From the day we are born, our minds are bombarded with information: words, numbers, concepts, etc. This information is crucial to our being able to interact with each other and the world, but it also makes it very difficult to quiet our minds and be focused in the here and now.
This essay offers a nontraditional method for achieving a meditative state of mind through learning to see the reality that underlies all of the knowledge that we have accumulated. This method is easy to understand intellectually, but will require taking some time to immerse yourself in experientially. With some practice, it is sustainable and can be used anytime and anywhere.
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Much of what we call ‘reality’ is more accurately described as ‘consensus reality’—it is our reality because we agree upon it. There are many aspects of our lives that are better described using this term. Most of these consensus realities are shared by a subset of the human population, but a handful are global.
Here are a couple of examples:
Consensus reality: Each country has its own national holidays, days when it’s assumed that most people won’t work if they can avoid it and will spend time with family and friends if possible. In the USA, the 4th Thursday in November (Thanksgiving) is such a day. Most Americans grow up having a special feeling about this day.
Reality: Days don’t have any universal special meaning. For most people born in other countries, Thanksgiving is just another day like any other, just as their nation’s holidays probably hold no special meaning for Americans. Holidays have special meaning only when we agree that they do.
Consensus reality: We all recognize geopolitical boundaries that divide nations. People on either side of these artificially-drawn lines may speak different languages, use different currencies, obey different laws, observe different customs, etc.
Reality: Our beautiful planet is unaware of any boundaries we humans have agreed to and exists without any divisions outside of those created by nature.
We each have many of these consensus realities that are part of our understanding of the world. There is no harm in most of them, and many of them are very important and/or useful.
Awareness that we are participating in these agreed-upon perceptions of reality can keep our minds flexible and creative through realizing that others might see things differently than we do and through seeing that there is an underlying reality that is free of any decisions we humans have made.
Seeing this underlying reality is more difficult the more people there are who are participating in forming the consensus. The languages we speak are a good example of this.
Language
People talk about fire and the wheel being the greatest inventions in the history of humankind, but that’s true only when speaking of physical objects. The ability to communicate through language is far more important than either.
Both in our thoughts and in our conversations with others, we are immersed in language all day long, every day. It is very difficult to imagine a world in which we did not have a means to communicate with others, share our ideas, make plans, etc.
But each individual language we use is a consensus reality, too. The objects we see in nature or create for ourselves have no names attached to them in reality. It is the same for abstract ideas and anything else for which we use words. Anyone who speaks any given language is agreeing with the other speakers of that language to use the same words for any communication they may have with one another.
Understanding that the underlying reality is that there are no names attached to each object we see or concept we consider can make it much easier to learn other languages, because being able to see that something can be called whatever you choose to call it frees your mind to accept new words as a substitute for what has become very familiar in your native language.
Even if we had just one language for the entire world, that would just be a much larger consensus reality.
Let’s do a quick exercise that allows us to explore the underlying reality that is free of words.
[IMPORTANT: Do not skip or rush through this exercise. The main goal here is to experience the reality underlying the consensus we humans have agreed to, not just understand it intellectually.]
Language exercise
Goal: to be able to observe an object without using any words to describe your experience–no colors, no shapes, no words to describe what it might be used for, etc.
Choose any object and focus solely on it. Look at it in great detail without allowing yourself to use any words to describe it. Notice the many details you probably overlook if you just glance at it and assign a name to it. See the color and shape and texture without naming them. Look at the object from all angles. Do this for a while without thinking of anything else.
Not using words to describe the object allows you to let go of whatever associations you have with that word and really see an object as it exists free of our consensus reality of language.
Practice this on other objects, too, and when you get good at it, try using this exercise on actions like ‘run’ or ‘cook’ or ‘talk’. And if you want a really good challenge, try doing this for some abstract concepts like ‘freedom’ and ‘devotion’.
I’ve heard that some people have much success with this exercise when using it for meditation, but it has never been fully satisfying for me. It is relaxing while doing it, but I find it is difficult to sustain that relaxed feeling once I stop focusing on the object or action or concept. Perhaps you’ll have greater success!
Regardless, it’s at least a nice way to quiet the mind for a while, and it can help to make our minds more flexible through being open to alternate ways to express ideas.
