Moments-Out-of-Time
I’ve been reflecting on how restless I’ve been for most of my life. Always on the move, always seeking, going here, driving there, hungry for experience, creating this, struggling through the creative process, the transformational process, the healing process, the process of being alive.
Looking back now from the comfort of my easy chair I’m in awe of how many miles I’ve walked, tramping across the land and through the city streets; how many roads I’ve sped down in a hurry to get to a place where I could rest; how many trains and boats and planes I’ve taken to reach somewhere I thought I’d find answers to my burning questions. I honestly can’t tell you how many houses I’ve lived in, and I was just as restless creatively. I was never interested in being rich or famous or having a huge following, the joy of creating was enough, and as soon as I finished one project I’d jump onto the next, there was always somewhere else to explore, something more to discover.
These days, as my physical energy is ebbing and I need to measure it out more frugally, I’m experimenting with the notion that everything I need is already here, now. I’m cultivating moments out-of-time.
These are the best moments. I love being in the place where I feel connected to everything. And all doubt disappears. There’s no rush, no urgency, everything is unfolding easily and naturally. I can rest back knowing I’ll be held in love, and when you’re in love there is nowhere else to go.
Simply make time and space and intend it
It’s so very simple to enter the timeless moment. I simply make time and space for it and intend it. I’m willing to put aside all my busy-ness and goals and aspirations, and simply be. Right now, as I’m writing this, I lean my head back and gaze up into the clouds and immediately I’m transported into a deep state of relaxation, appreciation and gratitude. Being in a beautiful place helps. There’s a beach I go to, where I sit under my favourite tree on the silky sand, and gaze at the sea and the people walking beside the sparkling water, and it always works its magic. Or I simply take a few steps around the corner of my house, where I’ve made a little secluded garden with colourful flowers that have been giving and giving for months, and as soon as I sit down with my flowers in the warm sunshine, I’m transported into that timeless state.
Cloud gazing, sea gazing, flower gazing.
When I shift my gaze away from the demands of time with its to-do lists and busyness, I am contented, fulfilled and connected with All-That-Is. I see beauty in everything and I’m part of universal flow.
Create little sanctuaries of peace and self-nurturing
When I come to think about it, I’ve been cultivating these moments outside time for years. Alongside all the restless going and searching I’ve been creating little sanctuaries of peace and self-nurturing. Just as cloud gazing empties and calms the mind, absorption in a creative task can bring me present in a different way. The practice of meditation, for example, requires focus, intention and an application of the will which encourages awareness. And so does writing a poem. Clearing away mental clutter, being awake, alert and relaxed, opening the mind, receiving inspiration, allowing universal energy to flow, finding words for the unsayable, crafting – all of this requires a delicate balance between will and surrender, beginner’s mind and applied experience. A rhythm arises as the opening of the mind leads naturally into creative flow.
When mind is alert and empty, body relaxed, emotions calm, soul present, universal intelligence is flowing, everything is connected and full of beauty. This is as close to perfection as human life can get. A few moments in timeless time is like floating in a warm current and looking up into an endless blue sky with a few fluffy shapeshifting clouds
Every time I touch the timeless space of deep peace inside me, I feel immensely grateful.
I resolve to remember to visit timeless time every day from now on. And to cultivate the practice of enjoying every moment – even those that seem fraught and full of angst. This is a practice I can commit to.
