Finding Time for Everything: Infinite Flow

By Chaya Silberstein

In this busy world we live in, time can seem like a bird flying away, but what if it doesn't have to be like this? There is timing in music. Each note, each beat, and while the song ends at some point, it also lasts forever -- through time and generations -- played on repeat as many times as you'd like.

When coaching people to feel difficult emotions, I sometimes like to say, "You have all the time in the world, in this moment now." Now is always now, yet it flows, is fluid. Now. Now. Now. Now. Like a river flowing. Infinity seems to live in Now, yet how easy it is to run away from a moment with the belief that it'll be painful. But what if, instead of leaning away from the belief, we lean into it. Gently. Kindly.

One of my biggest issues is sometimes feeling overwhelmed, like I have too much to do and yep, not enough time to do it. Where do I begin?

As Ram Dass would say, "Be Here Now" or "Gone, gone, gone beyond/ gone beyond beyond/ hail the goer."

In the space of the infinite, time becomes immeasurable. How often have you sat in a session or done a session and an hour felt like 5 minutes, or vice versa. Time is immeasurable yet we often calculate it so carefully.

The beauty I have felt, when deep in the zone, is that time is actually layered. It seems linear but one moment seems to cover another and then another. This has helped me a lot when it seems I have so many tasks to complete. I feel it as one, I find the connecting thread, I write a list.

Joy helps too. Doing what you love, or finding a way to approach it with love. Wow! This great world we live in! All this great "stuff" we get to do. Think of children. Everything is exciting at first.

"Wow! A broom!"

"Wow! Building blocks!"

"Wow! I get to play school!"

If it Feels Difficult, Pretend You Love it!

Pretend that you get to pretend. Don't feel happy? Pretend that you get to play happy. How cool is that? How fun life would be if we approached everything this way.

We sometimes put great weight on meeting deadlines, and yes, while very important, what if it could be fun? What about a tea break or ice cream break, or a cloud watching break? Or actually meeting the deadline with, “Hello Sir Deadline, how do you do?”

What if he answered back and said something like, “Hello my love. Why so grave? I’m not as somber as you think. I don’t even have teeth.”

You might ask him about his diet and comment on saving money on his dentist bill, though he then informs you about his dentures and how he once left them in a cup on the dining room table at a nursing home he was visiting and they disappeared. His instinct was to curl up in a corner and spitefully accuse everyone passing by of stealing them, but he resisted instinct and instead focused on the clocks. They were an hour behind. No one had changed them since daylight savings emerged two months ago. His friends all vehemently complained that they were confused about time as it was, but no one seemed to listen because the staff were rushing about, short on time.

See where I’m going with this? When we let go of things being a certain way, we tap into something deeper than time and transcendence begins to happen. Words dance on the page, and memories that seem unrelated appear and take on the form of a fictional character named Sir Deadline.

Okay, I can hear the question forming, this is fun and all, but what does this have to do with energy healing? Stay on topic please.

Well, you see, as you already probably know, everything is energy. Sometimes we like to pretend it’s not. I was once working with this little girl who asked me if fairies are real. She was quite upset because her friend told her they weren’t and she was crushed by this belief. I told her yes! In the land of imagination, fairies are definitely real. And the light when back on in her eyes and there she was again, feeling alive.

So, it’s all about how you spin it, whether to yourself or others. So, it’s not even about whether energy work is real or not, or even whether you feel it or not, but are you getting results, does it make you a little happier? Are you connecting to others and feeling a little bit better with whatever obstacles you seem to be facing today?

Life is life. Some say, we’re already pretending. That it’s all Maya, an illusion. So, if we are already pretending, acting as if we’re in a play, forget the tragedy, make it a comedy. Give yourself not just a happily ever after, but a happy journey, each moment, now. For there is no ending, really. Infinite time, Infinite you.

Yes, of course there is suffering and difficulty and not every moment is happy. So again, we lean into it, without judgement, but rather surrender to what is, in this moment.

“To see a world in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour”

― William Blake

Image, you had all the time in the world, what would you do? What would you smell, what would you taste? What sights would greet you, what food would be served? Now as you envision this, experience it as if it’s happening right now, for it is somewhere, even if it appears to be just your mind.

We already are what we want to be. We sometime see things as outside ourselves, as reaching for it, bringing it to us, but what if everything we ever dreamed of already existed inside us, and rather than go outside and look, we merely need to uncover the layers that conceal our great treasures.

This reminds me of a story I once wrote:

To Walk the Distance

Once there was a man who sought a legendary jewel. He was told that whoever found this jewel would be blessed with good luck and great fortune. This man did not have a horse, did not have a boat and couldn’t possibly afford a donkey but he did have a sturdy pair of shoes. He put them on his feet, double knotted the laces, and set off on his journey.

He walked through villages and deserted plains, busy smoke stacked cities and farmlands full of grain. To all those he encountered, he asked, “Do you know where I can find this jewel?” Some looked at him oddly, others smiled politely, but everyone shook their heads, no.

The man walked and walked, but he felt no closer than when he had started.

At last, he felt something rubbing at his toe, irritating it. So, he sat down on a big rock in middle of a field, removed his worn-out shoes, and dug his hand inside to find the source of his discomfort. His eyes went wide when he saw what he held in hands. It radiated like the sun, and all his weariness faded away. He was holding the very thing he had been searching for, all along.

So, it’s like that. We search and search outside ourselves, forgetting, we ourselves are “it.” Sometimes all it takes is experiencing what appears to stand in the way and facing the two-headed monster. If you stay long enough with the experience in a gentle way, you realize that under the monster is nothing. Emptiness. Infinity.

At first it may appear dark, like a void, but again, embracing the discomfort, getting excited about the journey, rather than avoiding the void, we get closer to it and begin to experience the indescribable, which many names have named, yet words can never do it justice.

Making a Wish on a Dandelion

While taking a little break from writing this, I was walking down the block, when I came across a small garden full of dandelions. Of course, what do when you see a dandelion? Make a wish of course and then blow it all free. Now, a hundred more dandelions will grow full of the energy of my wish. Or perhaps it’s my wish growing and we just think of it as dandelions?

So, to bring it all back, reel it all in, time is quite like that. We plant seeds. If we try to rush through it, the flowers will still grow, but we may miss them. So, when feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to appreciate where you are. Look around at the flowers or dreams that are growing. All they need is nourishment -- a little bit of sunshine from your attention and water with your love.

When moving quickly, you can pretend you’re on an escalator or moving walkway at an airport. Moving yet still. Breathing yet quiet. Time yet space. The world is constantly moving through space and so are you. Enjoy the ride!