The power of time. Uncovering our hidden wealth.
Time is transformational when we are aware of its importance. It is an enigmatic phenomenon. We take it for granted, but we don’t fully understand time. As far as we are concerned, it has only one direction. As the present moves towards the future, what we call as now becomes the past.
Our life as a whole may be divided into the past, the present, and the future. Access to time that has passed is completely revoked from us, but the mind can take us there through stored memories. The future is also off-limits; the mind is free to imagine whatever future it wants. But, nothing is guaranteed.
Time is transformational when we are aware of its importance.
The body remains rooted in the present. We breathe now to live, and we cannot depend on breaths taken in the past. Neither can we pin our life on the breaths to come. The body is, in essence, is tied to the present. But time wears on the body, and we know it is far from being a permanent entity. The mind depends on the body for its existence, and it goes when the body goes.
Living in the conflict between the body that aligns with the present and the mind which does not, we oscillate between what is certain and what is uncertain. No one likes uncertainty in their lives. Yet we forget that the only certainty in our lives is this moment. We are living in it, and we share it, nobody can claim ownership. But, everyone is free to use this moment as it pleases them.
We forget that the only certainty in our lives is this moment.
The power of time is compressed into this moment. It is through this moment that time comes alive as a potent and transformational force. The key to uncovering the power of time through this very moment lies in the understanding of how to expand ourselves. We equate inner expansion with broadening the horizons of the mind.
The mind can only expand into the past and the future and not into the present. Such expansion is limited. Transformational expansion happens when our awareness is on the moment, and we allow that awareness to linger in a non-judgmental and non-interpretative manner. Awareness keeps the moment alive.
Awareness keeps the moment alive.
A waterfall is essentially timeless. It does not have a beginning or an end, as long as the water remains flowing. Likewise, as long as we are in the flow of awareness of this moment, for all practical purposes, time as the mind interprets and projects, does not really exist. Time does not choose some and leave others out. It is an equal opportunity provider.
Everybody alive at this very instant in time has equal access and opportunity to use time. We control whether we are conscious or unconscious to the passage of time, which becomes worthless when it is a thing of the past. The future gets its value from our optimism, hopes, aspirations, and dreams. These have value, but they cannot match the worth of the time we have on hand at this moment.
We commonly equate time with money. They are not interchangeable.
It is one thing to say that “I had a lot of money with me in the past.” But what matters is the money on hand right now. The future may promise to bring wealth, but that is just a promise, a mental assurance, and not actual reality. We commonly equate time with money. They are not interchangeable. With money, we don’t necessarily gain time. It merely frees up time that would otherwise be spent in earning wealth. Unless that time is utilized for personal transformation, it ends up becoming a waste of a very precious resource.
We use time as a marker of change in our lives. It is not the best application of time. Instead, we can turn the passage of time into a point of focus for training our awareness.
A simple exercise of looking at an analog clock face, as we see the seconds, and minutes tick away, awareness will build. It can become a meditative experience. We can train the mind with repetitive tasks. Looking at the face of a clock and watching the seconds tick by can become a powerful exercise in growing awareness.
There is nothing much to a needle moving at a fixed speed of one revolution every sixty seconds. But in that time, the mind focuses on the present. As we dwell on this exercise, we may also begin to feel accountable for the time on our hands.
Those who are aware of every second that passes will work with a sense of urgency and purpose, not necessarily for their selfish ends but as a way of giving something back.
Existence gives us time with one hand and takes it away with the other. Our freedom is limited to the span between this giving and taking of time, our lifespan.
People have different interests and compulsions vary, so it is hard to say what activity is the best use of our time. For some, the best use of their time is in working for others; it may be physical exercise, prayer, helping others, creating something new, and so on. But, we cannot say one activity is more productive than the rest.
The world needs all kinds of people with a vast array of skills, interests, and backgrounds. It takes time to cultivate the mind accordingly. Very few people go about their lives consciously. Most are living unconscious, preprogrammed lives. A fundamental step towards realizing ourselves is recognizing the value of time.
