Unlike most people I know, I’ve never had a clear sense of time or direction. Perhaps it comes naturally to them, or they’ve developed an internal clock and geographical compass from routine and discipline, but I’m the kind of person who can get lost even with a GPS and if I don’t have a calendar or a clock in front of me, I have no idea what day or time it is.
Of course, I’ve learned to structure my days with those tools, I don’t think I’d be able to function without them in this modern society I’m part of. But what I’ve always been intensely aware of is how fluid time really is—how it stretches or shrinks depending on my state of mind. Under a deadline or stressful situation, there’s never enough of it, but one hour in meditation appears to expand into the infinite nature of my soul, where time doesn’t exist.
You’ve heard me say that the Universe (or Creation) unfolds in cycles within cycles (see Self-Ascension Into 5th Dimension). We attempt to measure the smaller cycles—those within our comprehension—with the mental construct of time as a reference for the development of our life. Although clocks and calendars may seem arbitrary, they help us keep track of things, which is very important if you understand that Time + Energy = Your Life. How you manage them translates into how happy or unhappy you are: how connected or disconnected from yourself.
Obviously, these tools can be used to help you manage your time wisely, if you’re mindful and disciplined, or your ego-mind can use them against you as a yardstick to measure your lack of commitment and grit. Not much can be accomplished without discipline, but lasting discipline has to come from within—from clarity and self-love: clarity about your goals (the big WHYs of your endeavors) and self-love to create the routines to get there.
Habits are powerful, they shape the tendencies of your energy and create mental ‘grooves’ that make it easier to get back on track when the ego-mind deviates you from your goals. Sometimes those goals require doing things you may not necessarily enjoy, especially if they become repetitive, but self-awareness and a long-term vision can move you forward. The wounded child archetype—your ego—wants things quickly, instant gratification with no effort; because it’s through the effort, the care, the presence of mind you put into accomplishing something that you develop emotional maturity and grow out of this archetype.
This is your real reward, and reaching any goal is the cherry on top that provides the confidence in yourself and your abilities that strengthens your sense of self and creates new goals, to keep you growing. When you’re not moving forward, you’re either stagnating or sliding back, so it’s important to stay busy but balanced while remaining self-aware and disciplined to catch your ego-mind trying to defeat you. Trust me, it will try every step of the way! (See How Do You Keep Yourself Busy But Balanced?)
Organize things on your calendar and your mind around your most pressing or important goals, but without overwhelming yourself: you don’t have to do everything at once, you just have to invest enough time and energy in the things you want in life, including your self-growth, which is one of your most empowering endeavors; for this reason, it also triggers more resistance and requires a continuous effort.
Just like your investments of money, your energy and time compound, and this compounding quality is a wonderful thing when it works in your favor; it multiplies everything you do as a result of the abundant nature of your soul. The more you do something, the more you want to do something (be aware that this can also go against you, if what you want to do is nothing or you’ve developed self-destructive habits). If you put the effort, no matter how small, and remain alert and on track of your goals and aspirations, your own commitment grows exponentially to pierce through the resistance and give you the results you desire.
Embracing the Fluidity of Life Sets You Free
Time is not just the passing of seconds and minutes on a clock, or a calculation to meet deadlines or goals; it’s an expression of the fluidity of your soul allowing you to recognize yourself in your personal and spiritual progress. You learn and grow as you travel your life path, but you may not be aware of how or how much unless you quiet the ego-mind and reflect on where you’re at in relation to where you’ve been.
If you think about it, your mental memories, your emotional states, and the perception of yourself and the world fluctuate; they come and go in cycles. You feel terrible one evening, but after a good night’s sleep things don’t seem as bad anymore. Due to this cyclical nature, any unresolved issues show up in your life in some way at somewhat repetitive intervals. Someone says something that triggers your ego and you suddenly feel and react like you did two months ago, or when you were seven years old, or fourteen, or twenty.
Once you appreciate this repetitiveness, your ego becomes predictable (because it really is predictable) and loses its power. So rather than letting it pull you emotionally into the past with the unconscious triggers it projects into your reality, you can step back and make conscious choices to respond to your life-movie. Self-awareness helps you reclaim the energy of your past to anchor yourself in the present and create a better future from here on out. This is the most important time management, because it frees you up from the ego-mind that controls your perception.
If you don’t already do this, I’d encourage you to keep a journal. It’s a great vehicle for self-expression and self-awareness; and it also provides an added benefit: when you read what you wrote a year or five or ten years before, you may realize you don’t remember things the way your journal is telling you they happened or with the same emotional charge you remember them. Your memory is a continuing act of creation, and the ego-mind uses the illusion of time to color your viewpoint.
Memories are both tainted by unresolved issues and also framed by the shifts in perception from your own growth—that is, from moving through the various cycles of your life: hours, days, months, seasons, years, and cycles in multiples of 7, 10, and 12 years (and months, days, and hours). They seem disconnected pieces of a puzzle, but once you put them together a clearer road map appears, giving meaning and purpose to the unfolding of your life.
Stop fighting your life, wishing it were different. Surrender and accept it as it is, but find ways to connect to yourself: your inner witness allows you to tap into the infinite nature and power of the present moment, to redesign your experience. Immerse yourself in a creative endeavor and schedule playtime—with friends, family, pets, or yourself—but don’t let the wounded child archetype take over; that is, don’t lose sight of your priorities. Breathe. Laugh. Look at the bright side of things. Commit fully to the task at hand.
Although you experience it through the sensory awareness of ego, life is a soul-guided journey of self-discovery, and you’re invariably looking for yourself in everything you do. So contact me today to embark on an empowering journey toward emotional and spiritual freedom, and discover your ability to shrink or stretch time according to your needs, rather than watch it control or pass you by!
© 2017 Yol Swan. All rights reserved.
