I experienced something very profound today and it has been inspired by Serge Benhayon’s book Time. I had started a typing job on my computer and knowing that I tend to rush these ‘uninteresting and boring’ tasks, I decided to be very conscious not to speed up but to stay present with me and in what I was doing and feeling, rather than just getting the job done, no matter what.
As I proceeded I noticed that I did not have the usual self-judgment of being slow or clumsy and also, for a change, the job did not feel tedious (I am not a good typist!). Instead, my work felt open-ended, had no hard edges or annoying streaks and was totally free of pressure and the need to perform or conform – it felt as though I had all the time in the world.
At the same time and to be fair, I was just as slow as ever and made mistakes; not as many as usual though, probably because I wasn’t rushing. What I also noticed was that my output seemed to be the same, whether I would have been rushing like in the past or staying present with me and attending to every step and nuance as I was doing now.
There was a definite lack of something to rub against, get hassled by, or even be the slightest uptight about, nothing provided friction or an issue of any definition or description. All there was – was the space to do what had to be done but I hadn’t squeezed this doing into one of my usual to-do boxes and seasoned it with haste, raciness and thoughts of being too slow and nor was I sitting at my desk with physical tension or in anticipation of a fast and speedy end result.
So let me recap – the job was the same as many others before it, I had not become a better typist, my speed and accuracy had not improved.
But something was different. What had changed?
I had not set myself a deadline (strange word that, a ‘dead line’) and thus there was nothing to measure myself against. Speed had become irrelevant and I was not competing with time, trying to outdo, outsmart, outrun or even overtake it.
When the job was finished it finished at a certain time as measured by the clock, a time that would have arrived no matter what I had been doing and how I had been doing it. After all, 4pm is 4pm, regardless of how I spend the time until that time, whether I run the show from my head, rush around and work under pressure or whether I ‘take my time’ and do what needs to be done without any rushing and expectations of how fast I should be getting through this task.
The job still took as long as it took, I still made all the mistakes I made and I still finished when I did.
Would I have finished five minutes earlier had I rushed?
Maybe – but maybe not because I then need to correct more mistakes.
But more importantly – would those potential extra five minutes have given me any joy?
Actually, that is highly unlikely.
And the reason why? Because I would have felt frazzled and on edge, under pressure, physically tight and mentally highly strung.
What had happened then?
I had not put any effort into trying to get to that end point earlier or faster and in that I got to feel the true blessing of time – the revelation of time as space. And in that space, time does not matter, it is not my enemy and I don’t have to compete with it. And to top it all off – everything that needs to get done gets done.
Or, in other words, when I don’t rush, I am not slow!
Child’s play in hindsight – literally so, because as children we live in that space, we spend all our time in it. Do you remember the endless- and spaciousness of each moment, lived and experienced from and in a little body that is present with and in itself? And it certainly didn’t give a hoot about being faster or better until we learnt to conform and take on these concepts!
Well worth getting back to and repeating frequently, like the good medicine it is; good medicine for our physical and mental wellbeing as well as for our relationships and the enjoyment of the work we do, whatever it may be.
By Gabriele Conrad, Goonellabah NSW
Further Reading:
Time and Our Perception Of It
Choosing Stop Moments in My Life
Time: How I Changed my Relationship With The Invisible Tyrant
The Truth about Serge Benhayon 
I loved this statement, “in other words, when I don’t rush, I am not slow!”. I’m realising in an environment where we’re sitting at a desk, I hear the clicking of keyboards and boy can I tell when people are angry, in drive or in a rush. And if we are not careful we end up in that momentum too.
I too am not the best typist and I’m often struggling to type as I spell out the words from my mind. However, when I am connected, I can feel the difference. There must be more to this as I’m often given these thoughts that I cannot write these work related emails, or that I am slow etc etc. The list is endless and if I don’t discern this, I stay caught up in this perpetuating cycle. When it kind of feels there is grander thing behind this that only needs to be tapped into and boy oh boy, the wisdom will come through, if only we allow it.
A friend recently likened the undermining thoughts to a scorpion sitting on one’s shoulder. The scorpion we would quickly flick off, so why do we entertain those thoughts? Should we not do likewise with them?
A journey away from home can feel as though it takes forever but the return journey home takes no time at all..
Space and allowing the stillness within to appreciate what it brings opens the door to understanding our relationship with time.
Rushing does guarantee that we lose our quality, hence the importance of not allowing that energy to enter.
