To the time travelers: I think it's about time I asked a question about time and the spiritual meaning of time

LOL, that almost made my head spin. :)

Basically, here is what I believe.

Time is an illusion set in place so that spiritual beings existing in human form can experience this Earth. In the spiritual realm, there is no time, everything is happening all at once. In the spiritual realm, all one has to do is focus and you are brought to exactly what you are thinking of. It could be a loved one on this plane thinking of you and so you think of them and *blam* you are there. There is no travelling per se, just focusing.

I think that the illusion of time is there for good reason. It's almost as if we came to here to experience the opposite of our natural state of being. Here we have so many restrictions. Gravity for one. Time. Endings and beginnings. Night and Day.

It is my beleif that in the beginning it was just the creator and the void. The creator could not see itself because the void doesn't reflect. So the creator decided to expanded, to push forth itself and fill the void. So the creator became the Universe...the stars, the planets. Maybe at some point, the creator wanted to see itself as a lifeform different from the massive planets and stars. And so the creator kept creating.

Maybe we where little sparks of the creator...which where much like stars, until we came here and experienced life.

We are the creator experiencing itself through us. In order to pull this off though, things need to be slowed down, there has to be some sort of order and limitation. Otherwise, there would be no purpose for us to exist on this planet...and if we weren't limited and restricted....would we really stay here? Or would we want to vibrate back to the space level, where things are lighter and where time doesn't exist?

We are only one part of creation here on Earth. Maybe there are many other Earth's that have less restriction...maybe this is a training ground and when we evolve enough, we will move on.

Perhaps even the old souls (like you and I) are really young souls, in the grand scheme of things. Maybe levitation is considered a parlor trick on other Earth's. ;)

Trippy concept huh?

*How can I shift my perspective and come to know myself in time?*

Even when one can see beyond the illusion of time, they still have to work within the boundaries of it. Time is never the enemy. That very thought is a part of the illusion. Fighting against time only makes the illusion stronger. Seeing time for what it is, allows one to exist within the parameters and still see outside of them and act with that knowledge.

Time is here for us to be able to view past, present and future, to experience a moment, to look forward to a future...to basically break up a whole in order to understand it better. If everything was happening at once for us, every emotion, every beginning and ending, every joy and sad moment would all be in one big mass of...happening. :)

These are my thoughts on it. :)

*edit*

By the way, this was a great read! :)

With regard to ‘time’ I have cut and pasted something from my own book, I hope it helps in answering; at least in part, your question on ‘time’ as it demonstrates ‘physical’ and ‘spiritual body’ in contact with each at the same moment in time, and yet separated in time. ‘However, a word of warning is needed here. While experience has shown me ‘astral doorways’ do exist, I would point out that in Druidry, (See 27th annotation) the ancient ‘Trilithons’ of Stonehenge, ‘sacred groves’ and the like, while they and any such doorway can give access to previously hidden realms and altered states of consciousness, also have the potential of being extremely dangerous. Because when carried out correctly, one is normally aware of the physical body and at the same time is in and fully aware of the spirit (astral) body being outside of the physical yet in complete touch with both at the same moment in time. In this position, the inner spirit, ‘at times,’ can be confronted with what appears at first glance to be a negative situation and if one cannot handle it, trouble is clearly on the horizon. Indeed, I have met several people who have ‘consciously’ tried astral projection but have never been able to pass the initial ‘exhilaration phase,’ (for those who have experienced this you will know what I mean.) Fear of the unknown has gripped the mind and has put a stop to the next phase. Further, should the two bodies ie, the astral and the physical suddenly impact and ‘jolt’ during astral travel, it is a sure sign of an imbalance within, unless the ‘jolt’ had been caused by the presence of another person nearby, or a rough landing, as it were. My advice is simple, forget it! Astral doorways can be dangerous and are quite unnecessary, because if one is not properly centred and mentally equipped when travelling through such doorways, it can and will cause a great deal of psychological damage. I feel very strongly here those who advocate such methods (and there are many) would do well to demonstrate some measure of responsibility instead of making astral travel sound like some wonderful thing at the bottom of a garden! Since astral travel can have its dangers, clearly it is not a game! Therefore, I would not recommended astral travel and certainly not to the timid. On the outside, the house looked so sweet and delicious, but once through the door the suffering began. Hanzel and Grethal were lucky, they escaped unharmed. Oh how sweet and mysterious ‘astral doorways’ appear!

