The Silent Presence: Why Mindfulness Exercises Are Not a Path to What You Already Are

Silence is not something we practice. It is what appears when the seeker finally stops seeking. But we must ask ourselves, who is this one that is seeking? And what exactly are they looking for? When we truly look, without the filters of our stories, we find there is no one there doing the looking. There is just this—open, aware presence, already complete, already here. We often sit together in silence, perhaps for a few minutes, with eyes closed or open. We try to let that person inside—the one who is always waiting for something to happen in the next moment—simply step aside. This is not a technique to achieve a state. It is an invitation to stay with everything that happens to the body-mind without any deliberate action. When we sleep deeply, without dreams, there is only silence and profound peace. There is a state without separations, a totality. When we emerge, we feel regenerated because we have dipped into this "one" without divisions. Upon waking in the morning, the first thing that emerges is "I." It is not yet a defined person with a name or a history; it is a first opening of the conscious presence in the first person. Without this "I," no experience can appear. If there is no "I," nothing appears to me. This "I am" is already implicit. Then it becomes more explicit: "I am now." But this "now" is not yet time. Time is merely a relationship between different events, a construction of thoughts, memories, and expectations. In this first "I am here," there is no "there" yet. There is only here. There is only now. Then the mind begins to build a "before" and an "after," and time is born. It builds a "here" and a "there," and space is born. Many people come to us looking for **mindfulness exercises** as if they were a ladder to climb. They want to reach a destination called enlightenment. But how can you reach where you already are? There is a misunderstanding that certain practices will lead to a spiritual result. While it is true that certain meditative practices can stop the movement of thought and reveal a world of incredible luminosity and silence, these are not a this moment. The absolute is not a prize for hard work. In fact, many traditions warn against becoming addicted to the sweetness of silence. It can be so satisfying that one might use it to hide from life, entering a state of quietude whenever things go wrong. But then, you are missing the life that is happening. These states of deep quiet can make the mind more lucid. When the body-mind thinks less, it thinks with more precision. Instead of the usual scattered thoughts that jump from one thing to another, thought becomes like a luminous steel wire in an empty space. It is brilliant, yes, but it is still just a manifestation within the totality. It is not "the goal." The point is that awakening is not something "you" reach. If the separate self is an illusion, who is there to be awakened? If I say "I am awakened," it is a contradiction.