality already. You are not nothing right now, nor are you ever nothing. You are. That are-ness, that is-ness is absolutely present and real. Of course that sentence represents the most obvious and simple fact there is; presence is present; you are you. That is beyond simplicity. Did I need to write any of those words for the truth of them to be known and experienced? No. Right? Being present as 'I' is self-evident.
Revel in your presence, it's really something! It's something, rather than nothing, present rather than absent. Wow!
Now, what of this presence you are? Firstly, and most emphatically, being present and being myself are not two distinct and separate experiences. They are one and the same experience. Being present is what we are, by nature, ever-presently.
In that simple wisdom, it is clear that presence is not a choice or action that we implement from time to time, nor a state of mind that comes and goes on the winds of luck or chance, as if it were present only when our yoga, chanting or pranayama practice is flowing smoothly, or our energy were riding the waves of a cosmically ordained convergence of astrological forces. On the contrary, presence is always, unchangingly present, as the utter ordinariness of being myself.
To check again the truth of this statement - purely because it's so enjoyable to be aware of the truth - we can ask our self; have I ever experienced the absence of myself? The answer is obviously; 'No.' Such an experience is impossible. We would have to be present to confirm that our self is indeed absent, not-being.
Our self is never absent to itself, for we are already and always the presence of our self. And not only are we the presence of our self, but simultaneously the awareness of our presence.
By virtue of the lucidity that can affirm, 'I am present', it is also implicitly evident that 'I am aware that I am present.' That is how we know that we are present; we know our presence.
Here, I am referring to 'knowing' as a pure, objectless experience of knowing, which in essence is identical to the pure, objectless experience of being aware. It is objectless in the sense that we do not need an object of perception to be apparent in order for us to know that we know, or be aware that we are aware. We know that we know, or are aware that we are aware, prior to the appearance of all objects of perception. Thusly, the knowing or awareness of our presence is not dependent upon an object of perception. That is the meaning here of 'objectless.'
Go to the presence that we call 'knowing' and then to the presence we call 'awareness', and find the very same presence; our self, that which knows and is aware. Being aware and knowing are, as such, intrinsic attributes of our nature, and are likewise, not choices or actions that we implement from time to time. They are always present as what we are. Awareness is never aware of an absence of itself. But you already knew that when you answered the question; have I ever experienced the absence of myself? We could rephrase the question, has awareness ever been aware of the absence of itself? No! It is the awareness of itself.
To play with hypotheticals, for fun and to prove a point, we can imagine that awareness were absent. What would register or confirm that absence? The only one that registers or confirms anything is awareness. Awareness would have to register or confirm its own absence, which is impossible.
Moreover, there is no other, secondary awareness in our self which could claim the absence of our awareness. There is only one awareness. The seeming absence of awareness could only exist in the form of a mental claim, or imaginary happening, appearing within the one and only awareness our self is.
Being aware is an intrinsic attribute of being present, being our self. It is not a fleeting state rendered in the imagination, or a belief fabricated by thought. Being aware is absolutely real!
Is this realness - that we experience intrinsic to being aware - derived from anything other than reality itself?
For us to determine whether something is an essential attribute of reality or not, we must establish whether this 'something' in question is an ever-present presence in our experience, or merely a temporary phenomenon. Reality itself is, by nature, ever-present, immutable and unchangingly what it is, in essence. So, if the 'something' we observe is determined to be temporary or changeful, then it is evidently not an essential attribute of reality. It would be a manifestation that arises from and subsides into a background of reality more essential than itself, just as a movie is evidently not an essential attribute of the screen because it disappears from the screen, leaving the screen behind.
If, however, the 'something' in question is noticed to be ever-present, immutable and unchanging, that 'something' is certainly an essential attribute of reality, for the knowing of that 'something' would not be limited by time or change, which is precisely the criterion by which we determine absolute reality.
Ultimately, the proof that something is essential to reality is its ever-presence, and that is what awareness is; ever-present. We are never aware of reality without awareness. And we are never aware of awareness without reality. They are one and the same presence, as pure self-identity, our essential identity, the identity of reality.
We are our self, present, aware and essential to reality. Nay, this truth could be formulated more clearly; we are reality itself, being aware of itself.
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