The two dimensions of time

February 21, 2011

Okay, so here are the two dimensions or distinctions through which I think about time…

Time Expansion / Creation


The quality of our time is the most important factor. To increase the quality, first accept that the past exists as a fiction in your mind based on the stories you have created, and the future does not exist (by definition).  Time spent in these two dimensions is usually time wasted because it is spent disengaged from real time and thus losing it or destroying it.  Thus full presence is the most reliable technique of time expansion. Read The Power of NOW for a fast ramp-up.

 

Any time that you spend unconscious is time that is being destroyed. The most obvious example is dreaming. Most of us don’t even remember our dreams, but we do it every night. That is a whole world of lost time that you can learn to experience in vivid depth.  See Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming.

 

Time Compression / Elimination

Any experience that involves little learning should be eliminated or destroyed. On a small scale this includes very basic tasks that you could be outsourcing (hiring a cleaner or a chef). Many of these things are cheaper than you imagine. Read Four Hour Work Week for examples.

 

On a large scale this includes compressing the time for major lessons. For example, what if you could take a 5-year romantic storm  with a lot of hard lessons, and learn them all in less than a year? If you understand this, you get the importance of learning time compression. (On a deeper level it’s about recognizing your own projections in real-time).  Great books for this are A Course in Miracles and Dark Side of the Light Chasers.

 

These are your two dials.  In any moment, think-  do I want to expand or compress this?