A change in perception (and energy) can be all that is needed to be free of the constraints of time that we all can and do get caught in.
Henrietta, I agree of timelines, “deadlines” are all about time which we never have enough off. When we work in this space, it is a whole new level that feels so magnificent. Much to ponder over…
Time is such a funny concept that we can get stuck in and governed by – of course we must work with time in terms of going to work or school and being on time and handing in documents and homework etc within a given time frame etc. But when we live our lives based on time then things do lose their sparkle in a way, where as in those moments or days when we can be with what needs to be done at that moment in time, then it is like time ceases to exist and we can focus and stay tuned to what is needed and still find ‘time’ to do the other things that need to be done too. I can speak this from my experience, and yet I also must admit that I still get caught in being controlled by time when I forget to stay in the moment.
Thank you Gabriele for a gorgeous read – and one that I too can relate to in so many ways. Sometimes I find myself rushing to complete things at work so that I can rush home to be with my family, and yet when I get home I am still in that rushing mode and so I find it hard to stop and enjoy my time with them and myself! Ironic!
Wanting to get home quickly is a trap I have also fallen into – it is basically saying that I prefer an activity in the future to the one I am engaged in at present, the end effect being that both activities suffer from my lack of presence and total engagement.
Spaciousness and enjoyment go hand in hand and when we bring them to our work-place everything feels so simple.
Giving space to any situation allows us to be more open to Appreciation, and thus we automatically are allowing Intimacy to be a part of our lives, as we can not have Appreciative-ness without being Intimate with Intimacy being us letting people in and Appreciation being more than a physical thing but the understanding we are all divine vessels, and thus we can feel our bodies deepening in it’s stillness, which is all, “good medicine for our physical and mental wellbeing”, and thus evolutionary!
I recall when I was little time seemed to go on for ages. It was never like time flew buy and then as I got older with the pressures of life time seemed to change. But that is not possible because time itself is constant. Its how we are in that time that changes. Yes we have more to do as adults, but its how we are in that time that creates the perception that time has changed.
The same length of time can seem long for one and short for another; and yes, our subjective perception of time depends entirely on how we have been in a particular span of what we call time.
Rushing must be the effect of having squandered time somewhere else through getting distracted and not being connected, would that be so? And then the rushing engenders more of the same quality as we can’t be connected when we are in our head trying to make things happen.
There are times where I have thought to get everything done I need to rush and constantly watch the clock, but naturally I feel drained and tired after pushing myself in this way, sure I tick all my boxes but at what expense to my body?
It’s not worth it, in my experience. And the brief moments of elation and satisfaction do not compensate for the tiredness and lethargy that follow any drive, push and shove.
I have had some experiences lately when time appears to stand still and I all the time in the world to complete things. This brings a great sense of magic into my life.
When space reveals itself and we get those seemingly moments or stretches of time it leaves us in awe of what is possible and shows how much of what we are and the all is we do not tap into.
Love it Elizabeth – I too have experienced this, or what I call ‘time warps’ and it is like there is a stretched version of time we can work with that allows essentially more space for us to move in and do things in 😉
I have had a few of these experiences, where time appears to stand still, and they do feel very magical.
“I had not put any effort into trying to get to that end point earlier or faster and in that I got to feel the true blessing of time – the revelation of time as space.” ‘Trying’ has been the bane of my life – always trying to be better, to improve – which has got me nowhere – except criticising myself for not being enough. A little daily dose of appreciation is making a big difference to my life.
Trying, bettering ourselves and improving are traps that try to make us believe that we are faulty or deficient in some way and that we need to get somewhere, in the future and along a linear track. The Ageless Wisdom teaches that we are already everything and that the way ahead is a return to our origins.
All there was – was the space to do what had to be done but I hadn’t squeezed this doing into one of my usual to-do boxes and seasoned it with haste, raciness and thoughts of being too slow and nor was I sitting at my desk with physical tension or in anticipation of a fast and speedy end result”. This is gold as I am sure we can all relate to our to-do boxes and racing through them to tick the list. But what quality were we in and what tension/anxiousness is left in our bodies to deal with?
What’s left in the body is a rather toxic mix and not worth it; it takes too long to come back from such tension and raciness.
Agreed and I love the fact that when we don’t rush we don’t have to be slow and in fact we are often far faster when we don’t rush than when we do, provided we are there in full with what we are doing.
Rushing leads to mistakes and we can easily spend twice the amount of time rectifying them rather than according each action the space and time needed.
