Time Warp: The Superpower of Being Present

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Do human beings have the ability to manipulate time? Can we slow it down and speed it up? I think we do. It’s happened to all of us. A mandatory meeting drags on even a few minutes over the stated time. An hour in an escape room and feels like you just started. You manage to catch your phone with catlike precision moments before it falls in the bathtub. How does this happen?

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“What we focus on, expands.” This phrase is thrown around the personal development world a lot, and for good reason. It’s referring to how things tend to grow the more you focus on it, and I think it can apply to time as well.

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It’s all about being present. This is something you’ve probably heard too, and when words like this are thrown around a lot, they can to lose their meaning. So what does being present mean?

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To me, being present means listening. This is more than just using your ears, it’s listening with all of your senses to things that are happening this very moment. Your senses aren’t somewhere in the future, and they certainly aren’t anywhere in the past. People who practice meditation refer to it as noticing. You notice the sound of rain, you notice the smell of coffee, you notice your friend’s smile as they talk about the day.

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If noticing is done well, judgement is left out of the picture. Think about it, can you judge something that you haven’t had the time to reflect on? Being completely in the moment is like being a rock in a stream. Each experience is new, it’s appreciated, and then it’s gone.

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Some great things happen when you are present. Wonder begins to creep in again, and you may even find that you begin to be curious. When we judge ourselves, we naturally suppress this curiosity because we don’t know where it will end up; we want to feel sure.

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The current moment also expands. It can feel like time is slowing down, but it’s because you’re savoring it (a word a friend of mine likes to use). If you’re focusing on the person you’re spending time with, you’re appreciation and relationship grows. If you’re focusing on a task, you get more of the task done. Be present has freed you from distractions.

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Some tips for being present:

1. Take a deep breath and feel it – ground yourself
2. Show gratitude to the moment you are in – it’s all you have
3. Appreciate all of your senses – notice with more than your eyes
4. Make time for what matters to you – don’t leave the important up to chance

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Take a deep breath, open your senses, and feel time expand. This moment is all you have, it’s all you’ll ever have, so stretch it out as far as you can.

Questions for You

What is an area of your life you’d like to expand?

How much energy could you save by not worrying about the future?

What steps will you take today to be present?

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I’d love to hear from you! Comment Below!

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