Energy pervades the whole of creation. Creation is made up of space, time and matter. The same energy appears in various forms, such as light, sound, heat or matter. It is difficult to recognise that matter is energy. But once we realise the fact that energy is changing form constantly, our understanding of everything shifts. We realise that the universe is complete in itself. Energy can neither be created, nor destroyed. It only changes form. The moment we realise that form is impermanent, the way we relate to events transforms…
Mind recognises time only through the changing world. The mind senses a change in the outer world and labels it as an event. Thus the mind perceives time in terms of events and change. The moment the mind stops perceiving change, it stops perceiving time. This can happen in meditation, deep sleep, or, in a state of shock.
We humans have five senses through which we perceive the world. How we relate to the universe totally depends on how we perceive it. The mind receives information of the outside world through the five senses (sight, hearing, etc.). The senses have no intelligence they just relay information to the mind. The mind is the faculty of perception. In meditation and sleep, the senses withdraw from the world, while in a state of shock; they get disconnected from the mind. Either way the mind ceases to perceive events and change. It is in a state of timelessness.
Time does not exist for the enlightened in this usual sense. They remain in the present moment, witness to all that is happening.
Time is the distance between two events. It is a concept created by the mind.
Time and the mind are linked. The mind divides life into parcels of time. We are unaware that we are living within these parcels. Most of us see life as moving from one event to the next. We thus believe that there is 'cause and effect' relationship between the events.
***Time is Mind
Since our perception of time is created by the mind, is it possible to move towards a life free from the illusion of time? Is it possible to live beyond the concept of time?
Very young children live in the moment. They have no concept of time. When they are hungry they cry for food; when fed, warm and secure, they sleep. As they grow they become impatient, eager or expectant. Suppose they are going to a friend's house or to the park, they ask every few minutes, "Is it time, yet?" And when they go on a trip, they constantly ask, "Are we there yet?”
To children, time is not a sequence of events. They move from one activity to the next as it comes to them. They have begun to anticipate the future. Do you remember waking your parents early on a holiday or picnic? To them it seemed early, for they may have only slept a couple hours.
Adolescents have a different way of perceiving time. This is the period of most physical and emotional change. The mind is maturing but the emotions are turbulent. They may hold onto past hurts, or want to become grown up. The emotional turbulence sweeps them from past angers to future anxiety. They cannot relax and rarely experience the stillness of being in the present moment. Have you noticed that they feel the necessity to be competitive amongst their peers? Adolescents fear being judged or criticised. Performance anxiety is a sign of fear of the future.
Depression is a sign of being stuck in the past. Holding onto past disappointments create a sense of failure, leading to despondency. Adolescents also can spend a lot of time daydreaming and romanticising about the future. Most of us remain in this state of mind all our lives! (Maybe our society as a whole is going through adolescence!)
As we become older, we begin to plan and organize our lives. We make decisions about whether we have enough time or not. Ultimately schedules, timetables and to-do lists, start taking over our lives.
Children never feel they don't have enough time. They feel they have all the time in the world. Look how resistant children are to going to bed, or to putting away their toys, or to coming in to eat dinner. Their mind is completely engaged, whatever activity they are involved in.
Just the opposite is the case with older people. Insignificant events of the day start taking on more prominence. Because the mind perceives events as signalling the movement of time, for many of them, time moves very slowly. This is particularly true if they are bedridden or feel they have little control over their lives. So, they may complain, "Its 10 o'clock. Why hasn't the nurse come to give me my medicine, yet?" Or "Its dinner time, why isn't dinner ready?" Time moves slowly if there is nothing to do.
When we are waiting for something to happen, the mind tells us that time is moving too slowly. We may look at our watch frequently, or go to the mailbox more than once to see if the mail has arrived.
Most people want instant gratification. When desires are not immediately indulged they become unhappy. Over ambition creates feverishness in the mind. Ambitious people rarely enjoy the present; they are constantly focused on achieving something more in the future. This causes restlessness, worry, stress and ill health.
When we are happy, time seems to move quickly. Have you noticed that when you are doing something you really enjoy, time flies? However, if you are working on something you do not particularly like, time seems to move incredibly slowly. When we are sad, too, time appears to move slowly. Changes in the emotional state cause the mind to perceive time differently - that time has slowed down or speeded up.