Yes, it seems a contradiction in terms that when we don’t rush we don’t have to be slow. Yet staying in the present moment – fully with what we are doing, seems to allow time to open up and life becomes a flow. I can then achieve far more in the same time as when I feel anxious about completing a task and feel tense and anxious with the need to rush.
Rushing feels horrible in our bodies, we can still do things without being slow, it is simply what energy are we allowing to run our bodies, and saying ‘no’ to the energy of rushing.
An interesting question is: how much do we value the time we have? Say today we have 12 hours – how are we going to use them? What are we going to do? What is actually possible in that time?
Much is possible and 12 hours can be vast and offer so much if we stay with ourselves and don’t rush ahead (from the head) into the imagined future and what we think it will bring.
Time is not the enemy when we give ourselves space.
This really highlights for me how when we have to do something we rather do it with quality than rushed and stressed as we have to do it anyway. It seems so simple but the opposite has become the norm.
Well said Lieke, there is something so settling and calming to complete things un-rushed and then move onto the next task and continue like this, to then come to having a break that actually then feels like a break rather than rush to get to the break that then feels rushed too.
Doing things in and with quality feels so much more settling to our bodies.
When we try to race against time we make time the powerful thing in the equation yet when we concentrate on what needs to be done the power is held in that movement and thus time becomes irrelevant.
Great point – we enslave ourselves and let the notion of time reign supreme rather than moving in space and living in its grace and forever enrichment.
Time is but a mental construct and a societal convention that does not do justice to the wonderment available when we move in space.
What strikes me reading this is even though on that occasion you didn’t appear to get more physically done by letting go of racing against time the change in the quality in how you did what you were doing speaks volumes.
It’s a joy to re read your blog and to feel how time still gets me now and then, time is not our enemy there need not be a competiton, but when I don’t allow space in my work or even my life that’s actually what it feels like ‘a race against time’
From this summary I can feel the utter insanity and futility of our fight with time and how much that taxes and drains us. And the whole world is caught up in it.
I agree, there is utter insanity and futility in our fight with time, and the consequences of how that drains us, so we then need stimulants to keep the loop going.
This blog puts me in mind of a door which we can open up and let Love through – or jam and shut tightly and say life is a stress ~ when the whole time, it’s just that we are pretending this space and openess just doesn’t exist.
Great illustration, but there is more – not only do we shut the door on timelessness and space, space is actually all around and right through us. And thus it could be said that there are no doors. Now how do we then manage to live in a way that sees nothing but prison walls and doors shut tight? Especially when that way takes a lot of energy and is very draining.
Deadlines are killers of space and often have us hooked into time and constraints that harm the process and the potential of the true support being offered. When we impose these rather than make them part of our rhythm we start to play games with overwhelm.
Would it be fair to say that overwhelm plays games with us, like a cat with a ball of wool? That we are its, by choice, play things, entirely at the whim and fancy of overwhelm?
Overwhelm plays games with us, and feels terrible to be caught in.
Can imagine if one of our traditional educational subjects was all about learning to work with space – we would have an amazing society – children would grow up not doubting the wonder and magic of the universe.
Is it possible that children would grow up not having to un-learn their natural and innate connection with space and reflect to the adults where we come from and are going back to?
A great point Gabriele, children naturally teach us so much about space and the universe.
Children have an innate wisdom that we can all learn from.
Perhaps then the key to ‘slowing down time’ is to open up space… If we were to focus more astutely on developing a relationship with space and all that is being communicated through it, we would not be racing against time at all. If this is so then is our obedience to time more to do with our disobedience to space and all that it offers?
Spaciousness… When we hear music that has this quality, it changes the way we listen for the rest of our lives.
Why am I not surprised that you to make a connection to music, a broad sweep all the way from a race against time to spaciousness and music. I shall be more attentive from now on, is all I can say. And report back, of course.
It is the sound of the Soul that sings deep within us all.
‘when I don’t rush, I am not slow!’ Fabulous. We think we have to rush to get things done but it is a complete illusion for in my experience we just need to a stay steady and attend to one thing at a time and its awesome how the space clears in front of us. And if things come in to potentially complicate or upset – again its about staying steady, present and connected to our hearts.
And what are we rushing for, just to get something else done in the same ‘rush’ energy which never feels good, or because, I prefer an activity in the future to the one I am engaged in at present, which feels exhausting.