Okay, let’s move on to what, in my opinion, is the most important consensus reality to fully understand.
Time
I don’t know how many global consensus realities there are, but it can’t be many. One very important thing to realize about something that is agreed upon by everyone on the planet is that a global agreement makes the ‘consensus reality’ essentially invisible. If everyone agrees that it is reality, then no one is likely to question it.
Like language, the measurement of time is an invention of ours that has been critical to the advancement of human knowledge and incredibly useful in living our daily lives. But unlike the many languages we use, everyone on Earth uses the same units of measurement.
Take some time to consider how much our units of time measurement dominate your thoughts and actions every day. In addition to all of the general thoughts we have about the recent past and near future constantly occupying our minds, here are a few specific examples of common measurements of time that may apply to you:
Seconds
–If you have a microwave oven, you probably know how many seconds to set it at for many foods and drinks.
Minutes
–You know approximately how many minutes each part of your morning routine takes and how many minutes you need to leave yourself to get to work or school on time.
–You know how many minutes you get for a break and for lunch at work, or to get from one class to the next at school.
–If you jog or bike or swim, you know what number of minutes is a good time for completing the usual distance you do for your workout.
Hours
–If you have a favorite tv or radio show, you know at which hour it airs.
–You know at which hour you’re going to wake up most mornings, and at which hour you will likely go to sleep each night.
–You know which hours of the day some of your favorite restaurants and shops are open, as well as perhaps the library or the post office.
Days
–You know on which day of the year many of your family members and friends were born.
–You know how many more days you have to complete a project at work or school.
–You can name most of the days you will have off from work or school due to a national holiday.
Weeks
We don’t think in terms of weeks as much, but you probably know how many it is until a big event or holiday that you’re excited about, or maybe how many weeks old a new child in your life is.
Months
–You know approximately what kind of weather to expect for each month in your part of the world.
–You probably know how many months into a pregnancy any friends or family that are expecting a child are.
–Sports fans know during which months of the year their favorite teams are active, and how many months until that season begins.
Years
–You know how many years old you and most of your friends and family are.
–You know how many years you’ve worked at your job, and maybe how many more until you retire.
–You know in what year many important events happened.
You can undoubtedly think of hundreds, maybe thousands more examples of how these units of time dominate your consciousness every day. There’s a constant barrage of thoughts about time swirling around in our minds all day long, every day. It’s very useful to break down time into various increments, but it can also be exhausting and stressful with all of these thoughts about time constantly present in our minds.
Our global agreement regarding time measurement makes it a much more reliable tool, but it also makes it easier to confuse the tool as being reality because no one ever says otherwise. I am saying otherwise:
“Our measurement of time is not reality. It is just an incredibly useful tool.”
This is pretty easy to comprehend with regard to seconds, minutes and hours. We have agreed to a day that consists of 24 hours that are comprised of 60 minutes each, which in turn each contain 60 seconds. This makes 86,400 seconds in each of our days.
But these divisions could have been made differently, right? We could have devised measurements similar to the metric system, with each unit of measurement divisible by 10 and a day consisting of 100,000 seconds. This might include 10 hours in a day, with 100 minutes per hour and 100 seconds per minute. Each unit would be a different length from what it is now, which would take some getting used to and would lead to a different perception of time’s passage, but this would be an equally valid way to measure time.
Recognizing that it could be done differently makes it easier to see that the seconds, minutes and hours we use are not reality. They are part of our time measurement consensus reality. And if we used the metric system example I suggested, that would just be a different consensus reality.
Weeks and months are equally easy to imagine differently. With 365 days in most years, we could easily switch to 73 weeks of five days each. And our 12 months of varying lengths could be 10 slightly longer months of varying lengths. Yes, there are reasons we chose the measurements we use, but other measurements could be justified instead.
Days and years are a bit tougher when it comes to understanding that they are not reality. The Earth turns on its axis at a very consistent speed over what we call a 24-hour period, and it revolves around the sun at a very consistent speed over what we call a year. It would make no sense not to communicate with each other by referencing days and years.
But the underlying reality of time, as opposed to our consensus reality, does not exist solely for our planet. Time is (presumably) passing throughout the whole universe, and one needs to take on the perspective of some location other than Earth to fully understand the reality of time’s passage.
