Time is considered to be the one thing you can’t get more of. But what if our perceptions of time were just that–only our experience? We’ve all heard the adages, “Time Marches On, Time Waits for No One, or Lost Time is Never Found Again”.
But what if these adages are not true?
What if you can shift your perceptions to allow you to control how you experience time? I know this may sound outrageous to you, but allow me to introduce the idea that time is not linear. In other spaces and dimensions, time has no relevance. So why does it have such a hold on our human experience?
As humans, we have an overwhelming desire to understand, control and predict the things that influence our lives. The concept of time is one of the functions that allows us to do to these things because our brain has an idea of what a minute or hour is. But have you ever been doing something that you really enjoy and it seems like 2 hours flashed by in 15 minutes? Or have you had the opposite experience, where a difficult task drags on for what seems like endless hours?
I was not a fan of the idea that I had limited time, with my kids, to enjoy a beautiful summer evening, or even to do absolutely nothing. We are so pressed for time and to do things, that we have entered the rat race to see who can get the most done, in the shortest period of time.
I have developed exercises that have assisted me in learning to work outside the structure of time as we understand it. I test them whenever I have the opportunity to. There are many benefits to learning to perceive time in a way that serves me instead of being beholden to it.
Using these “time-hacks” permits me to enjoy the day, doing what I desire and feel no stress because I know that I can complete all that needs my attention in a different space. I have a friend who calls these “desire days”. Days to do what you want, when you want and most importantly, without judgment!! I also know that I have the capacity to knock out a project that others would shy away from because it will take too long. One example that I often giggle about occurred on a warm spring day. I had been dating my now husband for a few months and we decided we wanted to have a big Thanksgiving style dinner dinner and invite his family. –
He left for work and I began the mental process of creating a container to make dinner. I got it all in order, physically executed all that needed to be done and got out a lawn chair and a book to enjoy my afternoon.
When my husband got home, dinner was nearly ready and I was reading my book. He asked how I accomplished all of that and still had time to read a book. He had seen his family take the entire day to prepare for a family meal. He could not understand how I did all of the preparation and still had time to relax and read. The truth is that he was always conditioned to be a slave to time. He didn’t know how to flow through space and “time” to optimize his experience.
One of my favorite exercises to begin exploring your interaction with time is very simple and uses a visualization process.
My Time Hacking Visualization Process
I close my eyes and “see” in my head. This way my brain doesn’t have the capacity to distinguish between what is my experience and what is my perception of my experience. I then see a completed task in the distance. You could call it the future, but I don’t like assigning temporal labels because I want to see it as already complete. I then see a flat, wide ribbon between me and the completed task in the distance.
As I am gazing out toward the completed task, I see the ribbon contract and fold over on itself, shortening the distance between me and the task. As I see this distance shorten, it represents the time that it took to complete the task. Recalling the task has already been completed and this exercise is intended to erase your expectation of the amount of time required and reprogram the expectation of taking less time.
This exercise can also be used when driving a long distance but, of course, do not close your eyes while operating a motor vehicle. I envision the road, folding and contracting, just like the ribbon. I also have noticed that when this exercise is done by more than one person, it is even more effective. My son and I were traveling, about 200 miles, which normally takes 3.5-4 hours. Without speeding, he and I were able to traverse this distance in just under 3 hours using this technique.
Experiment with these exercises or any others that allow you to stretch and expand your perceptions of time and how it shows up in your life.
You are a sovereign being, even in your interaction with time!
