The normal self is the mind. The mind is with limitations. But pure Consciousness is beyond limitations, and is reached by investigation into the "I."
Of all the thoughts that rise in the mind, the thought 'I' is the first thought.
The world is illusory, Only Brahman is real, Brahman is the world
The experience of silence alone is the real and perfect knowledge.
The body dies, but the spirit that transcends it cannot be touched by death.
There is no greater mystery than this, that we keep seeking reality though in fact we are reality.