We know enough about the other planets in our solar system to use them as an example. Saturn’s trip around the sun is quite a bit longer than ours, and its year is equal to a little over 29 of our years; this means that if you are 58 years old here on Earth, you would be 2 years old if you lived on Saturn! And one day on Venus, which rotates very slowly on its axis, is roughly the same length as 243 days on Earth; very interestingly, this is actually longer than its year, which is 225 Earth days.
With this perspective, it’s easier to see that even days and years as we define them are not terms that refer to the underlying reality of time. They are just another part of our consensus reality regarding time.
So what is the reality of time then?
What is universally true about it?
The truth is that time just flows by with no divisions to it.
Just as Earth knows nothing of the lines we have drawn to divide ourselves, time knows nothing of the divisions we have created to make better use of it.
But how is knowing this of practical use?
Let’s do another exercise, one that—like the exercise we did for language—can be done almost anytime and anywhere.
This exercise has changed my perspective on life dramatically. It has made meditation significantly easier, both in terms of how long it can be sustained and where it can be done. This makes it much easier to focus and be in the here and now.
Hopefully it will do the same for you.
[Important reminder: The object of this exercise is to experience time without the consensus reality we have invented to describe its passage, not just to understand it intellectually. Take your time.]
Time exercise
Goal: to create a temporary state of mind–one to which you can return any time you want–in which there is no measurement of time. This includes the present, any memories you have of the past, and any thoughts you have of the future. Time simply flows by with no references to any divisions.
Start by thinking about your day today, from the time you woke up until this moment. Go through your day, but without using any references to time measurement—no seconds, no minutes, no hours. Don’t think about what time you woke up, when you left home, what time you ate, how long it took to do any of the things you’ve done, etc. Just consider what has happened so far.
Once you are able to do this, go back further and think about what has happened this year so far. Again, use no references to time measurement. Just go through all you can remember.
Next, consider your whole life thus far without any reference to any time measurements. Don’t think about what year you were born or how old you were when certain things happened or how many years you spent in school, etc. Just enjoy recalling as much of your life as you can.
And finally, think ahead to what your future might be like. Consider your work, your relationships, whatever hopes and dreams you may have, and whatever else you can think of, but again with no reference to what years things might happen, for how many years something might last, etc.
If this is difficult for you the first time, keep practicing until it becomes easier.
When you are able to fully immerse yourself in a state of mind in which you see your life without time measurements, observe how different it feels and how you view your life differently. It’s easier to see life as a series of phases (or Eras, for you Taylor Swift fans) and to notice that things like becoming an adult are a transition rather than a discrete event that happens at a specific age, right?
Okay, now comes what was for me an unexpected and fascinating result of doing this exercise: a deeper understanding of what mindfulness and meditation are all about that had remained beyond my grasp for much of my life.
Once you have perfected your ability to see your own life without reference to any divisions in time, you’ll begin to realize that it’s possible to look at time for everyone in history and every place in the universe this way.
Time has been passing since our universe began, and it will continue passing until our universe ends. Reality does not include any minutes, hours, days, years, millenniums, etc. It is only we who have chosen to see it this way because it is useful to do so.
All that exists of time in reality is what has happened (the past), what is happening (the present), and what might happen (the future).
Everything that happened in the past no longer exists except in our memory. Everything that might happen in the future exists only as a plan or hope or dream.
And all of our memories, plans, hopes and dreams–indeed, all of our thoughts–exist only in our minds, and thus they exist only as a part of the present. We can (and need to) reference our memories of the past and our plans for the future constantly, but when we refer to them we are referring to something that exists as part of the present.
The past and future exist only in our minds, as part of the present.
Consider all of this for as long as it takes to fully immerse yourself in this state of mind where time measurement doesn’t exist. Don’t be satisfied with understanding it–experience it. Keep trying if it is difficult at first. It will pay off with much greater focus in the present.
We all need to use our agreed-upon time measurements in order to interact with each other and the world, but it is very useful to be able to turn off the whirlwind of time references whenever we want and relax for a bit in their absence. Once you have perfected the method described above, this will be easy to do anytime and anywhere you want.