When I look into the distance, I see the stars far away. Yet when I touch the floor or my leg, I feel that it is so close. How can consciousness be said to be “closer than close”?

A wonderful question!

When you close your eyes and put your hand on the floor, how many experiences do you discover–two experiences (labeled “floor” and “hand”) or only one experience?

“I only find one experience.”

Right. There’s only the experience of touching.

“Yes.”

And isn’t awareness, or consciousness, aware of this experience of touching?

“It is.”

So, then how many experiences do you discover–two experiences (labeled “touching” and “consciousness”) or only one experience?

“Again, only one experience.”

And isn’t consciousness knowingly touching the experience of touching, so to say, “at all points”?

“It is, yes.”

So, how far away is consciousness from touching?

“It’s ‘closer than closer.’”

Exactly, it’s closer than close. Consciousness, which is totally one with touching, is right here. Let’s set aside the further inquiry into consciousness being that out of which touching is made and go on instead to consider seeing.

“Great.”

How far away is the sight of the stars from you?

“Unfathomably far.”

Let’s say so. Now imagine an invisible thread that can be traced backward to a point that’s about 2 inches from the front of your faceless face. Place consciousness right here. Now open wide to what I’ll term “compositional seeing”: just see relaxedly without any interest in any particular visual object. Do you follow me?

“I do.”

Now imagine that there’s an invisible fishbowl that’s filling up this total composition, this immediate experience of seeing. Let it be filled–with what? With conscious presence. Then drop the labels–fishbowl and conscious presence–and just experience this relaxed, compositional seeing in this way. Still with me?

“Yes.”

Good. Then ask: are there two experiences (seeing and consciousness), or is there only one experience?

“There’s only one.”

Just so. And is consciousness touching, or making contact, with this relaxed, compositional seeing at every point? If that’s not clear, try to find “a point” in this composition where there’s seeing but no consciousness. Can you find it?

[Pause] “I cant.”

Because it’s not there. Consciousness is making contact with compositional seeing everywhere. Then how far away is seeing from consciousness?

“It’s ‘closer than close.’”

Right! Compare the experience of touching with that of seeing. Is either any closer to, or farther away from, consciousness than the other?

[Pause] “The experiences can be said to be qualitatively different, but consciousness, unchanging, is just as close to the first as it is to the second.”

So, the experience of seeing the stars is just as close to consciousness as the experience of tasting an orange?

“Yes!”

Then feel the sweet, gentle clarity of this experiential understanding. Just stay right here.