A fundamental step towards realizing ourselves is recognizing the value of time.
What we choose to spend our time on, although important, isn’t as critical as being aware of the passage of time itself. When we become aware of this moment and watch it fade away as the past, that awareness can then become the foundation of inner transformation.
Just as a newborn bird must grow and flap its wings before it can fly from its nest to transcend the body and mind, we must develop the wings of awareness. A bird has a few days or weeks to learn the art of flying, and it becomes independent. We have an entire lifetime, and we choose to remain dependent on the mind and the body.
Everything in existence on earth shares the same time. All creatures, except for humans, function following their inherent nature. Humans have the gift of free will within the realm of limited human consciousness. We can choose how we spend our time. Not so with other animals, birds, or insects. We allow the mind to dictate our nature.
What it means to be human is unknown to us. We think that living by the mind makes us who we are. But the mind is a great deceiver. It takes us away from the present moment into the past or the future. Without the mind, there would not be a past or a future. This moment would be all there is and would continue as ‘this moment’ into perpetuity.
The passage of time marks changes and milestones in our lives. Change is a characteristic of the body and the mind. The body and mind have a short past and a potentially long future the moment we are born, and this reverses as we grow old. From the perspective of the changing body and mind, the flavor of each passing moment is different.
From the perspective of the changing body and mind, the flavor of each passing moment is different.
Time may label the body as young, middle-aged, or old. It may even label the mind as innocent and inexperienced as in a newborn, or mature and experienced in an adult. But time cannot be applied to our awareness. Awareness does not age or change. It is either discovered or undiscovered. Once found, awareness of the present is a timeless phenomenon. It does not have a past or a future.
When we become aware of this moment in relation to the body and the mind, we straddle two worlds. The changing mind-body complex contrasts with changeless awareness. Time then becomes a powerful tool in the hands of an individual who is aware of this moment, with feet rooted in timelessness and hands involved in the temporal changing world.
Maintaining awareness of this moment is possible as long as attention does not drift back into the mind. The mind will invariably take us back to the past or project into the future. It is easier to build a practice of awareness moment by moment rather than look at time as a whole.
We have a lot of company at this moment. The living principle in the body, the active current of thoughts in the mind, the breathing process, the heartbeats, and so on. Linking our awareness to any one of these will help us remain in the moment.
With thoughts, it becomes essential not to identify with them. We can use them as a cue to remind us that the mind works in the present while it takes us to the past or the future. When we work on awareness, it has to be done in the present. It cannot be accumulated like we do our memories or stored for the future as we do with money.
When we work on awareness, it has to be done in the present.
We are standing, at this very moment, under a raincloud of time. It opened up at our birth, showering millions of moments upon us and will continue to do so until the last moment. Just as raindrops are similar to one another, every moment is similar to the next. The mind brings up qualitative differences between any two moments of time.
Every drop of rain is valuable. That value may not seem much for an isolated raindrop, but when rainwater fills up a large and dry lake bed, the value of those raindrops becomes apparent. Similarly, losing a moment here and there in unawareness may seem insignificant to us, but each moment of awareness is very precious. We are empty without awareness. No matter how much we are engaged in the world, activity without awareness does not lead us anywhere. We end up becoming like robots.
We are empty without awareness.
In 24 hours, there are 86,400 seconds. For the sake of discussion, if we equate one second to one moment, it amounts to tens of thousands of lost moments each day. How many of those passing seconds do we spend unconsciously in the world of habits and conditioning versus conscious living through awareness?
This is important because, when we live unconsciously, we end up thinking and acting unconsciously. This may or may not be to anyone’s benefit. We leave our lives and the future to chance. But when we live consciously, we also think and act deliberately, which is a recipe for success in life.
Of the tens of thousands of moments we go through every day, it may not be practical or feasible to become aware of that quantum of time all of a sudden. Even in our everyday working lives, making small adjustments in how we approach our free time will go a long way in making those free moments highly productive ones.
