Intrinsic International

~ Chapter 3 ~

The Second Distinctive Quality

Collapsed Time and Space

There is a feeling of Presence in the situation, a high level of awareness, and the sense that only ‘this’ exists, and everything beyond this or outside of this doesn’t exist.

Collapsed Time is when all the “rules” about time seem to have fallen away. There is a feeling of spaciousness – expansiveness in the moment – when collapsed time is experienced. It is similar to a Snapshot, in that sometimes, the events and people around you fade, or seem to recede into the background, while the significant event or experience is heightened and singled out. When you are experiencing Collapsed Time, there is the distinct sense of movement.

There are two types of Collapsed Time:

1. Time Slows Down

2. Time Speeds Up

With the first type of Collapsed Time, the experience of the event feels as if it is happening in slow motion. The details of the event, the colors, sights, sounds, and even the smells are clear and detailed. You remember the sequencing of the action, even though in real time it may have occurred very quickly. Many people feel this collapsing of time while going through a traumatic experience, such as an automobile accident. The event takes place in a matter of seconds, yet each detail of the accident is recalled, including thoughts and impressions. It’s not always quite in slow motion, yet there is a spacious quality to it, and stillness to the movement. Recalling a memory of Collapsed Time, you might say, “It seemed to happen in slow motion.”

The second quality of Collapsed Time is when events seem to speed up. Again, the rules of how long something “should” take seem to fall away. What you thought should take months, perhaps takes only weeks, or days. Most often this occurs during periods of intense concentration and absorption in a project or task. This is when you might think, “Time went by so fast.” Or, “Where did the time go?” Begin paying attention to these shifts in the perception of time.

Another example of Collapsed Time speeding up is when you have a clear and detailed picture in your mind of how an upcoming event will play out as if it is already done. The only thing left to do is to go through the motions. This is not planning an event, or using your imagination to visualize what you would like to have happen. This is when a future occurrence presents itself to you as clearly and distinctly as if it is already completed, and “you” are watching it in your mind.

In both instances of time slowing down or speeding up, there is a feeling of Presence in the situation, a high level of awareness. There is the sense that only ‘this’ exists and everything beyond this or outside of this doesn’t exist. As with all of these distinctive qualities, they occur as messages to you from within, either about the event itself, or a lesson from the event.

I was in a car accident, and although it was minor it really stands out for me. I was driving into town, and I remember looking down at the speedometer and seeing my speed at 50 mph, which is interesting that I would remember seeing the speedometer… I wonder if at that moment I was being shown to slow down. This road curved up to the right and then back down to the left, and just over the top was a driveway to the left. On the right was a ravine several feet lower than the road. As I topped the hill, directly in front of me was a car stopped behind a school bus, which was waiting to make the left turn into the driveway to drop off some children. I remember topping the hill and seeing kids standing up in the back of the bus, looking at me with their mouths open, because they could see that I was about to collide with the car that had stopped behind the bus.

This was all in slow motion, and it was like time stopped. I had a choice – if I went to the right the car might roll into the ravine. I could see the car floating off to the right into the ditch as a scene in my mind. Or, I could stop and collide into the car in front of me. I couldn’t go to the left because there was oncoming traffic. It seemed I had all the time in the world to think about my choices, and to select one. I chose to hit my brakes as fast as I could, and I plowed into the stopped car in front of me. The moment I hit the car ahead, the bus turned, which prevented that car from colliding underneath the bus. What I remember is that time stood still; there was no such thing as time, even though all of this happened in seconds. It seemed as though I had forever to make up my mind about what to do.

What really stands out is that there was no feeling of fear. It was an eternal moment. In these moments of collapsed time, you transcend your humanness. Your soul is operating, and from that place there is absolutely no fear.

In those moments, Collapsed Time shows us the illusion of time as we have come to know it, and usually experience it, in our daily lives. We live by the clock or by the earth’s rotation around the sun. We develop our schedules, plans, dining, and even our bathroom breaks, by the clock. We have appointments, meetings, time frames, and deadlines. We go to bed and get up by the clock. From the moment we are born, we are told when to do most things. It is rare in our daily lives that we just follow the natural flow of our energy, eating when we are truly hungry, rising when the body awakens, or simply resting when it needs rest. Instead, alarm clocks blare noise at designated times, and we sit in rush hour, rushing our life to get someplace on time.

How would you live your life, even for one day without a clock? How would your day unfold if you simply followed the movement of energy, and your mind and body acted as one?