“The concept of time is the most perpetrated deception placed on mankind by mankind.”

– Rob LaBelle

The concept of time is an illusion and can be viewed as a deception. There are many spiritual and scientific thoughts and studies on this which I won’t, for now, delve into—but I do want to start to talk with you about time and the perception of time, and how it as a life measure can be holding you back or inadvertently putting obstacles in your way as you journey through your path to change, and life in general.

You ever notice how time as a life measure permeates our lives and our being? As we grow, especially into adulthood, we mark our lives by time. It is how we measure progress, how we measure success, how we measure experience, how we measure commitment, how we measure loyalty, how we measure love, etc.  When we set goals for ourselves we consciously, and even unconsciously, set time markers tied to expectations, expectation when we will achieve something, be somewhere or be some place—or even be happy or at peace.

As we evolve through life, we set milestones by self-imposed time frames. We do this for the most part because we define ourselves as finite creatures living in finite time. And we are conditioned to think this way by everyone in our lives and the generations before us. Since the day we are born the use of time and expectations of time have been instilled into us. The perception of time exists in our minds conditioned by our fellow humans.

This mindset of time as a life measure can be seen as a way to manage ourselves, our lives and even those in our lives; to put into some context where we are and why we are there—and some may say as a driver (to get things done, finish a project, be “on time”).  It makes sense to a degree in the physical world in which we currently live. But the mindset of time as a life measure can become unhealthy when it imposes, either by yourself or others, a set of expectations that set in motion a series of judgment, doubt, pressure, stress, etc.

When it crosses over to putting limitations on yourself.  When it starts to put you in a place of negative thinking and saying or even believing  things like “if I only had more time,” “I can’t do (fill in the blank) because I don’t have time,” “I’m too old to go back to school or work,” I’m too young or inexperienced to have that job,” etc. It can be  unhealthy when you start to think by putting in long hours that you will get ahead of the measure of time by checking more things off the “to-do” list or that you’ll expedite reaching your goals–but in reality this behavior is keeping you away from doing things you love or being with those you love.. It becomes damaging when it starts to work against the rhythm of your soul. You start to lose your Self (The Language of Your Soul).

This is when you need to step back and reflect (Reflections) on time as an illusion and how deceptive it can be, and to remember that the conditioning of time was formed before you could exercise conscious control. It is an inflection point when you need to think about how you may be using time as an observance of change and the impact it is having on you.

Change itself conveys a sense of time—but it does not have to. You have conscious control in how you think about time and how you can break the cycle of thinking of everything as past, present and future, and to let life unfold in the present and to think of your time or your experiences in the now as the now that has no boundaries.  As you continuously evolve yourself there is no need or reason to do so in the context of the minutes, hours, days, weeks or months. Your experiences and actions are not bound or defined by time. Time is an illusion.