There is no time but now.

Time is an entirely human invention, in order to categorise & stabilise a changing universe.

It exists only in the linear, 3-dimensional "reality" we call home.

Time is entirely dependant on physical "reality", hence the time-space continuum: time & space are intrinsically connected.

When one moves beyond space (matter), one also moves beyond time.

In the higher or spiritual dimensions time is a concept which simply does not apply.

This is why all the stories of the fairy realms & other such dimensions say that time flows differently there (i.e. Rip Van Winkle).

If we can become wholly conscious of this, we can move beyond the wheels of time, karma, reincarnation, into the state of Buddhahood, Godhood, Transcendence.

The Fountain of Youth, or transcendence of time, IMHO, involves a seperation from the physical also, so to "live forever" is to allow the body to (at least partially) dissolve, to make the physical incarnation one of many possibilities, to "dip in & out".

Time has no actual speed, just relative speed, so it is possible to move "faster" than it if we change our relative relationship to it. Alternative streams are happening right now & it is possible to tap into these, but to shift & travel them means a shift of existance, of paradigm, a letting go of physicality.

And letting go of this physical existance, & all the loved ones in it, is not an easy task. We are very attached!

I have security that all my loved ones are present on the timeless planes anyway, we are all "up there" right now, having a good laugh at our silly lives "down here".

But I love this physical reality & don't want to leave just yet, when my time comes though, I seriously don't know if I want to come back here again.

I grow weary!! ;-)

If you have the time...........

We are in a period that in times past, was called a quickening.

The universe is expanding at an accelerated rate. A quantum increase, if I may use the term.

When this occurs time as we know it speeds up.

Have you ever heard someone say: "There just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to get things done?"

There is much truth in this statement.

My Shaikh or Teacher gave a two hour discourse on this very topic, in the fall of 1981.

(I hope you agree that there is no need to go into details.)

If a person has a certain awareness, they can observe this happening in the world today.

Time can be mans ally, depending on how it is utilized, and we should indeed utilize it very, very wisely.

There is a time to play, and there is a time to work.

If someone were to ask me what time it is, I would say it is time to go to 'work'.

May we all use 'space and time' wisely.

Time moves 'much faster' than we 'think'.

"Peace be always with you."

All that makes interesting sci fi movies, but I don't think it's reality.

Time is just a measuring tool that we use, based on the axial rotation of our planet as it spins around a yellow star. That's all it is.

What reality is, IMHO, is one constant NOW. The future exists only in our imaginations and the past exists only in our memories. Both past and future are only concepts, completely cognitive, and aren't any more real that any other idea that exists in abstract.

We tend to think "digitally." One moment comes into being as "the present," then goes off into the past while a new moment slides in from "the future," to become the new "present." That's only a trope, a way of symbolizing something imaginary and very abstract.

What IS reality, is more "analog." One constant NOW is always here, even if we are projecting our expectations on what might happen tomorrow, next year, etc, and even if we are remembering what happened yesterday, last year, etc.

Expecting and remembering are only mental constructs. They aren't reality the same way that stones and people and God are reality.

Kairos…. "a passing instant when an opening appears which must be driven through with force if success is to be achieved.

In the NT, "the appointed time in the purpose of God", the time when God acts”…or…. the kairoi, those critical moments, when an opportunity for, and indeed a demand, an existential decision - the coming of Christ being the prime example”.

“One has the choice of danger or opportunity, a chance to build something new out of the old...... Kairos time, bridges the tearing down of the “old way” with the building of a “new way.”

According to ancient Greeks, Kairos was the god of the “fleeting moment," , “a favorable opportunity opposing the fate of man.” The moment must be grasped,otherwise the moment is gone and can not be re-captured".

The epigram by Poseidippos was carved on the statue of Kairos:

"Who and whence was the sculptor? From Sikyon.

And his name? Lysippos.

