Time is not a clock. It is the Tao in disguise.images-1

What is an individual’s experience of time?

What purpose does time serve?

Could we create more time?

What would it be like if we were given the opportunity to develop our own relationship to time? For instance, we didn’t have to obey such rules as: “time to go to work” or  “30 minutes for lunch”?

It started with these questions on the periphery of my awareness that slowly folded in, then unfolded into a series of long pauses. The final ripple to these questions were my thoughts pulsating on the abstract definition of time.

These questions were not entirely new. I have been toying around with the idea of time being an illusion for a long time. This time though, it seemed these questions brought with them experiences of “time depth” (my name for it): vast, endless, unbroken.

I felt myself immersing in layer upon layer. It was as if I was in all time and fully aware of the minutes ticking by.

If I had stayed in that state, I could have poured so much of my being into each moment with precision and intention; it was shocking that it was possible I could dive deeper, remain conscious and experience such fullness.

 

Time Architecture

Time within our inner consciousness has different rules and that is where a minute can feel days long, or a week-long vacation can seem to pass within the blink of an eye.

How ever we experience reality whether fleeting or languid, it is within our consciousness that the time bending happens.

Time bending means using time to support your life so that you feel you have enough of it to be you no matter where, when or how.  It is by reintegrating our own inner timing/needs that external time (clocks and schedules) becomes an ally.

The truth is that we do know what each moment needs from us and what we need from each experience. We just need to listen for the answer from within.

And this is the biggest reframe for me: to take my time because it is my time/my life – not my job’s, my husband’s, my kid’s or even God’s. I choose how long I take to get ready, or how much time I “wastein dilly dallying.

This doesn’t mean that I am going to be late for meetings or not make dinner in the evening. No.

What it means is that I have the right to spend my time however I like. Sometimes, I may be late for meetings or events because I am so immersed in an experience and that is OK with me.

images-2I have to be honest, I cannot always pass up the opportunity to rejoice in the bounty of beauty that surrounds me: birdsongs, laughter, a conversation, being quiet. These experiences pull me in and I want to be there more than in a future event. Sometimes, it is an insight waiting to be discovered and other times it is my heart wanting to fly.

I love these moments because they make my life so worth living. So, when the fallout happens, ie. being late, or missing the beginning of a movie, I accept it fully as the price for my choices.

This new relationship with time is opening up wealth and prosperity consciousness that I did not fully value before: I take my time doing the things I especially love. For example, watching the breeze move through the trees, or listening to my son’s footsteps as he races around the house.

I feel I really do have all the time in the world. WE ALL DO.

If you’d like to experience and explore time depth, here are my 4 action guides to help support you through this process.

  1. Use Breathing Exercises. any which way you look at breathing changes the way we experience time/reality.My current favourite is the alternate nostril breathing: the beautiful Anuloma Viloma. This exercise rebalances the left and right hemispheres of the brain, clears the mind and generates a sense of positivity throughout the day. (I am going to be exploring the benefits about this in my next blog). Want to try it?
  • Simply Inhale through left nostril closing the right nostril with the thumb
  • Hold the breath by closing both nostrils
  • Exhale through the right nostril whilst closing the left nostril with the ring finger and little finger
  • Inhale through the right nostril whilst keeping the left nostril closed with the ring finger and little finger
  • Hold the breath by closing both nostrils
  • Exhale through the left nostril whilst closing the right nostril with the thumb
  • Repeat a few times. Sit quietly and observe your feelings and thoughts. You may feel more spacious!
  1. Immerse yourself in time richness. Whenever you find yourself running to a meeting or dashing through a to-do list, ask yourself: why am I living like a time-pauper?Stop the chasing, slow down and switch off the emergency button. You have time. Contemplate how would a time-rich person behave in such a situation as yours? Your inquiries may open surprising, new ways to engage with time and schedules.
  1. Give away your time! Spend some time day-dreaming. Idle away the hours. Doing this will help you to reframe your relationship to time. You have time.
  1. Meditation & Mindfulness. Sit down. Observe your thoughts and feelings. Are they mindful or mindless. Nourishing or nagging? Can you become more present ie pour more awareness into the moment? Think of witnessing your thoughts and feelings as a tool that allows you to choose how you want to experience the moments you are in that eventually add up to become your life.

These are just a few ways to shake things up with time.Try them and see how time bends for you. I would love to hear of relationship to time and what changes you have made to create a better quality of life.