The illusion of Time

Have you ever thought about meditation but like many, couldn't really understand the point? Yes? read on...

For your examining mind, please take a moment to review this chart, devised by ex-google X Chief Business Officer, Mo Gawdat, from his book Solve for Happy

Grief, embarrassment, annoyance, contempt, envy, guilt, shame. These are all emotions that are linked to the past and they're all negative emotions. There are also many negative emotions that are anchored in the future; anxiety, fear, helplessness, powerlessness, worry, stress, tension, doubt, pessimism, and many other examples.

What's even more interesting is that you realize that most positive emotions are anchored in the present moment; calmness, affection, empathy, love, courage, pride, satisfaction, trust, contentment, relaxation, relief, and surprise are all wonderful emotions that make us feel positive and they’re all entirely focused on the present moment.

Happy emotions are mostly anchored in the present and that's very important to remember.

The past that we consider such an important aspect of ourselves is really nothing more than a record of moments we call memories, it's just a collection of parts in our brains. Despite the temptation to see the past as real, it is not. The only time that ever really exists is the moment you experience as now, and once that moment is replaced by the next. We then call it the past. Once the present moment passes by, and it doesn't take long, it no longer exists. It's gone forever and then you call it the past.

Nothing ever happens in the future either, how could it? The future hasn't occurred yet and it only ever will, if all its infinite possibilities collapse into a moment that takes place in an instant of now. We can absolutely say then that when your thoughts and feelings are caught up in the future you're just imagining things. Moreover, you have absolutely no way to guarantee that out of all the endless possibilities of how things could turn out, the one you're imagining would be the one that actually takes place.

Unfortunately for happiness, your brain is sold on the idea that the next moment is more important than the one you're in. The moment that already passed by is more familiar, and therefore perhaps, more comfortable than the one right now. These biases of the brain are what moves us all too easily into a state of confusion, ruminating on the past or bracing for an imagined future while neglecting to pause and live in the present moment, even though the present is all there really is. 

Here's a very important concept to remember; when we’re focused on the past or the future we're living in our own thoughts and not in reality, and the impact of living in thoughts is beyond profound. Have you ever noticed how quickly your life has gone by? 

Doesn't it sometimes feel like the past 20 years have just evaporated without you even noticing? There's a good reason for that. If you're not in the here and now then you're simply in your head. There's nowhere else to be if the past 20 years feel more like a week, well, it might be because you spent only a week of that time through experiencing life being fully present. For the remaining 10 1/2 million minutes you were just wandering around in your head, what a waste. 

Am I saying all your memories are worthless? Not at all, there are wonderful memories based on times when you were ‘in the now’. The moments I'm talking about are the ones when you were in your head, worrying about the past or the future. You don't remember those thoughts because they were not memory. They’re wasted because they could have been in the now, making real memories.

Meditation really is the perfect antidote to living in your thoughts, and centering you in the now. 

Try it, what have you got to lose?