I can relate to the sense of friction when rushing, and how distracting it can be rather than being fully present with what needs to be done and being more aware of the quality in which we are doing it and how this relates with everyone else as well…
“There was a definite lack of something to rub against, get hassled by, or even be the slightest uptight about, nothing provided friction or an issue of any definition or description” – this is such an accurate description and makes me wonder if this is why even when we get given enough time to complete a task, some of us leave it until the last minute and put ourselves in a position where it becomes inevitable to experience this friction and tension, and complication, which gives us a kind of identification.
Its great to feel the space we can offer ourselves – with the knowing that rushing does not actually support us, and as soon as we put the pressure of time on ourselves, everything contracts.
To feel that we are making a wise use of time, we squeeze space without realizing that only a good relationship with space helps to make a wise relationship with both ourselves and time.
I find that I am at my most productive when I don’t rush. If I have to rush I know the work will be less productive.
By rushing we get unclear in our head and we start to forget things, make mistakes and slow down.
So being in a rush never pays of in more time and it makes our body ill.
Yes, there is nowhere to save that apparently ‘saved time’; no bank will take such deposits and in the end, we have nothing to show for other than our raciness and the mistakes we have made.
Whenever we go into drive to complete something we push the body into a nervous tension that must be addressed at a later time, often leaving us depleted and drained afterwards.
I never have honoured the sensitivity of my body and pushed it (mis)using my nervous system to compete with time. I felt trapped in this energy, reacting on the demands of life. Only recently I discovered the delicateness of my body and the true power from this amazing quality and the choice I have, to stay in this supporting energy I am made of.
Staying with a quality of energy that supports us feels so much more lovely than ever going into rush.
‘when I don’t rush, I am not slow’ … really nails the fact that time and our perception of it are constraints that we place on ourselves, when in fact it’s about the quality of how we are in all we do no matter what and it gets done, no matter what the time.
When we don’t enslave ourselves to time, magic happens and another dimension opens up.
It is amazing how easily I can find myself looking at the clock and effectively racing against time to get everything done. I feel the anxiousness and raciness build up in my body – but for what, no real reason. What difference does it really make if I finish something at say 5 or at 5.10? And what about the quality? But the interesting thing is when I let go of time usually I finish way before 5 and then other things also get done which shows how much by working against time we are also working against ourselves. Whereas let time go and work with space and time suddenly opens up.
I have often wondered what we believe we can do with those extra two or three minutes that we have apparently saved? Bank them? Who takes these deposits? And what do we do with them? Use them to recover from our raciness?
Very true Gabriele, for me as you say I use the extra few minutes ‘to recover from our raciness’ which I just created! It makes no logical sense yet is somethign I often find myself getting caught up in. And when I do what needs to be done everythign seems to be much more in flow, like the bus is just there, the person I am meeting arrives in that moment. Otherwise so often I can rush get there ‘too soon’ and then been waiting trying to calm my body down from the rush!
Exactly; the time we have apparently ‘saved’ then needs to be spent on ‘catching one’s breath’ and overall, nothing is gained and we are left with a racy and unsettled body.
So now when I clock myself going into rush I say ok what difference does it make if say I am 1 minute late? Then when I do it I get to check in with my body do what I need to be done and usually I am then on time or the other person is running a little late as well so it would not have made any difference had I got there quicker. Which goes to show when I honour my body I am no longer fighting against time and everything works out.
I have found that as well; whenever I am just that tiny bit late, the other person is way late and everything works out. When we don’t compromise ourselves, everything just falls into place.
Very true, ‘When we don’t compromise ourselves, everything just falls into place.’ So it goes to show that we are deisgned to honour ourselves and what we feel and then when we do we also honour everyone else along the way.
In all honesty, although I don’t want to admit it – when I’m not rushing and sucked in by time I actually get things done faster.
My experience exactly – and not only that,I get the feeling that is must be later than it really is and I start looking for things to do!
There is an ease that is offered when we move out of time and stay with the steadiness in the body to allow what needs to be complete with levels of self – care and awareness.
Yes, the same is true for me.
Old habits die hard, they say and this is certainly one of them; it seems counter-intuitive that, when we don’t rush, we get things done in quality and immense space opens up to do even more. But, as they say, the proof is in the doing of and not any theory about it.
There is so much about space to discover and enjoy, I have recently had experiences of what this feels like and it has astounded me what you can get done when not attached or limited by time.
A whole new dimension opens up when we start to separate from the held notion of time as a straight line from the past via the present to the future.