Sometimes time seems to stand still. This happens when we are totally absorbed in an event. Have you watched a sunset or looked into the eyes of a newborn baby? The whole world disappears in that moment. It is meditation.
In meditation one has to drop the mind. Letting go allows the mind to withdraw into its source, beyond itself. Haven't you been surprised to see how much time has passed when you come out of meditation? Real meditation transports us beyond time.
***Different Views of Time
Earlier cultures had a different view of time. Agrarian, nomadic and tribal cultures began their day when the sun rose and people rested when the sun had set. There was a natural awareness of the cycles of time. These were daily cycles, seasonal cycles or bodily cycles. They were aware that life had a natural rhythm. They lived in tune with nature.
In modern times, the day begins and ends irrespective of when the sun rises and sets. Isn't this so? People get up when they have to go to work or to school, and go to bed late at night when they have finished all their activities, not getting enough rest. They rush from one thing to the next. All this creates stress.
Punctuality and progress have become all-important today. Projects must be completed, irrespective of the rising and setting of the sun. This type of thinking has led to technological advancement and modern comforts. But at what cost? High blood pressure, heart attacks and other stress related diseases are on the rise. The more entangled one is with time, the further away they are from a healthy lifestyle.
The mind relates one's capacity for work with time. Our mind assesses the task in front of us with the amount of time we have. We say, "I do not have enough time to do this" or "I have all the time in the world!"
Have you ever been told to 'act your age'? Usually this is said when you are not behaving your physical age. The mind has a concept of how people of a particular age should act. Usually this is said to you when you are enjoying yourself in the present moment. If we all only 'acted our age' life would be so predictable and boring. When we identify with the amount of time we have been alive, we believe we are either too old or too young to do something. Our physical age has nothing to how old or young we feel.
Youth is the ability to enjoy life and appreciate beauty. Anyone who retains this ability is forever young. In fact, youth is transcendence of time.
Have you ever asked yourself, what is time? Are we bound by time, or does time bind us? Perhaps, time does not even exist.
When you wake up at 6 AM Monday morning and you are going to work, how do you feel? "Oh", the mind tells you, "it's too early to get up." Sunday, you suddenly wake up at 6 AM in the morning, you realise you don't have to go to work. You feel different. The mind says, "Oh, I am going to lie at home watching TV, go for a walk, or be with friends". The time is the same, the attitude has changed.
The mind likes or dislikes activities, and labels the time when they take place as pleasant or unpleasant. When we look back on our life, we remember it as a series of good or bad times. Isn't it so?
Often, an event is interpreted as good or bad depending upon when it has occurred. We say, "This isn't the right time to start a business, or, to get married". The mind associates certain consequences with certain patterns in life. This is the basis of superstition. Similarly, we relate to good things happening to us at certain times. This is the basis of faith. All of this is in the mind.
***Beyond Time and the Mind
Enlightened people are not bound by time. They live in the present moment, witness to all that is happening. There is no past or future for them, only an infinite present.
Most of us vacillate between the past and the future. There is regret about the past. Our past experiences shape the way we move towards the future. We anticipate the future. We look forward to it or worry about it.
We are expecting something from the future whether our attention is on the past or the future. When we step beyond expectations, into the moment, we transcend time. Life is no longer seen in terms of cause and effect. That is, one event does not trigger the next. Every event is independent. Another way of looking at it would be that there is only one continuous event. It is the mind that fragments this continuum into seemingly separate events. These appear related through cause and effect.
An example can help us see this more clearly. When you go to a movie, the story on the screen appears continuous. But it is actually made up of many frames. It is only because the film is moving that the story seems continuous. In life, the apparent events are like these frames. The mind strings these events together to create an apparent reality. This continuous stream of events in time creates an illusion of past, present and future. Because the mind has a tendency to attach itself to events, it moves away from the present.
The enlightened mind is unattached to events, and so has transcended time. The enlightened realise life is not events connected in time and space, there are only situations rising and falling. One has realised, "I am not the doer." Events are rising and falling like waves in the ocean. "I am the witness…..I am not part of the rise and the fall; I am beyond that, infinite and unbounded".
When we are bound in time, we remain unhappy and stressed. The mind limits itself by getting caught up in concepts of time. But once we realise that the mind has created our perception of time, we experience a new reality. When we go beyond the mind we know everything is possible.
Enlightenment is realising your limitlessness.
Love and Blessings,
Deepam
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