Time and space. The concept of these two ideas is one of the touchstones of the earthly, mortal life. Our lives are mapped out according to the passage of time. We are born, we grow, we have experiences and events that give shape to our lives and influence the people we become, we grow old and look back at our lives and the times that passed, and then, we die. The space in which we traveled is book-ended by our birth and our death in the mortal world, and often it can seem to many that they never really lived. To some, like the playwright Samuel Beckett, whose existential philosophy reduced man to a separated entity totally devoid of an all-loving and ever present God, life was but an instant. "They give birth astride of a grave, the light beams an instant, and then its night once more", one of his most famous lines in his play Waiting for Godot, summed up his idea of the nature of time. Although I do not believe in his philosophy, for I believe and know I am a child of God, I mention this quote because of its undeniable illustration of the illusion of time. One day, one hour, one second, one year, ten years, what difference does it make in regards to a man's life? Time, in my humble opinion, is irrelevant, its what we do with the "time" given to us to live on this earth that counts.
The problem with time and space is in how we measure and use it. Time, no doubt, was established as man discovered the world around him and gave it structure. He noted the rising of the sun, the motion of the stars, the movement of the planets, and the changing of the seasons. Observing all these external phenomena allowed man to construct and develop the idea of time so that he could maximize his production on this planet. Whether it was for farming and the right time to plant seeds, when to harvest the crops, when to prepare goods and necessities for the winter, all these things, and more, benefited from the organization and division of time in the mortal realm. Space, of course, is the measurement between two objects. We can easily see this when we measure the distance between two buildings, or between two stars. Our eyes and senses tell us there is a space between them, and thus, we judge them to be separate from each other. But where does space exist in a man's life? Where does one point end and the other begin showing us the "space" between them? It can't be found, and thus, one can conclude, there is no space in a man's life to measure. He is where he is. Reality is where he is, there is no space somewhere in between him and his reality. So then, what is it we do measure?
St. Augustine, in his great spiritual biography, "The Confessions", goes into explicit detail about the nature of time and eternity. He discovered we measure time in its passing. "But it is passing times that we measure, and we make these measurements in perceiving them. As to past times, which no longer exist, or future, which as yet do not exist, who can measure time, except perhaps a man rash enough to say that he can measure what does not exist? Therefore, as long as time is passing by, it can be perceived and measured, but when it has passed by, it cannot be measured since it does not exist." In essence, St. Augustine is saying that time is an illusion, because the only place where it can be measured is in the past and the future, which do not exist, and only exist within our minds. It is in our minds that we measure time. The future is an expectation of things to come, but which do not yet exist, the present is all that there is which instantly moves into the past which no longer exists, and the past is the memory of what happened, but which also no longer exists. Even here in this ancient text, St. Augustine is postulating that the only real "time" there is is in the present, and he states, "But if the present were always present, and would not pass into the past, it would no longer be time, but eternity." As far as I know, this is one of the earliest texts we have which breaks down what time and space appears to be and shows its illusory nature, being the measurement of things which no longer exist or do not yet exist, and the only "time" that does exist is the Now, or the Present. St. Augustine, were he with us today, may have been a big proponent of the book The Power of Now, by Eckart Tolle.
And thus, time and space is an illusion originating in the mind of man in order to give shape and a framework for the world he lived in, the material world. Time is a construct of the human mind in which figures come and go, experiences are acquired, and an ego identity is formed based upon the total accumulation of these experiences and figures that pass through our mortal lives. We identify with this story in our mind, and thus, our conception of ourselves is conditioned by the past. If we carry the past into the present, the future will be another form of something already experienced. Our conception of who we are is based on nothing, because the past no longer exists, and therefore, is an illusion. When we think about the past or the future, we are not actually thinking, because we are thinking about nothing, since neither the past or the future are in existence. The present is all there is, however, the present cannot be measured because its here in a split second and then in a split second its gone and now becomes the past, which does not exist. There is no space to measure the present, while the past and the future are measured by things gone by (people, places, events), or by things yet to come (people, places, events), but which, by its very nature as we conceive it, do not exist, and therefore, are delusions of consciousness. Somehow we must all learn how to access the Now. Time is an illusion. Now is all there is.
Deepak Chopra writes in his book The Soul of Leadership, "Joy and happiness can only occur right this moment. If you dwell on past joys and wish for future happiness, they are not yours now. But the present is tricky. By definition, now last only a split second before it turns into the past." How does one stay in the present then? "By accessing the consciousness that is in the body," as Eckart Tolle suggests. The inner body, not the mind, is the key to remaining in the present. As Deepak Chopra states, "Your soul is always in the present."