Thought provoking article Gabrielle. What if there is a deadline when things have to be completed? When i start to feel contracted, when there is stress, stomach tension to complete things than I know the deadline is not set right, A point to finish becomes a dealine. Why? Because my body says so.
So many people say – I love cooking, cleaning etc “if I have the time”. It’s interesting isn’t it because it is we who dictate whether there is space to do what needs to be done, or not.
Great sharing for I am becoming more and more aware that it is actually in the details of all the tasks that we do, including those we consider mundane, that feeds and builds the quality of and level of enjoyment in all that we do.
It would be said that life is mundane and that is why we seek both the highs and the lows; but with presence and in connection to the body, not a single moment need ever be mundane again. It is then not about the task or job but about being with oneself.
Another insight I just have discovered: if you think about something else while doing a task (specially the seemingly boring ones!) I am slower.
That makes sense – being in two different locations at once, in two time zones even if parallel, takes away from each task and its toll on our physical and mental health.
It makes you ponder what is happening to the bodies of people who claim, and are proud to say they can multi-task, at some point their body will start to say ‘No’ in one way or another.
When I observe young children play, they seem to have an amazing relationship with time. They never seem to rush or feel that they are running out of time, in fact they seem to live in a timeless space where they are fully present in what they do. They move with purpose, steadiness and a quality that is connected to multi-dimensionality. This is an awesome reminder of were we all come from and where we can also return to.
Children move outside of time, time is no concept for them unless it is now and right under the noses. Therefore the famous question, “are we there yet?” Children move in moments and operate in space.
Yes, that makes so much sense, thank you Gabriele. It shows how very little the truth we come from has to do with the world we have created. Or more so the other way around.
Brilliant observation Gabriele, I remember when my children where young this was exactly how they operated. I also remember feeling the tension in my body so much more as they reflected the spaciousness I was no choosing to live myself. I didn’t understand why I felt that way but now it all makes sense.
Young children at play are gorgeous to observe, their quality of energy is awesome, ‘They never seem to rush or feel that they are running out of time, in fact they seem to live in a timeless space where they are fully present in what they do.’
Which just goes to show that we all know and incorporate this quality to start with – and that the systems as they are at present then rob us of this quality, if we succumb; which the vast majority of us do.
When I was a child my nickname was Slow Coach because I liked to take my time getting dry when I got out of the bath. This has stayed with me and I often used to put pressure on myself to complete tasks as quickly as possible which often led to mistakes and frustration. it was a revelation to recognise that I had a choice and if I chose to let go of my self-imposed deadline the space opened up to allow the task to be completed often in a similar amount of time but with so much more connection to my body and so much less anxiousness which is so draining and affects how much I am able to accomplish. This has literally transformed my life, making me more productive but also much more joyful and appreciative of life and the wonders that surround us.
When we rush and are in drive, we skip moments; moments that potentially bring new awarenesses, fresh insights, a teaching or revelation. We shorten our experience and wonder, how come there never seems to be enough time. We miss out on the broad canvass and richness that are on offer.
When we rush we miss out on many aspects of life and the evolutionary process.
“it felt as though I had all the time in the world.” When we don’t feel the pressure of time we give ourselves space to complete whatever is called for.
Interesting enough – what we think needs to be completed is not necessary and what is offered is the space to bring what is needed for the ALL.
I get it – enforcing completion is for self and never is it part of the all for all even though it cannot be but be in the All.
Life seems to mostly be a rush against time, time to get things done, time to arrive, time to leave, I have been so caught in time, when i would be driving some distance i would be checking along the way what the time was and if I would be getting there on time, I decided to stop doing this and to put an end to the anxiousness I was feeling by deciding to leave home with plenty of time to not rush or become anxious, stay with my body and enjoy the space to be with me in my traveling.
Work and live as children with no clock watching, that is the art of living. Not rushing, but also with no indulging.
Children really do have the key to returning to living as a master of life, we need to pay much more attention to there natural ways.
When I am connected and in my essence, everything is the same – a magical and heavenly expression.
” As I proceeded I noticed that I did not have the usual self-judgment of being slow or clumsy ”
Is this not wonderful the breaking down of old methods of sabotage and all by just taking YOUR time, funny.
Great example of how we are the creators of our own experience. Brings it back to choice and how we chose to move in any situation.
” the job was the same as many others before it, ”
Yes but the end product would be of a higher quality , because you took ” your ” time to do it.