Between any two activities, there is always a little time gap. Rarely do we go back to back all day long. If we do, perhaps it may be beneficial to take a short pause between them. As the mind disengages from one activity and reengages with another type of activity, there is a brief mental slowdown. A temporary relaxation of the mind. Invariably, during such periods of relaxation, it is common for us to dwell on habitual thought patterns that seek our attention. Instead, we can use the change of activity as a cue to become aware of the mind and watch as it shifts gears.
The moments we lose in unawareness between one activity and another during the day are like precious raindrops. Every moment counts. For instance, when we finish work, and we walk to our car in the parking lot, it is usually an unconscious activity. The mind takes it where it wants to during that time, either back to the workday or our home life or someplace else. But we can quickly turn those few minutes into a conscious experience. We can watch the mind as well as the body. Even a few moments spent in such awareness will be a refreshing tonic for the mind and the body.
Every moment counts.
Our inner being becomes like a dry lake bed when we don’t fill it with moments of awareness. Each moment spent in awareness is very fulfilling. Just like plants, animals, and humans may depend on a freshwater lake for life-sustaining water, our peace and happiness depend on the lake of awareness.
Awareness is indispensable for flushing out mental toxins. Dry, unconscious moments are magnets for negative thoughts. Such thoughts are aggressive, invasive, and take over our minds. One of the best cures for a mind full of negativity is living in awareness.
When the mind is already full of thoughts and memories, it cannot hold the power that comes when we lead a life of awareness. The mind has little choice but to empty itself to allow this current of awareness to flow through. As awareness cleans the mind, it flushes out its residual contents. Long-standing, sticky, and hard negative thoughts will eventually be dislodged and removed.
Awareness is indispensable for flushing out mental toxins.
During any given day, we encounter hundreds of negative thoughts. One negative thought, when attended to, can easily waste hours of our time. This simple exercise may help battle negativity in the mind and help clean out the inner world of the mind. Rather than allow negative thoughts to invade our space of attention at random times during the day, just as we have a structured work-life, we can also carve out a regular ‘negative hour or half-hour timeout.’
One negative thought, when attended to, can easily waste hours of our time.
We decide beforehand when that ‘negative hour’ would be, either in the morning or at the end of the day. Since we accumulate them during the day, probably towards the end of the day, between work and going home may work the best. By doing so, there is less chance of cross-contamination between our home and work life.
In this exercise, whenever any negative thought comes to us, we ask it to wait until the scheduled ‘negative-hour’ timeout later in the day.
Two beneficial things come out of this exercise.
First and most important, we slowly build in awareness into our daily routine by recognizing a negative thought and asking that thought to wait for a few hours.
Second, we don’t waste time during the day dwelling upon and trying to work through a minefield of negative thoughts. Just as misery loves company, negativity loves company, and one negative thought will bring along hundreds of its old friends. Imagine the effort it may take to clear all of them out. No wonder, we easily suffer from mental fatigue and burnout.
At that ‘negative hour timeout’ period, it is not just the mind with negative thoughts that is present at that time. Our awareness is there along with the mind. As long as we have a protective cover of awareness, the mind can shower all its negative thoughts, and they will not affect us. It will seem surprising; awareness can easily counter the negativity the mind brings up.
Awareness also implies being in the present moment. There is little or nothing to compare the present moment with, and the mind becomes powerless. The mind gets maximum power over us when it manages to surprise us and catch us unaware. But when we are prepared with awareness, it becomes weak.
Initially, we may need to contend with a flood of negativity. As we persist with this exercise, fewer negative thoughts will show up for that ‘negative hour timeout.’ over time. In isolation, a negative thought has little power. Awareness can easily wash it away.
Awareness also implies being in the present moment.
When negative thoughts begin to leave, and their impressions on the mind become faint and indistinct, the mind becomes a prepared bed to receive the power of awareness. Instead of reminding us of the past or the future, the mind becomes a potent force in this very moment.
Time is powerful when it is employed by a clear mind bathed in timeless awareness.
