We appear to be sentient and residing inside a body, and this is indeed just an appearance. The body and the world appear inside our minds only, and the mind borrows it's light from consciousness.
“The body appears in your mind,
your mind is the content of your consciousness; you are the motionless witness
of the river of consciousness which changes eternally without changing you in
any way."
Nisargadatta
Maharaj
The mind is like a
wave, a small movement in the ocean of
consciousness.
Consciousness is ever
changing, and it's not continuous, it might disappear, so, it can't be the
ultimate reality.
There is an
eternal absolute reality aware of consciousness, and this is pure awareness, the
eternal witness, the substratum of any perceived
reality.
Ultimately, we
are that.
“You are so accustomed to think of yourselves as bodies
having consciousness that you just cannot imagine consciousness as having
bodies.
Once you realize that bodily existence is but a state of
mind, a movement in consciousness, that the ocean of consciousness is infinite
and eternal, and that, when in touch with consciousness, you are the witness
only, you will be able to withdraw beyond consciousness
altogether."
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
