Slowing Time

Time flows at the same rate always. A second is a second. An hour is an hour and a year is a year.

It flows like a river. Linearly. Doesn’t stop. Keeps flowing.

BZZZZZTT!

Wrong.

“What do you mean by wrong”?

I mean the concept of time. The linear flow of time which we are all taught straight from childhood. Time is an illusion.

I can hear your resistance.
”Does it matter if it is an illusion?”

“It makes my life easier.”

“It helps me to plan with other people. And to keep track of events.”

Absolutely. These are all true. Without time we get lost in the darkness of confusion. Time is like the north star. A reference.

I am not here to argue about the utility of time that we know. Instead about its concept. Our experience of time.

Let’s think about it for a moment. I will take my experience. When I was a kid I used to think 6-8 hours in school was awfully long. 30 mins class felt like eternity. Year seemed so long that I thought it will take forever to be over.

Now I am 27 years old. 30 mins sometimes passes like the wind. An hour feels like a minute. And years feels like yesterday.

I am sure you experience similar perception of time. Slow passage of time in young age and fast in old.

What changed? Our perception. Our experience.

As a child we were new in this world. We were attentive, curious and observed surroundings more. Even a simple experience like going to a grocery store felt eventful.

And that’s the key. Eventful. We experience events. Not time.

Imagine doing something you haven’t done before. Skydiving. Its bound to be eventful. And longer. It will be shorter than your Instagram scrolling session. And yet longer.

Or dreams. Tons of events happen in dream. Sometimes year passes. And yet its hardly few hours after you come back to the waking world.

Or a trip to a new place. When you climb mountains, explore caves, sit in Yak. Its full of events. And it becomes longer.

Or talking to a person where conversation don’t fall naturally. Each word seems like molding a piece of metal.

Or learning to drive. You think of thousand things before pressing accelerator or changing gears.

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Can you slow time? Well you cannot actually slow time. A second is a second. A year is a year. But you can slow your perception of time. You can make the events in your life longer.

How?

By doing things are more impactful. Which feels like “BANG”.

“Which events have more impact on me?”

There is one way I know to tell which events will have more impact. Before I tell you that, should you worry about more impactful events? Is it just to slow down time?

I mean easy going life could also work right? Go to office do work, return to family and spend time with them. Is there anything wrong in that?

Absolutely not. Until you experience it.

Because I have tried it. I left my job to do freelancing work. I earn significantly less than I did in my job. But I have more “time”.

After completing my work what do I do?

It is nice at first. But then it feels like punishment. Devils whisper.

Endless web browsing. Finishing movies and series. Games with random strangers in internet. Snacking after every hour. Parties at night. Eating out in restaurants. Chilling in beach.

These aren’t fun if you do it day after day.

We are not meant to just eat survive and chill. We are meant for something more. We need to do something “worthwhile” to be happy. And no, its not your day job. Atleast in majority of cases.

What we all strive for is a higher level of consciousness. And everyone’s way of reaching that is different. It is the way or the work you do. And the way is the most important part. Thats your journey.

And the common thread here for different journeys are the impactful events. Events which makes you feel alive. Where you feel reborn. Which will help you find your way to higher level of consciousness.

Now the way to know which events will have more impact on you is to see your resistance. What is resistance? It is sometimes the bold fear we feel or the subtle procrastination.

The feeling which stops us from doing something. You won’t feel the resistance when you go for party with your friends. Or shopping. Or playing games.

You will feel resistance when you think of writing something. Or reading a book. Or starting a project. Or when you want to exercise. Or meet a new person.

Whenever you feel resistance, you can be sure that it is something that will have an impact. Time will get slower, and you will gain new insights.

Knowing your resistance, you will get to know what your soul wants to do. The journey’s next step. It is like the hint you get when you are completing a mission in a game.

I go swimming 5 days a week. And each day I still get resistance that I can just sleep. Or watch a movie. Or the most deadly, subtle way that I can just “work on my project”. The subtle ones are the hard ones to identify.

Because they lie just near your topmost priority. Like finishing the deadline.

Resistance comes in different shapes and forms. But they have one job. To stop you from doing things. Which are important.

Resistance is a force. Its not there to get you. It just is.

Don’t fight it to destroy it. Because you can’t. It is like a force of nature.

Seek the resistance and do what it doesn’t want you to do. Make it your compass.

And you will have more events in your life. Your one week will be different than the person who doesn’t seek resistance.

Your key of slowing down your time is within you. Like everything else.