Freedom from Our Concept of Time
And so it is December of 2020. Of all the months to write a blog post, the last month in the first year that began with a pandemic. Pandemic. It’s one of those words that you never expected to hear so frequently in your lifetime, right? Did we even know about the pandemic of the last century? Vaguely?
As I scrolled through hundreds of pictures digitally saved on my computer and the “Cloud”, searching for pictures of me, with friends or family, outside, in nature… to share with Todd and our Sonic community this month, I realized that photos are an amazing way to see the passage of time, especially this year.
Time’s passage has been a hot topic this year. There have been countless articles, research and contemplations about everyone’s seemingly similar experiences with time’s passing. How has the time passed so quickly? Why does it feel like time is either standing still or being gobbled up? When will this year end? Where did the time go? How did we get to December already?!
Aristotle famously said “Time crumbles things; everything grows old under the power of Time and is forgotten through the lapse of Time”. We are experiencing time in ways we never imagined. We see ourselves every day, a little more keenly, critically, aging, and we see the passage of time in the new lines on our faces, the way our clothes fit, how we feel —perpetually and simultaneously — tired and restless. And yet, we as humans have been here before. This year, and all that is associated with it, will be forgotten with the lapse of time. Was Aristotle contemplating Atman? Universal Consciousness?
As yogis, our practice can help us find freedom from our concept of time. Through our practices, especially meditation, we can remind jiva our individuated consciousness, of our connection to the infinite. Time is finite. We are part of the infinite, of Atman, Self, pure consciousness.
This concept may sound esoteric until you begin a meditation practice. Meditation has sustained so many of us through this past year, for many many years before, and goddess willing, many to come. It sustained us not because we sat still, listened to our thoughts, or cleared our minds. It supports us because of the result. When we meditate, we do sit still, listen to and set aside our thoughts, and clear our minds. The result is what we experience — we tap into pure consciousness. We let go of time, of ego, and all of the trappings that go with it. In meditation, we return to Self, dissolve into the sea of pure consciousness. It may not happen for more than an instant, but no matter, there is no time.
“Separateness arises from identifying the Self with the body, which is made of elements; when this physical identification dissolves, there can be no more separate self”. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.13)
If you find yourself struggling in these “uncertain times”, begin to meditate. All of your teachers here at Sonic, including myself, can teach you how, and will attest to the benefits. Meditation will take you out of your head, away from time, and remind you that you are part of the infinite perfection of pure consciousness.
~Rebecca Soule, PhD @TheSouleCollective
ENJOY DECEMBER’S SEQUENCE FROM REBECCA: WATCH VIDEO HERE