What purpose then, is the time and space illusion? I refer to Abraham Hicks, who points out that the time and space illusion "gives a structure to note our progress, our evolution. Things are constantly expanding. We should look at expansion instead of time." Abraham goes on to say that "The time it takes something to manifest is the amount of time it takes to achieve vibrational alignment with what I am looking for. If I am feeling depressed, or anxious, or angry, disappointed, etc., then, I am holding myself apart from what I want indefinitely until I change that feeling to hopefulness or expectation. I have to be this happy to accomplish it. How much time it takes me to get that happy is up to me. Practice hopeful thoughts, thoughts of appreciation, expectant thoughts, thoughts of happiness. The things that you want feel good when you get there. But you have to feel good before you get there or you would hold them apart and time can be indefinite." In other words, the time/space illusion can be used to create the experiences we want to create in order to progress and evolve to our perfected state, and this all begins with our thoughts.
But what will these thoughts do? How do they affect the physical world I live in? Albert Einstein said, "Everything is energy and that's all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics." Specifically, we are talking about quantum physics, the subatomic world that underlies all of life. Since everything is energy, or a form of energy, including thoughts, we are much more powerful than we believe. All of our thoughts affect the vibrational patterns of the atoms within us, around us, in others, and in the world around. As we raise our vibrational frequency, we will attract those things (people, places, events, and experiences) we want to have. We can affect the quantum level of existence, which unifies and connects us to everything, and thus, "Time" itself melts into an expansive set of possibilities moving out from an eternal Now. In the quantum level of existence there are no fixed objects in time or space, and so there are only possibilities. Thus, by inducing a feeling and emotion to the field of consciousness we are saying to the universe 'I want to experience more of this. This makes me feel good.' Plus, if everything is happening right now, and it is, we have to choose what it is we want to experience, focus our feelings, emotions, and attention on it in order to make itself manifest in the material realm. By affecting the quantum level of existence, we are helping to re-order and re-program the universe to give us more of what it is we want to experience. By influencing the field of possibility with our thoughts, our vision for our life, the feelings and emotions that come with those thoughts, we are asking the universe, God, our creator, (whatever name you want to use), to bring these experiences to us. We are, in effect, bringing the forces of the time/space illusion under our command. We become a co-creator with God, whose Will is our will, and who Wills that we have everything, no more or less than anyone else.
How else do we harness the forces, the invisible forces, of the time/space illusion so that they are at our command? First, we must come to understand and know that we are all connected to One Source, to God (again, insert whatever name you wish), and it is He who created us. Where is our connection to God, to the universe? In our souls, and by aligning with our souls, our True Selves, and thus coming from a natural state of perfection within, the power of God, of Source, within each of us will act like a magnet and attract all that will truly make us happy. When we try to make things happen, usually, it comes from a place of desperation, a sense of lack that needs to be filled. A Course in Miracles states (and I paraphrase) "They seek for love desperately. But by remaining in a state of peace and love, those very things which they truly want will come to them on their own." This does not mean we sit passively in our chairs and expect things to come to us. We do what is required of us until we are inspired by a thought or idea that guides us to what to do next, and then, let life unfold. See only miracles, and you will have only miracles occur in your life. By aligning with our True Selves and the Source within, we will magnetize the very things we want to bring into our lives and experience it - success in our careers; true, authentic, healthy, trustworthy relationships; wealth and abundance; enlightenment; a family; whatever it may be for each one of you - all this will be given us because of the joy it brings to us and to the Source who gives them.
Once we are aligned with the power and love of God within, then we lead our lives from the level of the soul. This idea comes from Deepak Chopra's book I mention earlier in this post, in his chapter on synchronicity. "The work of synchronicity is the unseen intelligence that puts you in the right place at the right time." It is an easy and natural way to live which allows your true self to unfold. It places trust in the soul to guide you to where you need to be when you need to be there. All leaders, visionaries, artists rely on invisible powers to come to their aid. They expect miracles, and when you see the miracles in your life, both large and small, it means you have a strong connection to your soul, and trust your soul will organize events to bring about the best results! Chopra writes, "Synchronicity isn't mystical. It is evidence of the hidden intelligence that pervades the universe. This intelligence coordinates everything in creation, and if you are open to it, it can coordinate the creation of your vision." And thus miracles, or what the world regards as miracles, will become normal, and as this becomes the norm, we will experience the dreams of our lives coming true.
Finally, and most importantly, is the idea that we are already everything. God is Love, and Love encompasses ALL. It has no opposite. And because God is everything, the more we see ourselves as everything, then everything comes to us because that is God's Will.
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