Dion's random ramblings: A new neuroscience blog, and the concept of time (does time exist?)

A friend of mine, Philip Collier, has just launched a new neuroscience website at http://www.brainsparks.co.za

Phil and I are cycling buddies, but we also share an interest in the brain - Phil graduated with a Masters in research psychology at the University of Port Elizabeth. He and I often spend our rides up the Helderberg mountain talking about how the mind functions!

Please do check out his new website - it looks set for great things!

I read one of his first posts with great interest. I would encourage you to have a look at the post here - where are you now. What struck me as I read it was the question about the nature of time (and how a poor understanding of the nature of time can hamper a person from truly living in the present moment). I once read a wonderful quote that said, 'we crucify ourselves between two thieves, the regret of yesterday and the fear of tomorrow'. I'm not sure who said it, so help me with a reference if you know! However, what I can say is that I have a much more positive view of the concept of the present - 'the now'. I believe that there is great spiritual value in learning to live in the present moment.

Once you've read Phil's post you may like to consider my response to him (I have copied it below). This gives some insight into how I view the concept of time.

All that being said, happy new year! May the next decade be truly blessed for you!

Hi Philip,

Congratulations on the launch of your new site! It looks fantastic. I look forward to great content and many wonderful interactions in the years to come.

The notion of time has been one that has occupied my mind as well - I have read Tolle's 'The Power of Now' (in fact it is one of the books we use in our conscious leadership programme with the senior management of our company). I found it a most stimulating and helpful book. I do think that his intention is much more focussed upon awareness of the moment than on the actual concept of time.

However, your question raises some very interesting thoughts indeed! The ancient Greek philosophers spoke of two kinds of time, chronos (from which we get our English word 'Chronology' - this is a linear, historical, concept of time). Then they spoke of kairos, this is the kind of time that has to do with moments of rightness, instead of marking sequential events. It has often been described as 'pregnant' time: when a child is to be born and gestation is complete, or there is some form of trauma, then kairos comes to the fore, it is the 'right' time, or the 'selected' moment.

The sages of many of the world's mystical religious and spiritual traditions (Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish mystics to name but a few) have long emphasized the incredible value of being 'present to the moment'.

Some years ago when I was doing some research on 'the new science' (particularly the work of David Bohm the quantum physicist) I came to realise just how 'the lived moment' is hardwired into all of the cosmos. The constant implication and explication of matter in and out of the source of reality (what Bohm called 'active mind') is only perceivable in the moment of realisation. Of course this concept was discovered much earlier by Einstein, Rosen and Podoslky (also called the EPR or tunneling effect). You can read about it in one of my books (download a PDF copy here). See pages 38 forward, but particularly from page 40.

One final note about the philosophy of time, as I have come to understand it, is that time is a construct (like mass or speed). Time is not an aspect of the ontological nature of reality - rather, it is something that we have created in order to make sense of the sequence of experience and events that we process in our conscious minds.

Consciousness, however, is an ontological necessity! Becoming conscious of the present moment, and the power of the present moment, is the key to finding blessing and peace in life. However, history is equally important (since our consciousness of our past and the past of others gives us a sense of perspective on the present, and hopefully it makes us wise enough to act with intention and courage). Moreover, a conscious aspiration is also a helpful thing (however, not to the extent that it draws us out of the present moment so that we miss the joy and opportunity of 'the now').