We all live in time – i.e. the unfolding of moments. When we are gripped by time, it is an indicator that we are living in our lower consciousness. When we become masters of time -- i.e. we are able to control and overcome it -- we are living from a higher level of awareness and power.
Normally, we perceive that time has to run its course. Yet a conscious individual knows that he can control and overcome the duration of time. For example, if I decide to increase my level of organization through greater orderliness and systemization, I gain control of time because I am now in a position to accomplish more quickly. In fact, everything I do to organize myself at a higher level, improve my skills, uplift my wanting attitudes and beliefs, focus on something to accomplish, etc. tends to bring more of time under control. Through such conscious efforts at improvement, time becomes less an enemy but a friend -- as I now live under a greater efficiency in which I produce greater results in a shorter period of time with less effort. Through such efforts, I reduce the time it takes to accomplish, and thereby increase my level of success in life.
And yet if we so choose, we can also completely overcome the constraints of time. From out of nowhere, we can instantly attract results that would normally have arrived after the to-be-expected lengthier period. It is the cancellation of time expressed through the phenomenon of Life Response -- i.e. sudden good fortune. For example, let’s say I want to earn an additional $100,000 per annum. I then take up an initiative that will bring me that result through hard work and effort -- hoping it will be achieved within six months. Eventually, I may accomplish my goal in that period. And yet if I were to access the right inner lever, I can literally attract that result instantaneously. E.g. somewhere during my effort to achieve the additional $100k -- maybe right at the beginning -- I realize that I have had a negative attitude toward a co-worker. When I then overcome that attitude, within 24 hours I receive word of a job offer whose starting salary is double my current $100K remuneration, thereby achieving my goal nearly instantaneously! In this life response scenario, sudden good fortune has overcome the constraints of time, as I have essentially accomplished future-intended results in the present. Thus, by uplifting our consciousness in a certain way in a given situation, we gain control over life, overcoming the duration of time. It is a miraculous-like power that is available to each of us every minute of the day. It is just a matter of being aware of the possibilities, and making the right, conscious choice in that situation.
Here is another approach to ultimate Time Efficiency. Normally, we live in the present, in the sense that we are preoccupied by what we are doing now. In our normal existence, the past appears ever-receding, and the future a distant dream. And yet if we were to experience life not in the momentary present, but in the Ever-Present, we would gain access to the power and knowledge of the past and future to create the time and space negating results in the here and now. Let me further illustrate.
Imagine there is an arc of time that ranges from the past to the present to the future. Normally our mind compartmentalizes these into three divisions of time, not perceiving that they are really a single continuum of existence that we have complete access to. I.e., from a higher state of consciousness, I can have constant intimations of knowledge of the influences of the past on the present. And from the other side, I can have continuous revelations of future possibilities and its implications on the now. In this way, the past and future is fully incorporated into the present moment; in the current activity I am engaged in. Thus, at any moment in time, I can know all things of the past pertaining to the present, and know how the present will project into the future. In this Ever-Present consciousness, I gain ultimate power over life. It is this life and time power that humans of an inner psychological and spiritual bent will increasingly possess in the future. And yet it is a functioning that we can each live now by elevating our consciousness -- i.e. by overcoming our personal limitations and coming in touch with the spiritual Reality.
Though I have spoken of two powerful approaches for overcoming time -- utilizing the right inner triggers to trigger invoke sudden good fortune, and bringing the knowledge of the past and future into the Ever-Present -- we have not yet considered the nature of time itself.
Imagine that there is no universe -- only an Unmanifest that is immutable, ineffable, timeless, and spaceless Being. Now imagine that there emerges a universe out of this reality, and in it, there is now extension. That extension in the manifest universe is what we know as Space. Now, within that still, extended space, movement and change takes place. I.e. the objects of space move, creating a differential between what was, what is, and what will be. Time is that measurement or perception of change that occurs through motion within extension.
Then how does this relate to our own lives? We humans are fully influenced by Space and Time. In fact, we are a product of it. We ordinarily function from a limited consciousness in which we are ruled by the exigencies of Nature, including its slow and difficult methods of progress. However, we can overcome the influence of Nature --including its unhurried, deliberate unfolding; its slow ticking and marked out moments of time -- and greatly facilitate our progress. How can we do this? One approach is to bring duration under control by using our inherent organizational and psychological powers. E.g., I can plan my future so that it occurs much faster. More particularly, I can organize my disorderly files so I create greater work efficiency that speeds up my level of success in life. And yet it is not until we go beyond our normal mental functionings that we can truly overcome the grip of time. How do we do that?
If I live on the surface of life, I will surely be caught up in time. I will tend to be preoccupied by the superficial events occurring around me -- in particular, the visual and auditory sense data that is streaming into and filling up my mind, keeping me from perceiving the big picture, the subtle possibilities unfolding in that moment. As a result, I will be entrapped in those moments of time. However, if I move to a deeper consciousness within, I develop a “witness consciousness” in which I more readily perceive the subtle unfoldings of life, the variety of possibilities around me from which I can make the best, the most conscious choices. With this deep moment-to-moment knowledge, I am far more likely to take to right decisions and actions that produce the most efficient results -- hence abridging time. Interestingly, included in these result will be powerful instances of sudden good fortune, where positive outcomes arrive instantaneously from out of nowhere, overcoming the drawn out unfoldings of time. From that deeper poise, I also have intimations of the past influence on the present, deep insights into present conditions, and intuitions and revelations of future possibilities. I then have an arsenal of insight that enables me to move quickly, and in the right direction, attracting rapid and powerful positive results.
There is one other aspect of time I would like to share with you: that our perception of it depends on the consciousness or plane from which we are perceiving it. The higher the plane we are in, the quicker time seems to unfolds; the lower, the slower. Have you ever sat somewhere with nothing to do -- perhaps waiting for an important client who is very late to a meeting, or you have run out of things to do on the job? In those physical-like scenarios, time seems to slow down, unfolding at a snail’s pace. On the other hand, when we are very busy, time seems to fly by. It is particularly true if our minds are engaged. E.g. if you driving a long distance with a friend, and engage in a stimulating conversation, time seems to pass by very swiftly, as if several hours went by in half that time.
In general, time moves slowest when we are in the physical, material consciousness; somewhat faster when we are in our vital, emotional center; and faster still when our minds are fully engaged. For example, I am often amazed at how fast a class I am leading unfolds when I lose myself in the needs and thoughts of my students.
Interestingly, there is a mode of being in which time moves faster still. When we experience Spirit -- either within, or opening to it above -- the drag of time all but disappears. Those who take to deep meditation know very well that after coming out of that state, several hours will have seemed like minutes. It is the experience of the timelessness of pure Being within. Likewise, those who have taken to spiritual technique of “consecration,” in which you open to the Spirit before undertaking an act, life tends to quickly come under control, cooperating with you from all quarters. It is the ultimate power of the spiritual Force that overcomes the constraints of time.
Finally, it is worth noting that our moment-to-moment experiences of time originated in the Timelessness of the Infinite consciousness. We miss that timelessness behind the moment because we live in our lower nature. However, when we move to our higher and deeper nature, we feel that timelessness in every moment. We then experience the deep bliss that is inherent in the unfoldings of time.
See Also
- other articles on Spirituality
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