During the discussion in class on Tuesday there were some things that I feel I left unsaid and perhaps I might be able to illuminate these points now.
Concerning the matter of time we have to consider the use of this concept. Why is it here? What is its use? If we look at it from a purely mathematical perspective it is a way of measuring the space between any two given events. The very model of time that we use in order to calculate this is based on the cosmic event surrounding the Earth’s orbit around the sun.
While we have adopted this measure in order to articulate the passage of time it is a very unique experience for each person and from the posts that we have from Erika, Reynolds and Jake we are beginning to see a consensus. Time for human beings has a very structural function for our method of thinking. We categorize and file our thoughts and memories in regards to the time in which they took place so that there is an organization to them, a structural framework in which we can use to recall them.
For this reason I think that the rational regarding time being relative is spot on. As we have experiences where we are filing away large chunks of data we tend to experience this loss of time. Consider having one of the best days of your life and how inherently you might try and commit every moment of this day to memory – and then somehow remain shocked, surprised or even disappointed that it has passed too quickly. Meanwhile, when doing anything hardly worth committing to memory (and this is a very personal idea), time seems to drag on forever.
I’ve referred to Ouspensky before and I’ll probably do this throughout the quarter. He has a very unique idea concerning time and the consciousness. For Ouspensky, he believes that we, as a collective, are currently unconscious and unaware. At the same time he believes that we have these moments of enlightenment that occur and in these moments we experience what it is like to become conscious and aware. Boldly he even made a calculation that these moments of awareness have a lifespan for most people that seem to be universal for the untrained practitioner. He asserts that when an untrained mind experiences these moments of awareness they last no longer than two minutes at any given time and the challenge for us, as a people, to evolve is to somehow train our minds to cultivate these moments and maintain them in our daily lives.
You can test this theory for yourself. Take a moment and clear your mind. In this moment think of nothing else beyond yourself. Think of nothing more than being, in that moment, exactly where you are. You will find that if you have no experience in meditation you cannot maintain this clarity of mind for a length any longer than two minutes before your mind begins to stray. Even more interesting is that if you attempt to do this immediately after your time will progressively decline.
Curiously, in these moments of enlightenment, one’s mind has the capacity to lose touch with time and they can stretch out for what might seem an eternity. This is no different than our dreaming state where a moment of sleep can procure a lifetime of experience. Could this challenge the existence of time? It also begs the question: Is the consciousness of man limited, in any way, by the confines of time when it is fully tapped?
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