THOUGHTS FOR CONTEMPLATION

Time. We can see it move forward by watching the hands on a timepiece move clockwise or observe the digital numbers sequentially progress on our wristwatches. We can even lose awareness of time by letting go of controlling our thoughts and slipping into that magical space of daydreaming where all the boundaries that normally hold our minds in a certain space dissolve and we are free to be without  constraints on our awareness.

So is time a real thing? Science tells us time is basic to the existence of the universe since it is the Time/Space Continuum that creates the boundaries necessary for the manifestation of our universe. Intricate, interlacing systems of celestial bodies in motion are linked to one and other through the basic forces of nature known as gravity, electromagnetism, weak and strong, that reflect the way matter and energy dance together on the stage of existence. Record of this flow through time has been recorded since the first millennium B.C. when humans began recording astronomical phenomena in a book called an Ephemeris. Even today, this same book is used by scientists to launch satellites into orbit and by astrologers, such as myself, to find trends in planetary motions that allow me to predict future events with a great deal degree of accuracy (there is always unknown factors that can affect an outcome).

Science tells us time flows in one direction: from the past through the present and into the future. Yet, the only basic law of physics that distinguishes the past from the future is the second law of thermodynamics which states that heat can only flow to a cold body, never a hot body. In elementary scientific equations, "the arrow of time appears only where  there is heat", according to theoretical physicist, Carlo Rovelli, in his fascinating book "The Order of Time." (I highly recommend it). So every time a difference is manifested between the past and the future, heat is involved. 

Even thoughts unfold from the past to the future, not vice versa. Thinking produces heat in the brain by creating waves of energy that flow through the medium called "Mind" in Yogic philosophy (from the study of the Raja Yoga Sutras). It is this flowing property that runs unimpeded in our conscious-ness when we are daydreaming or exploring possibilities by "brainstorming." 

When you are asleep,  your unconscious mind awakens from the reptilian part of your brain and provides a dream that has a script.  Your consciousness gives voice to projected images appearing on the movie screen of your mind (back of the frontal lobes). This nightly experience called "dreaming"provides you great insight into issues in your daily life by revealing what your body knows about where you are, and yet your conscious mind has failed to acknowledge. 

So what happens to time when you are dreaming? Or when you are daydreaming? Or when you are so involved in a physical activity or a creative project that you lose awareness of time?

You have entered "THE ZONE." You have withdrawn your awareness from the Outer World and entered Inner Space where time doesn't exist. It's the same space you enter when you truly experience the meditative state called "Lower Samadhi". In this space, there are no objects or colors or sound, just a sense of expansive space. The mind becomes perfectly still like the surface of a calm lake. A feeling of peace arises. There is no movement. No heat being transferred. No thoughts generated. The concept of time eludes you.

You are in Peace.

Enjoy!

Melinda Ann