It is a joy to be present with the body in whatever is being done – there is this beautiful sense of the spaciousness that we know effortlessly in our younger years. being faster or better is not a true purpose in evolution. Living our truth is.
“Do you remember the endless- and spaciousness of each moment, lived and experienced from and in a little body that is present with and in itself? And it certainly didn’t give a hoot about being faster or better until we learnt to conform and take on these concepts!”
A race against time is always a pattern of movement through which we restrict/confine ourselves to life being just what we choose to see.
In other words, we wear blinkers and choose to see what we need to see to confirm our confinement/ restriction.
It seems incomprehensible to the mind dictated by time constraints, that it is possible to move in a quality that is not slow but is without the frenzy and exhaustion of rushing about.
“when I don’t rush, I am not slow!”
Turning it around, it can be said that “when I rush, I am slow” and that is a real eye opener and awakening for the mind that dictates to the body that it needs to be seen in a certain light that garners recognition and gets to utter a few poignant sighs associated with overwork, stress and being indispensable.
Quality not quantity is the key and when we tap into the energetic quality of our own bodies rhythm and natural way to move we not only access a wealth of vitality and life but also a wisdom that universally holds us all together. A super cool blog thank you Gabriele.
I’ve spent so much of my life racing time, trying to fit in as much as I possibly could. It’s quite staggering how exhausting that is compared to being in the flow of what is needed next and not needing to complete anything but seemingly completing far more than I set out.
I know for myself, and I have a feeling that it will be the same for many others, that when I go into rush mode ie “racing against time”, to get something done within a specific time frame that it rarely gets completed in time. Why? – because in rush mode I am working ahead of myself therefore not connected to me and as a result mistakes get made and I often have to go back and do something again, and sometimes again. But when I choose to give myself the space to complete the task, work with me in each moment and not rush ahead of myself, there will be few, if any mistakes and the task gets completed in plenty of time. Rush is one word that is slowly being erased from my dictionary.
What quality do we want to grace the earth with, that of rushing and have to get things done, or one of space and being present as we complete our jobs, knowing our choice affects many people?
This is a great question Lorraine, and it makes it so clear which one to choose.
When we look up rush in Latin meaning of rush this is what I got; “stir up, disturb; discharge/hurl (missile); flow rapidly/strong current; rush; “rush; urge/rouse/agitate; enrage/inflame; spur/impel; summon/assemble; cause; jump/leap (up/on/towards), rush/dash (at/against), assault; mount (male-female);” So is it any wonder when we rush to a deadline ( as Steve gave us in his comment above; “Deadline, from the US Civil War, the line around the prisoner of war compound and the tree line, anyone caught in between was shot or safe if they could reach the tree line.”) that there are many forces you bring into play, which play havoc with us!
So could it be that to rush is any out side force that will do anything so that we will be taken away from our Soul?!!
Agreed Linda, and may I add that when we appreciate our “natural quality” we evolve.
The quality within us with which we do, or think anything is an imprint that is left behind.
This is a deeply inspiring blog to read, Gabriele. The difference in quality when we are ‘being’ in the freedom of spaciousness or ruled and limited by time constraints in the constant cycle of ‘doing’ is very clear.
“All there was – was the space to do what had to be done but I hadn’t squeezed this doing into one of my usual to-do boxes and seasoned it with haste, raciness and thoughts of being too slow and nor was I sitting at my desk with physical tension or in anticipation of a fast and speedy end result”.
It is fascinating to have real life experiences to help deliver important realisations like you have delivered in this blog, ‘when I don’t rush, I am not slow!’
Interesting to consider that as a child I indeed experienced time completely different then now in my adult life. Now time is valuable time and no time can be wasted so to say, but when I was a child I did not bothered about time, I just enjoyed the space and life in full in response of the cycles of the seasons and of day and night, time actually did not exist. It just was introduced later in my up growing up to the point where I am now, a life where much is dictated by my watch.
I absolutely loved the book Time Space and all of us – Book 1, Time by Serge Benhayon – it was totally life changing. Just this morning I completed reading Time Space and all of us – Book 2, SPACE and WOW it is beyond awesome. Can’t recommend these 2 books highly enough and look forward to the publication of book 3 “all of us”.
Deadline / Dead Line – what a great point to bring attention to the accuracy of this combination of words and the killer effect it can have if not approached with awareness.
What is the counter of Dead Line? Living Sphere?
