Relative Time
“Time and space are modes by which we think and not conditions in which we live.” Albert Einstein[1]
There is a wall-clock in my meditation area that ticks softly every other second. As I quiet my mind and body, I use its gentle ticking to set a rhythm for my morning breathing and prayer practices. The time-length of two seconds is constant, in an earthly sense, since we use the rotation of the earth on its axis as our standard: 1 rotation = 1 day = 24 hours = 1440 minutes = 86,400 seconds. We assume that 2 seconds at one time will be the same as 2 seconds at another time. What interests me and is relevant to the concept of relative time is how variable my experience of the length of the 2 seconds between the ticks on my clock can be. If a 2-second period of time is always the same length, why would my perception of it differ so? As I focus on my breathing and become more deeply centered, my perception of the length of 2 seconds is that it shortens, i.e., it passes more quickly. In other words, when I first sit down and begin listening for the ticking of the clock, my experience is that 2 seconds passes much more slowly than 2 seconds passes as I become grounded in my practice. Earth-time appears to speed up as I focus on and in the moment.
Everyone has probably had similar experiences with the perceived passage of time. When we do something we thoroughly enjoy or something we willingly give our attention and focus, our experience is that time passes quickly. When we must do something we dread, our experience of time is that it drags. Certain tasks at work seem to make the work day last twice as long, while other tasks make the day seemingly fly by. Our experience of time is directly related to the focus of our attention. With greater focus, our experience is that time speeds up. When our attention wanders, time slows down. But that cannot possibly be what is happening given the solid anchoring of our time-measurements into the earth’s rotation, can it? Is the clock or our perception the truer, more reliable measure?
Another common experience of relative time occurs in dreams. Even dreams that appear to span a great deal of experiential time occur in a relatively brief period of waking, earth-time, often only a few seconds. Time in dreams is clearly different than time in waking consciousness. I recently had a dream where my mother was present in the home my wife and I lived in some 35 years ago. In the dream, however, she appeared roughly 40 years younger than at her earthly passing in 2010. In the dream she was absolutely the same presence I knew as my earthly mother, but a younger version of her was carrying an important message for me that was relevant in my present earth-time, some 13 years after her earthly life ended. Were the dream, my mother’s presence, her message, and the impossible jumble of different earth-time contexts just a product of my imagination run amok? Was it simply random garbage spewing from my subconscious level of being. I doubt it. I consider this rather typical dream-time experience as evidence that earth-time is not absolute or real for all states of being.
What would the suspension of time as we typically understand it mean? If we could envision a state of being beyond the sequential passage of days and years, how would our life-experience change? Reflecting on questions like these invites deep insights into what we refer to as eternity and eternal life. In the dream there was no dissonance in being in a home from 35 years ago with an image of my mother from 50+ years ago carrying a message with relevance for my earthly life today. All of the different earth-time contexts were occurring simultaneously and were only separate from each other from the perspective of earth-time. Can the spiritual energy that manifested as my long-dead, earthly mother be present with me in this moment? Can that same energy converge on me in many different earth-time-and-space contexts? More next week…
This is the 6th in a series of Life Notes on Space, Time, and Eternity. The opinions expressed here are mine and not necessarily those of others. To engage with me or to explore contemplative spiritual direction, contact me at ghildenbrand@sunflower.com.
[1] Theoretical Physicist, Alyesa Forsee, Albert Einstein, p. 81.
Contemplating Grace 