Suppose that you are standing by the tree in front of your house. Suppose that a cycle and car pass by you in the same direction. You would probably observe two things:
- both the cycle and the car passed by you and
- the car moved faster than the cycle.
If you dwell on this for some time you can quickly figure out the following.
- that the cycle and car moved past you was observed only because you were standing still.
- that the car moved faster than the cycle was also observed because you were standing still.
- that the speed of motion of the car as observed by you and the speed of motion of the car as observed by the one riding the cycle are two separate things.
This idea of speed/space relativity is not new to any of us. We have all studied about this in our physics class at school.
Einstein’s relativity theory points us to the fact that time is not a constant flow if observed from a consciousness moving at the speed of light. Philosophically speaking, time appears to be passing by if and only if we are staying put (psychologically) or moving slower than the “speed of time”. That the time has passed by becomes apparent or “visible” to us only if we don’t move along with the time. I guess we are probably coming back to what Einstein said – space and time are not absolute, but relative. Relative to whom? To the observer or, put in other words, the observing consciousness.
That there is a future or past occurs to us, only if we are not in the “present”. If we psychologically move along with time – there will be no past and no future – just present. Think about it – would the notion of past, present, future or even time (as in time-of-the-day) be real had it not been for an observing consciousness?
Most of us are not psychologically moving along with time. We sometimes stay put in the past by holding on to grudges, opinions, interpretations and in-general pent up feelings. Sometimes we project ourselves into the future by imagining a point in life that doesn’t have all the “uncomfortable” things that we think that we are having at what is perceived as, ‘right now’. While we are staying in the past or future; the time moves on and we are no longer in sync with it. When that happens the past or future occurs as real to us, because we desperately try to fit them into our present.
Only the present moment exists, the past or future doesn’t exist. Our habit of being in the past or future makes us go out of sync with time – thereby making the “present” an illusion; when in-fact the “present” is all that there ever is!
[Inspiration for this blog: Peaceful Warrior 2006 Movie]