Ditto! Nicola, the “Living-Sphere” is one you have pulled out of the spherical box.
Can’t box a living sphere!
Indeed, deadline, what is the origin of the word? But what I can sense is that it is even a further reduction of space that time had already put on it.
I am sure that these words “when I don’t rush, I am not slow” may confuse a few people and in the past, they definitely would have confused me. But now that I have come to understand more about time and space I too have discovered that when I am totally with me as I am doing something, with no imaginary finish line in place and with no expectations I find that I actually complete the task very easily and often much faster that I had suspected it would take. The difference for me is, that without the push and the rush all there is left is a wonderful feeling of spaciousness offering all the ‘time’ in the world.
You have explained this so well because you have experienced it in and from your own body; I find the phrase “when I don’t rush, I am not slow” confirmed every day, no matter how often I might fall into the trap of thinking I need to do things the old, rushed way. The spaciousness of not rushing is very precious indeed.
Or, in other words, when I don’t rush, I am not slow! love this! So important to really live.
We are all caught up in a race with time, and TV. brings it to us in huge doses as it checks us out and we feel there is no time pressure! With the digital age we can copy any show then we need not waste time so called but time always places pressure on us, because we would “have felt frazzled and on edge, under pressure, physically tight and mentally highly strung”, so we spent time checked out in TV land thinking we are fixed.
Everything we do that is in a self-loving rhythm for us, is part of our evolution, this is never a waste of space as is time wasting when in front of a screen! Screens can also be great tool as Gabriele has shared when used in service for your work.
What strikes me reading this today is how we can create unnecessary struggle, strife and distraction by seemingly fighting or racing against time and the simplicity and space that can open up if we instead bring all of ourselves to the task at hand…
Being willing to look outside the square of life and time offers new insights into the socially accepted understandings of time.
A lovely blog to read, and interesting comments of how living in space feels as opposed to living under time, and the effect this has in our lives. Very inspiring.
Interestingly enough when I am more connected and living more from my stillness time seems to expand as I am able to get more done whilst still doing the same things and giving it more attention and quality to detail. Amazing! Time expands when you are with you!
“Speed had become irrelevant and I was not competing with time, trying to outdo, outsmart, outrun or even overtake it.” And as you say the job took as long as it did. I have been experimenting with being much more purposeful – and not rushing- when I find myself running a little late. Staying present with myself somehow allows time to seemingly slow down – and I’m not late! Space has opened up on account of me being present with me.
Finding our own rhythm in life has always allowed a flow that I have always appreciated! It is almost like time stands still and we get the space to do what ever is necessary with no restraints.
I know when I am feeling overwhelmed with what I have to get done I feel I am racing against time or I am running out of time, when I stay present with myself and with the task at hand there is plenty of time and space for what needs to be done.
It is magical what happens when we stay with ourselves and in our body and don’t get ‘carried away’, i.e. carried onward and ahead of ourselves and into the imagined future by way of rushing and cramming.
When we make life about quality first we find that time comes to us instead of us chasing it, this creates space around our bodies where more of what is needed can be achieved with an imprint of truth and harmony within.
Not rushing is great medicine for my physical and mental well-being.
The body lives in moments is what Serge Benhayon has taught and I have found that to be true. Our bodies absolutely hate being rushed.
It feels like it is how we use the concept of time to change how we are with ourselves in our movement. I can totally relate to this example you share here, but also there are other times when I think the task I am engaged with is too tedious and perhaps more time consuming than what I perceive is worth and I can literally fall asleep doing that, and that feels like I am just withdrawing myself from the task in hand. So, in this instance I may not be rushing against time, but still resisting the flow and removing myself from my own movement just in a different way.
There are myriad ways in which we can deny the true movement our body is attuned to – we can do it via raciness and we can do it through apathy and boredom. Both are very draining and counter our vitality and zest for life.
I agree that dragging my feet over a task is also very draining, and it’s clearly my attitude to the task that creates the lag.
With a certain attitude, all doors shut and the work is twice as hard, if not many times harder.
The more I try to control how much I get done, going into a rush or stress around it, the less efficient I become. Some days I am amazed at how much space I feel stretch out in front of me, and how much I can get done when I stay in what feels like the rhythm and flow of the day.
Cramming and rushing are the antithesis of spaciousness and flow.
Yes and the difference between feeling yourself running to ‘time’ (as a constraint and pressure) or ‘space’ (as an open-ended connection with everything)
An ex-pert is a drip under pressure, an astro-naught has no-space and creating time comes about by starting with at-least being gentle as is taught by the Gentle Breath Meditation, which could be described as a feeling-of-space within the body!
