As we all know, time is measured by clocks and, today, by more and more accurate electronic devices. In the distant past it was measured by hour glass or sundial, and earlier still the great stone monuments of ancient peoples measured the passage of sun, moon and stars with extraordinary accuracy. Time runs in linear fashion surely, from past to future, moving through the only part of it of which we can be really aware, the present moment? Time seems to be a fixed and understandable concept which we work with in our daily lives. This is earth time.
Our inner experience of time, or one could say time on the inner levels, is something different, however. We all know how when we are enjoying ourselves time can appear to pass very quickly and when we are unwell, unhappy or bored an hour can seem interminable. The clocks continue to count the seconds as always, but there is something else happening now, and most of us would agree with this phenomenon: time seems to be speeding up, the months and years seem to flash by. It is said that as one grows older this is the case, but now it is also the younger people who feel it.How is this? Time has other mysterious qualities when not tied to material existence. Something is changing here, either in the nature of time or in our perception of it, or both. In addition, although this is not new, many of us will have noticed that in dreams whole adventures can take place in minutes of real time. We have read how Near Death Experiences can appear to last for a long time, but on the return to consciousness, only minutes have passed. Sometimes, when there is something important that needs to happen, time expands to allow it its fullness, or when there is a task to be done, unaccountably the time is there for it to be accomplished.Clearly we are dealing with many dimensions. I like to put it this way: that time is becoming three dimensional. The fact that we can experience this multidimensionality of time, at this point when so many changes are occurring in the world, is surely a sign that our consciousness is opening up and we are now beginning to awaken to new levels of all that is. Our challenge is to notice the subtleties as they become more frequent.
Our inner experience of time, or one could say time on the inner levels, is something different, however. We all know how when we are enjoying ourselves time can appear to pass very quickly and when we are unwell, unhappy or bored an hour can seem interminable. The clocks continue to count the seconds as always, but there is something else happening now, and most of us would agree with this phenomenon: time seems to be speeding up, the months and years seem to flash by. It is said that as one grows older this is the case, but now it is also the younger people who feel it.How is this? Time has other mysterious qualities when not tied to material existence. Something is changing here, either in the nature of time or in our perception of it, or both. In addition, although this is not new, many of us will have noticed that in dreams whole adventures can take place in minutes of real time. We have read how Near Death Experiences can appear to last for a long time, but on the return to consciousness, only minutes have passed. Sometimes, when there is something important that needs to happen, time expands to allow it its fullness, or when there is a task to be done, unaccountably the time is there for it to be accomplished.Clearly we are dealing with many dimensions. I like to put it this way: that time is becoming three dimensional. The fact that we can experience this multidimensionality of time, at this point when so many changes are occurring in the world, is surely a sign that our consciousness is opening up and we are now beginning to awaken to new levels of all that is. Our challenge is to notice the subtleties as they become more frequent.
©2011 Jehanne Mehta