And who are you? Time who subdues all things.

Why do you stand on tip-toe? I am ever running.

And why you have a pair of wings on your feet? I fly with the wind.

And why do you hold a razor in your right hand? As a sign to men that I am sharper than any sharp edge.

And why does your hair hang over your face? For him who meets me to take me by the forelock.

And why, in Heaven's name, is the back of your head bald? Because none whom I have once raced by on my winged feet will now, though he wishes it sore, take hold of me from behind.

Why did the artist fashion you? For your sake, stranger, and he set me up in the porch as a lesson".

"I am ever running.... I always rotate",

There is a sense of Justice and Correctness. when spontaneously living in the moment…living in the Now with Purpose. Mysterious doorways are available, if one simply chooses the opportunity at the right time, in the right place. Divine Inspiration is real enough.

"Time waits for no man".

(you re-member now)

Your litany of "time" phrases is almost poetic (license?)...and it is a very thoughtful question, which is so refreshing for a change of pace in this forum. i have no huge philosophical nor intellectual answer from personal "experience," other than the many events of timelessness that i've known when focused in the present moment...in these instances (instants) i have been literally out of time (better put, outside of time). We have all fallen into these events of deep attentiveness to the task (or reverie) at hand, without noticing the passing of this unreality we call time...perhaps arriving back into ego awareness with a startle at having arrived somewhere or accomplished something without engaging in time's passing. It would seem that it is ego personality that constructs such a false phenomenon, marking its "self" importance through placement and measurement...I am here, and I need to be there; or, I must have this now: or, I do not want that ever; or, I have being because I can track myself and my actions through time and place. The false ego attempts to anchor itself in its body through pegging itself to markers and stakes that frame boundaries which, of course, are the stuff of which separation is made. Seeing oneself as separate requires the idea of distance and time. The ego's experience of "time" will disappear with its own dissolution...and then all sense of separation will also disappear. No ego = no separation consciousness = no time consciousness.

i am Sirius

It is said that time is the illusion and events are what mark the passing.

Consider far outside the box we call the physical "known" and try, if you can, to imagine "all things" occuring within the moment.

If you're able to, further consider that Time is your focul point, that period within This 3rd demension we all Agree in as "the moment we wish to live"; I say as in "Physicaly living"; this focul point of perception is US within the Earth Realm, a psychological absolute agreement.

This focul point is our Consciousness at work within this demension. Or try this: If our higher self was an Ostrich, consider that our focul point was beneath the sand we all agreed to bury ouyr heads in. What lies above the beach and further off into internity is known to our higher self only as our heads are so focused within the sand we call "time".

Only a portion of "US" elect to experience the physical realm and the rest is "elsewhere".

Time is the jelly mold that grasp us in the moment with a Iron talon...

This does allow for the occasional glimps of God as God, the original awarness, has no mold of time, no sand and "his" higher self is ever creating; God is the consciousness that inhabits "all things" and experiences all things at once.

The Alpha and the Omega so to speak.

There is NO time. Only the NOW! (that sounds vaguely similar to "There is no time like the present")

If you want to change the future you can do it in the NOW.

If you want to change the past you can change it within the NOW by changing your perception of the past. Or make changes NOW that will effect changes on the past. Or you can make changes NOW that in the future will have corrected the past.

To try to be in anything OTHER than the NOW only creates STRESS! Kick back and enjoy it and realize that RIGHT NOW you are FINE.

:-)

Peace

Well, the source of life sure knew what it was talking about when it passionately animated life into the Rolling Stones, who sang this great song... ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz7ghrbPecY

Your question about being in and out of time at the same time could be like looking at a clock non-stop, and being perfectly and utterly content, happy, joyful, etc at watching the minutes tick...

It's theses "minutes" (or "moments") that cause "stress" and bind us to time, when we either want them to go faster or slower.

That's my tidbit of an answer. :-)

Edit--

Oh, and if you're like me, you're hear to sto(m)p time to kingdom come...

sto(m)p, sto(m)p, sto(m)p... goes the vibrational pulse (beat) of the heart-drum...

feel the rhythm... move with the vibrations... and dance life away... ;-)