Before differentiation and conceptualization, before there is memory of the past or thoughts of the future, there is just the pure fact, the pure actuality, of presence with its complete radiance. Here the consciousness is aware of itself completely outside of time—consciousness and presence as the same thing. Timelessness, which is the full and complete experience of Brilliancy, becomes the entry into the now, which is universal presence. We can think of consciousness being aware of its own actuality as a loop of self-reflection. But a loop implies time, right? Now suppose that the loop gets smaller and smaller—infinitely smaller until the loop disappears. This would mean that there is no time between actuality and the awareness of actuality. There is no longer self-reflexivity or the passage of time. It is a singularity of presence that is a singularity in time. It is completely self-aware right now; its self-existence is its self-consciousness. It is completely timeless.

In the fourth turning, true nature illuminates even more of its possibilities. We see that true nature is beyond space and time. Because it is beyond space, it does not have a size or shape; because it is beyond time, it does not have duration. When people think of true nature as outside of time, they usually think of true nature as a ground through which all time passes; so it is outside of time and yet present in all times. But to think of true nature as present in all times is to include it in time. True nature has no extension in time or in space. Seeing this reveals that reality can appear as unities that are different from the classical unity of nonduality, which is based on extension through space and time. When reality is truly beyond space and time, it can reveal the unity of singularity. Singularity is when the infinity of reality appears in a single point. All spatial and temporal infinity manifests as one point. All space and all time are one point, where the point is all space and all time without any sense of spatial extension or temporal duration.

The meaning of Total Being expands as our experience of true nature reveals more and more of itself. Total Being can shift from being the totality of the individual to the total being of the whole universe to the mysterious total being beyond time and space. True nature allows us to perceive everything in a new light. We recognize that where we are in the moment is not other than anything else. Everything else is within us, and not only everything else but everything else at all other times and places. When we are not experiencing ourselves this way, then we are experiencing ourselves only as the individual and not the unilocal nature of the individual. It’s true that as an individual, we are in time and space. But we are also the true nature of the individual that interpenetrates all time and all space, bringing everything in time and space to one singular point.

As the absolute, we are not only the source of essential qualities, we are actually the source of the situations from which we want the qualities. We are the source of the relationships and activities and life situations that we perceive to possess such qualities. We are, in fact, the source of all creation, all manifest forms and phenomena. We are the source of all; we are the transcendent sun from which everything originates. Recognizing oneself as the source of all can be a very lonely realization. One is the transcendent source of everything, single and alone. However, this is only a reaction based on incomplete understanding of this dimension; for the absolute is not only singularity, but also the very essence of intimacy. It is the source that unifies all of manifestation, just as the center of a wheel unifies all of its spokes. In other words, the question of aloneness returns to her because of her recognition of the singularity of the absolute, that there is only I, as the single source.

What, then, is the relationship of one thing to another? Given that we are all one, what does that mean about our relationships with each other? The oneness or the unity generally brings in a great deal of love and openness, a great deal of relatedness that we see is possible because the oneness does not destroy the differentiation. The oneness is the oneness of many things. We can see the world either from the perspective of boundaries, where there are things separate or not separate from one another, or the question of boundaries can altogether disappear. When the concept of separateness disappears, then things are neither separate nor not separate from each other. Being the individual that we are at the same time as being the true nature that is beyond time and space, we realize we are not other than anything else. The experience of oneness can change from unity to singularity.

The Essential Self is experienced as the most definite of all aspects of Essence. It is supremely singular, and amazingly unique. This unique singularity is recognized readily as one’s true Self. One recognizes oneself in a very direct and simple manner, with a feeling that one has known one’s Self always, even though one has always identified with the vague sense of identity belonging to the ego. The sense of pure identity, of pure selfhood, is completely devoid of, and independent from, any emotion or image from the past. It is the presence of Being, in the specific aspect of Self.

Let’s not confuse being specific with being precise. They are not the same. Being precise is a function of the Clear Essence, the Clear diamond. Being specific is a function of the Point. The Point is the most specific essential presence there is. When you experience the Point, you are a singularity, as specific as one can be. There is no more specific experience of Essence than the Point—a one-pointed, singular, concentrated sense of identity and presence. It is the most specific way one can experience oneself. That’s why we say that it is simplicity itself. It has no parts—it’s one thing, very simple, very specific. And because it is the most specific quality, it aids us in being able to be specific about anything. Precision, however, is a matter of exactness, of distinguishing one thing from another.

Because this deep and satisfying truth is independent in this way, and because it is what we are, when we know it we know that we are here in this place but also that we are there in that place. While we are there, the “there” is “here”; it is not over there. There” exists only in the language of time and space. In the language of truth, nothing is there”—it is all here.” I can only give you approximations that point us to the truth that is inclusive and beyond these concepts. There is not even a “here,” because “here” is a word that implies the concept of space. The point is that there is no “here” and no “there.” The unity we are discussing is absolute, for there is neither time nor space that can separate one thing from another, you from me. We are the same—not two expressions of the same, but the same. If the ultimate truth is such a unity, such singleness, which is actually a singularity, what will the impact be as we begin to be touched by it, as we begin to open to that truth, as we come closer to it? How will we feel its effect on us? Using the conventional language of time and space, we would say, “I am here and you are there.” But since neither of us feels any distance, it seems as though a magnet were pulling us toward each other. We feel that we are one, but we perceive two, and the result is that we both feel a force bringing us together. And the closer we are, the more powerfully we will feel it. Just like two magnets: When they are relatively far from each other, there is some attraction, but the closer they get, the more powerful the attraction becomes. What do the magnets want to do? They want to become so connected that they are one, for one is the truth. Twoness is ultimately appearance, not reality. More accurately, it is simply how reality appears, not what it fundamentally is.

As ego activity diminishes, it becomes easier to stay with and experience fully the selfless openness of the black space. The student can tolerate the absence of the familiar self with little difficulty and may even appreciate this absence. This sets the stage for the manifestation of the Essential Identity. The black space appears as the night sky where the Essential Identity may arise as a brilliant star in the pure darkness. A brilliant point of presence and awareness takes form in the endlessness of space, with the inner recognition: “I am here now.” The student feels specifically present, as a singularity of presence, totally autonomous from all images, representations, or concepts of self. There is a new element in the experience: The sense of authentic identity is present, and it is experienced as oneself. One does not experience it, one is it. This development takes one to a new dimension of experience, as if one is experiencing things from the other side.