Expanding Time Consciously – Talk & Guided Practice

Time is energy. It responds to our own internal physiology and our nervous system. When we slow down and believe we have enough time to reach our goals, time slows, expands, and works with us to create this space with us. If, however, we are on the go, always moving, faster and faster, and we believe we don’t have enough time, time speeds up and slips out of our hands.

In this talk and guided practice, we will look at our conscious beliefs about time and move into a guided practice where we ask time to mirror our movements. Time can become our friend. Let’s explore time together.

Thank you for the music by Chris Collins and Blue Dots Sessions

Transcript

If you've ever heard the phrase, Time is a constant, This is both true and not true at the same time. Hi, I'm Shannon, And grateful you're joining me for this talk and guided practice. It is true that time is present with us all of the time, Whether we're measuring time in seconds, Minutes, Days, Weeks, Months, Or years. The calendar is also a way we measure time. We also measure time by special dates on the calendar, Whether birthdays, Anniversaries, Holidays, All of these indicate the presence of time. This can be like a constant, However, The time we're talking about today, I would like you to look at as fluctuating, As time being able to both expand and contract, Time being an energy that we are present with and can work with as well. I'll give you a couple of examples of the time I'm talking about. If you've ever experienced being in a situation, Whether school or work, A doctor's office, A place that you don't necessarily want to be, Time has that presence of seeming to expand and slow down and last forever. Why won't the time just end so I can move on to my next thing? And yet there's also the time of enjoyment, Where time flies if you're having fun, Meaning if you're engaged in something that you love doing, Whether it's dance or creativity, Or even school that is enlightening for you, Time seems to fly by so quickly because you're enjoying what you're doing. This is the time we'll be talking about today, The ability for it to expand and slow down or contract and speed up. Time is an energy of the universe. The specific intention that I'd like to work with today around time is that idea that sometimes our mind feels like we don't have enough time to get to a place that we're going or if we're working on projects that we're going to run out of time. So the idea for today's guided practice and that intention is how do we work with time to be our friend so that we can say in all circumstances, I have enough time. This begins by first changing our mind to time being a friend rather than something that we're racing against, And then working with that concept of I have enough time. This then changes your nervous system and how it works with time. For example, If I don't know that time is my friend, The first thing I might do automatically is actually speed up all of my actions, Brush my teeth faster, Comb my hair, Get dressed, Trip on the way out the door, Try and speed through traffic to make that appointment. It feels intuitive that if we're running late or running out of time, That if we do things faster or more quickly, We'll get to the place we're going more quickly. Or if there's a project I'm working on and there's a deadline and it's approaching quickly, I might think that I need to do things more quickly in order to reach that deadline. Today's counter-intuitive approach to time as an energy and as a spiritual practice is working with time as a friend and this changing the neurology of your nervous system to also become friends with time and slow it down so that it actually expands where you have enough time. The guided practice that I'll walk us through today will be from this perspective. Seeing time as an ally, Slowing down your breath, Slowing down your actions, Believing that you have enough time, Then as time opens, Expands, And slows, Because your own nervous system is also slowing down and expanding, Time actually mirrors or matches your thoughts and your energy. Then when we take nice deep breaths in, Move into that meditative state of slowing down, Slowing down our actions, Opening that mindset that says, I have enough time, Time then also works with us. This same concept or practice that we'll put into use today can also be used in ideas around larger goals that we might have in our life. Sometimes we might feel like time is slipping away and we don't have enough time to meet those larger internal goals that we have for ourselves. The concept of time being a friend that we're working on today can also apply to these same circumstances as well. I'd like to share this poem with you by Carrie Newcomer as we move into the guided practice as a way of grounding our energy and creating the focus or intention of our practice today working with time. Here is the poem, Because There Is Not Enough Time, By Carrie Newcomer. I used to think that because life is short, I should do more, Be more, Squeeze more into each and every day. I'd walk around with a stick ruler with increasing numbers as the measure of fullness. But lately, I've sensed a different response to a lack of time, Felt in my bones the singular worth of each passing moment. Perhaps the goal is not to spend this day power skiing atop an ocean of multitasking. Maybe the idea is to swim slower, Surer, Dive deeper, And really look around. There is a difference between a life of width and a life of depth. So through our guided practice today, I hope that you can begin to see time as your friend and ally, Someone who is working with you, Rather than something that you have to work against, So that