"Know that by knowing which everything is known." --Mundaka Upanishad 1.1.3

Do you remember anytime in your meditation when you feel moments of inner silence and stillness, when you are beyond all thoughts? Are these moments associated with the feeling of inner expansion or happiness? There is an underlying state of consciousness, pure consciousness, that allows us to experience this inner stillness and happiness. Pure consciousness is non-changing. It is pure awareness itself, that which supports all other states of awareness.

It is possible to experientially locate this state of pure consciousness. It is present in between each thought. It is present in the moments of still silence during meditation. It is present in the junctures between waking, sleeping, and dreaming. It is possible to "catch a glimpse of pure consciousness" in any of these circumstances. At these moments, our attention catches the shine of this underlying awareness, just when it is not veiled by other states of consciousness or a barrage of thoughts. The human mind experiences this contact of pure awareness as a "gap," a timeless interlude of nothingness that leaves us feeling deeply relaxed, peaceful, and expanded.

Why does direct contact with pure consciousness give us these experiences? The answer is that pure consciousness, although without any qualities itself, contains the essence of SAT-CHIT-ANANDA. SAT is pure existence, wholeness, truth. CHIT is consciousness, wakefulness, and awareness. ANANDA is bliss, happiness, and contentment.

In these moments when we are in direct contact with pure consciousness, we know that knowing by which everything is known.

--Nafeeah Kim Johnson.