Stop what you are doing for just a moment. Just stop. Is there anything wrong with what’s happening right now? Is there anything other than right now?
To be fully present in this moment is to let go of all thoughts about any other moment, including what you think of as the present moment. And when that happens, there is no longer any ‘you’ that is fully present, nor is there even a ‘now’. There is just this. You are presence itself; timeless, boundless presence.
However, you might notice, as I do, that no sooner than there is a falling away of thoughts that thoughts once again arise. In fact, if you examine your thoughts carefully, you’ll notice that many of those thoughts are about imagining the next moment. Many other are about evaluating the previous moment, including having just had an experience of your true nature—your timeless presence.
The mind is what creates a previous moment or a future moment or even the moment of now! It is a restless function that just doesn’t stop. That’s because that is its job. The mind’s job is to create a reality. It does so by creating the perception of linear time. Indeed, without the mind, there would be no perception of time. Likewise, without the perception of time, there would be no mind.
Really look into this. Without mind, there is no time. Without time, there is no mind. One cannot exist without the other. Let’s call mind, time; and time, mind. Or perhaps, mindtime. Mindtime creates who and what you think you are; mindtime influences how you perceive and process information and how you interact with others and the world around you. It influences your motivations; your preferences; your goals; your personality; how you think; how you learn; etc. It is that which you think of as 'me'. Your ego. Your small self.
But all that is an illusion. Your 'me' is an illusion. Your ego is an illusion. Your small self is an illusion. Even mindtime is an illusion created by mindtime. All that you think you are is an illusion created by mindtime.
But the real question—the heart of non-duality—is this: what exists prior to mind and time? That is where the real 'you' resides.
Sure, you might think that understanding your 'me' might be useful; but dropping all understanding of 'me' is liberation.
Update May 8, 2019: After writing and posting this blog post, I sat down and opened to a chapter in a book I've been reading by Kyle Hoobin that contains a series of short essays on non-duality and awakening. The chapter opened this way:
"Mind is time. Awareness is timeless."
Synchronicity? Coincidence? Or just one thing going on!