Time: The Prison of The Mind

When talking about living in the present moment many people become confused. The confusion comes from figuring out how to deal with time. We have appointments schedules, and plans. There is also the dilemma of the past, and what needs to be remembered, such as lessons learned and memories. The question becomes how can you live in the moment while still acknowledging the past and the future.

Do dogs comprehend time? They have learned tricks so they remember the past or they would not be able to perform the trick. They also have a sense of future as they know when the sun goes down you will come home and feed them. Does a dog comprehend time? No. What about an infant? Again the answer would be no.

Time is taught to us, it is not inherent. Throughout our formative years, 1-6 years of age, we are constantly reminded of time. "You're going to be late...", "You're wasting time...", "If you get done you will have more time..." On and on this diatribe continues, and soon we accept all things revolve around time. We begin living inside the clock. Our concept of time is; things that are going to happen, and what has happened. We live our lives this way and never question why. How can we question time?

If you have an analog clock, that you can see, look at it and what do you see? The second hand ticking away the minutes. You actually anticipate the hand moving through the moment, as if you were waiting on the bell to ring to end class. Do you watch the second hand, and look backwards to the past? No, you follow it around expecting it to move through the moment, as that is what time does.

We become a prisoner of the clock, because we live inside the clock. We look forward to the future, or backward to the past. We become occupied with these two concepts of time. There is something we need to do, or there is something we should have done. There is no concept of now.

When we draw a bead on the actual moment we are in, through becoming aware, the concept of future and past disappear. In Stanley Block's book, "Come To Your Senses", he calls finding this awareness, bridging. It is a very simple exercise you can do anywhere, anytime. Slow your mind down, and become acutely aware of where you are. The sights sounds smells, and the textural feelings that are around you every second of the day. The things we never pay attention to due to our distorted concept of time.

Now you are zoned out feeling the weight of your body pressing against against the chair, feeling the clothes on your body, and listening to the computer hum. What good does that do? You have become aware of now. You can recognize what it is, you have defined the moment. Now that you have a definition of the moment, you become aware of when you are in the moment, and when you are not. This is the first step of freeing yourself from the prison of time. The more you practice being in the moment, the easier it becomes. Over time it becomes second nature to live in the moment.

You are free from the clock, you become aware of the clock, but from a different perspective. It's just a clock on the wall, that is all. The second hand becomes insignificant as you are in the moment. You still know you have a Doctor appointment tomorrow, and that you will be going on vacation in 2 months, but does it matter right now? You have not forgotten the lessons you have learned, or the memories you have, but are they important right now?

The only thing that matters is now.