One notion I keep on bumping into in the course of my reading is that time is an illusion, a man-made construct. This hypothesis, increasingly embraced by theoretical physicists, holds that there is no past or future. There is only now, the present moment, which serves as the portal to infinity. Everything that has happened, everything that ever will happen, is happening now.
Time is what keeps everything from happening at once.
Albert Einstein
This concept has been around for quite some time (meaning, I suppose, that it has always been, and will always be, around). For instance, Kurt Vonnegut wrote in his 1959 masterpiece, The Sirens of Titan, ” . . . everything that ever has been always will be, and everything that ever will be always has been.” Trying to make sense of the idea that time is an illusion makes my brain hurt.
ABOUT PHIL BOLSTA
Through God’s Eyes: Finding Peace and Purpose in a Troubled World, is a road map for living a more peaceful, beautiful life. It’s the one book that explains how dozens of spiritual principles interact, how to weave them together into a cohesive worldview, and how to practically apply this spiritual wisdom to daily life.
Who will benefit from reading Through God’s Eyes?
Anyone who is on a spiritual path, or wants to start one.
Anyone who loves life, or wants to learn how to.
Anyone who is happy, or wants to be happier.
Click here to order your copy of Through God’s Eyes from GodsEyesAmazon.com.
For an inscribed copy, click here to e-mail Phil for information.
Click on the link below to download a FREE 28-page chapter!
SEE EVERY MOMENT AS A GIFT
Click here to visit the Through God’s Eyes website.
Click here to ask Phil to add you to his e-mail list for updates on his blog and books.
Here is a two-minute video introduction to Through God’s Eyes.
Like to learn more about Through God’s Eyes? Here is a free 44-page PDF sampler from the book that includes:
• an overview of the book
• the complete table of contents
• the Foreword by Caroline Myss
• my Introduction
• chapter excerpts
• a sample end-of-chapter story
• endorsements from authors and thought leaders
Just click on the link below to download your free PDF sampler!
THROUGH GOD’S EYES PDF SAMPLER
Schedule a Mastery Mentoring phone session with Phil to learn how to apply principles of spiritual living more effortlessly and effectively. Priced affordably! Click here to e-mail Phil for details.
Phil’s eBook, The Logic of Living a Spiritual Life: Supporting a Life of Faith Through Logic and Reason, is now available for 99 cents.
Order it at GodIsLogical.com.
In this eBook, you’ll find answers to questions like:
• What is the cornerstone of a spiritual life, and why?
• What is the secret to liberating yourself from other people’s judgments and expectations?
• How do you reconcile the “free will vs. Divine Will” conundrum?
• Why is there an exception to “Everything happens for a reason”?
Those who worship logic instead of God are only half right. Not only is it logical to believe in God and to live a faith-based life, the existence of a loving, benevolent God that governs all creation is perhaps the only systematic worldview that explains every aspect of life.
Phil is also the author of Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything, a collection of 45 inspiring, life-changing stories from prominent authors and thought leaders he interviewed. The roster of storytellers includes Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Neale Donald Walsch, Caroline Myss, Larry Dossey, Rachel Naomi Remen, Bernie Siegel, Dean Ornish, and Christiane Northrup. Sixty Seconds has been translated into four languages: Italian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. Reading this book is like spending a few minutes face to face with each of the contributors and listening to their personal stories.
Click here to order Sixty Seconds.
Click here to read unsolicited testimonials from readers.
Learn more by visiting the official Sixty Seconds website.
Here is a three-minute video introduction to Sixty Seconds.
Tags: Albert Einstein, Kurt Vonnegut, the present moment, The Sirens of Titan, time is an illusion
Triumph of the Spirit 
October 21, 2008 at 5:28 AM
I’ve gotta weigh in again Phil … as usual I have something to say! Time is an illusion … all time is, is a measuring system for us so we can interact with others in some sort of measured way, and we all use the same time concept, so when we agree to meet at 7 pm we each show up at the right time! Time makes the world run smoother and be less chaotic. But there is no time in the spirit world.
Applying it to my own life and in the context of my daughter Liz … she died 5 years ago … sometimes that time frame feels like yesterday and sometimes it feels like 100 years ago … and both of those feelings are exactly the same – yesterday feels just like 100 years ago.
Everything I’ve learned about this I’ve learned from Kathryn Harwig … and she says that the concept is that if everything is now, then we all have the ability to change the past and the future. I can see how you can change the future because it hasn’t happened yet, but how can we change the past? That concept is too large for my brain to figure out, and Kathryn didn’t know either so that made me feel better!
October 21, 2008 at 9:06 AM
Yes, I understand all this . . . to a point. If this reality is an illusion then certainly time would be part of that illusion. But within this material existence, the passage of time cannot be denied.
It’s true that our perspective can seemingly alter the passage of time. For example, 30 seconds can seem like a blip or an eternity depending on which side of the bathroom door you’re on! But that doesn’t mean that those 30 seconds are ticking off at a different rate than they normally do. It’s our own experience that colors our interpretation to them.
October 21, 2008 at 11:46 AM
exactly – the measurement of time doesn’t change … but our PERCEPTION of the measurement does, depending entirely upon our circumstance at that particular moment in time.
October 21, 2008 at 3:42 PM
Actually, experiments based on Einstein’s Theory of Relativity proved that time can be manipulated. Not by much, but the results were inarguable.
April 28, 2010 at 7:44 AM
time is what keeps everything from happening at once.
“Space is what prevents everything from happening to me!”
John Wheeler wasn’t it?
April 28, 2010 at 7:45 AM
Phil Ricketts not Phil Bolsta
April 28, 2010 at 8:10 AM
Ha! I like it, Phil! Thanks!