More Time in '10

As I look back to 2009, my first thought was - it flew by! So I've resolved in 2010 to have my life slow down. I've been under the notion for quite a while that my life is flying by because I'm getting older and there is nothing I can do to stop it. But I've come across some ways the mind works that cause this phenomenon, which I'd like to share.

The way our minds work, according to Daniel Siegel in his book The Mindful Brain, is that we begin to make summations and create generalizations based on incoming data to our senses. He says our learning brains seek to find similarities and differences, thus drawing conclusions, and based on these we then act. This process keeps us from having to re-invent the wheel, so to speak, every time we approach something new in our lives. But this same process also can keep us from feeling alive. If most of our life is shuttled into a previously existing category of reality, it can get pretty routine as we mindlessly move through our day. Siegel calls these "top down" influences which can make minor differences disappear and nothing becomes the "odd-ball." We then lose the novelty of everyday living, and subjective time is contracted.

The antidote for this kind of top down processing is mindful reflection. We do literally need to stop and "smell the roses." We begin to wake up our minds when we begin to see more, hear more and smell more - in general, observe more and reflect upon it. What before was "just a flower" can become the one-of-a-kind flower that it actually is. By tuning in to the present moment, we can literally calm down the past's intrusion on our present experience and we can expand the subjective time in our lives! A different area of our brain is activated in mindful awareness that produces more of a "bottom-up" processing.

So when I feel harried or rushed though my day, I plan to stop and take stock, do some deep breathing, and assess what I'm sensing. Another way to develop this core functioning so it becomes more automatic is by meditating daily. You may just start out with 5 minutes per day and eventually work up to 30 minutes. As a Christian, I prefer to meditate on specific scriptures and to rehearse them over and over, interjecting myself into the passage's realities. However, other forms of meditation do work as well, such as focusing on your breathing, tuning in to your physical sensations, or focusing on nature.

You may say you don't have time for this kind of contemplative life. Your life may be too busy or stressed or fragmented. But the opposite is true - that is why it is so. By taking the time to reflect, your life will come more into balance. And time will subjectively slow down. I'm committing to that this new year. What about you?