you can dive more deeply into your time in your life and how you want to spend it. Now I'd like to do a short guided practice with you about how to begin to slow down your nervous system, Slow down time when you think you don't have enough of it, And begin to expand that space of creating enough time for yourself. The practice that I walk you through today will seem relatively easy on the outset. The challenge, However, Is getting yourself to stop when you are feeling in a rushed mode by putting this practice into place when you feel like you don't have enough time. That's the harder part. I'd like to walk us through this practice two times. The first time, I'll go through each step, But I'll also be commenting about the importance of that step, So walking us through and also having some commentary with it. Then, I'll walk us through it a second time, Just with the steps. For this part, If you want to get into a comfortable seated or lying down position, So you can be present with your body and really connecting with your nervous system and with the energy of time, The first step in our practice is this. Stop. Just stop. For this part, When we feel like we don't have enough time rushing around, Being in a hurry, The first step is to stop. The next step, Once we've stopped, And you can see how we can't get to the second step unless we do the first. So the next step is to then sit down. Yes, Sitting down, Because then we can't keep walking around and spinning our wheels. So first stop, And then sit. The reason sitting becomes important is because it's counterintuitive to the urge inside us to continue to rush. So when we sit, We're actually countering that feeling inside of us that's pushing us around with the belief that we don't have enough time. Once we've stopped, Sat down, The next step is to close our eyes. Allow yourself just for this moment to close your eyes, To move inward to your breath. So we've stopped, Sat down, And closed our eyes, And the fourth step is breathing. Three long deep breaths. I'll have you inhale to the count of six, And exhale to the count of six, And inhale count of six, And exhale to the count of six, And allow yourself to do this breath one more time. The next step as you continue to breathe fully and engaged is to say this either in your mind or out loud, Whatever feels best for you. I have all the time that I need. When you say this phrase in your mind or out loud, You're actually engaging time to say, I believe that I have enough time and time will work with me. This applies in many situations, Whether you're running late for an appointment, Whether you have a deadline for a project, Whether you have a goal that you're working on. You can use this same technique for all of those. Now I'll have you just listen to my voice as we've moved into this space. I have all the time that I need. I'll have you take a deep breath in, And exhale. Time and I work together as colleagues, Taking a deep breath in, And exhaling. My angels, My spirit guides, The divine open time for me in a way that helps me. Taking a deep breath in, And exhaling. And the last step of this practice is when you open your eyes and begin to move back into your day. Begin doing everything at half the speed that you were before, Slowing down your pace. This is what opens time up and slows it down so that it works with you and your nervous system. Remember this, You set the pace, And time follows your lead. So let's move through the steps of the guided practice one more time. The first step is to stop. To just stop. To stop right where we're at. The second step after we've stopped is to sit down. To take a break. Once you've sat down, Now close your eyes. Close your eyes becoming present to yourself. Just giving yourself the space you need. And now from this space of stopping, Sitting, Eyes closed, And awareness focused on where you're at here. Now taking three deep breaths, Allowing each breath to be an inhale of six counts, And an exhale of six counts. Nice, Deep breaths. Give yourself this space to do those three deep breaths. Now that we're stopped, Still, Present, And aware, And breathing deeply, From this space we say the phrase, I have all the time I need. I have all the time I need. Time is my friend. Time expands in ways that help me create that which I'm needing. And as you repeat this phrase in your own words, That you have all the time you need, Taking a deep breath in, With each time that you tell yourself this phrase. Now that your body has slowed down, Expanded, And become present with time, From this space, When you're ready, Opening your eyes, And then as you begin to engage in your life, Moving at half the speed that you were, So that time opens up, Time expands, Opens, And allows you to go where you're wanting to, To make it on time with all that you're doing, To accomplish your tasks that you've set at hand, To meet your deadlines, To give yourself the space mentally, Physically, Spiritually, To engage with life in a time that allows you to go deeper. Thank you so much for joining me for this talk and practice. I'd like you to try it out now in your daily life and let me know how it goes. Remember this, Have fun experimenting with how you work with time, How you begin to associate time as becoming a friend who's working with you rather than against you. I'm wishing you a slow, Relaxed, Time-filled day of enjoyment. Have a beautiful day. Namaste.

Reviews

Thank you for opening my eyes to the
possibility of working with time instead of against it. Fascinating and informative.

Thank you Shannon 💗 That was wonderful and will be a great tool in my life. 💞

Wonderful, I've never thought about time in this way.

Wonderful wisdom and practical steps to try, thank you ❤️