Us vs them, me against you, teams fighting teams, against all of the odds – our world is full of ways we describe life as a big battle. Is it any wonder that whilst we may not being bombed, we still feel like we are at war in the end? For when we proceed with this habit of seeing life as a race, we fight against our natural grace. We keep thinking of clever ways we can compete better when none of it is actually needed at all. As you show Gabriele, when we accept the true order of how time actually works – we start to understand the true flow of our world.
We seem to be obsessed with this race and getting jet pack fuelled in many different ways to be faster than before. Just recently I have been struggling myself with how to ‘fit everything in’. But nowhere in this debate did I consider the possibility of quality. What you present Gabriele offers us the chance to see that what we call time is just a result of energy. And so if we chose Love so too does our sense of space change.
As I type these words, I have a choice, to rush ahead, or let each letter that I type reverberate in my life. When I take the second route, I find, there’s not so much I need to say as there’s no need to fill up things, but just an enjoyment and appreciation of space. Thank you Gabriele for helping join the dots and helping to reconnect us all with the spacious way we were as a child.
That suggests that we are trying to fill spaces, an emptiness in other words, when we are rushing by doing more than is needed in an instance – possibly another reason why we are drained and exhausted?
It is like we are afraid of the spaciousness and the emptiness comes from the disconnection from ourselves which compresses the spaciousness. Whereas, children tend to live in spaciousness and they feel at ease with it, hence we see children being very joyful.
Children have an ease and suppleness that is not burdened with past experiences; they get a fresh start and their movements and spaciousness are proof of it. They are great role models.
I like your offering here Gabriele. After all we do what we do but as you show it does not have to be done under this constant pressure, rushing or stress that is so common nowadays. We are allowed to enjoy every moment and things still get done – on time.
I just love what you have so beautifully expressed here Gabrielle, a powerful lesson for us all;
“When we stop misinterpreting time as a movement and instead regard it as space, everything changes and rhythm and order take precedence. And further, everything that needs to be done gets done”.
When we watch or race against time we are measuring and judging ourselves on the pace and time we take to complete things which sets our bodies into a frazzle and our natural rhythm is thrown out the door. Surrendering to our bodies own pace and the way it likes to move brings a great deal of ease and freedom to our days and the anxiety we once had dissipates completely. Connecting to our movements connects us to space and this is so very expanding and time simply fades away.
Reading this reminds me that if I’m struggling or feeling like I’m pushing through something with a hardness to come back to my whole body and be fully present with what I’m doing – it’s amazing how much struggle and seeming hardness we can create for ourselves when there is another way we can flow in life…
And interesting how ‘normal’, widely accepted and laudable the hardness and rushing are deemed to be – there is no sense that it can be otherwise.
Whilst reading your blog this morning Gabrielle I was struck by the times I self criticised and self judged; thus not allowing the natural rhythm and flow of life to just be, without rush or complication. Thank you for the gentle reminder.
Self judgement and self criticism can be such a habitual undercurrent that it takes utter awareness and considerable self love to turn it around and leave the struggle behind.
‘when I don’t rush, I am not slow!’ I was called ‘slow’ as a child and teenager and now and then this pops up in my mind and creates an anxiousness and rush in my body but what you say is true don’t rushing means quality in movements and gives a complete different perspective to what needs to be done.
That must have been a compliment then, being slow as a child. It’s the adults who seem to have a problem with that, never the children.
When there is surrender to what is in front of us in life, what we have carried as a picture in our mind as of how things have to happen gets thrown out the window. It may feel unnerving if pictures are what we have held onto as comfort, but when we actually feel what is going on within us, it may be a different story. There is a sense of steadiness, which does not play ball with what the world has made normal, it is expressing a movement which comes from within my being rather than with what life has said I have to be. There is also a slight unease to feel this, as this only means there is so much more potential to fully live out in what we call life, but I am willing to go there.
What if we’re not actually going anywhere at all, just moving around from a to b, and it’s life that comes towards us, based on the choices we make from moment to moment? This is a completely different way of looking at life, from chasing after it, trying to make it fit the picture of how we want it to be, to understanding that we are part of a much greater and grander flow of the universe. It then becomes a much simpler choice: are we aligned to the flow of the bigger picture, with all of our movements in harmony with that, or battling against it?