Why does time travel at different speeds for each individual depending on his or her activity? It seems that if you are doing an activity that takes vast amounts of concentration, your perception of time goes into the background and therefore time, as you perceive it, passes more rapidly.

However, to the other extreme, if you partake in mundane and/or slow activities where there is a low fun-per-minute ratio, and your mind is not wandering (essentially, you make yourself aware of time passage), then time, as you perceive it, passes more slowly. With this in mind, I feel that it is possible to consciously alter the passage of time, to a degree. If you want to make time pass more quickly, let your mind go into what you are doing as much as you can, or let your mind drift. Subsequently, to slow down time, be aware of it more. (But consider: time passage in this manor, is related to interest and motivation. If you view a task as mundane, it will be.) This works only to a small degree, the actual amount of effect you have, will only be determined by you. For me, I have better luck making time pass more quickly than I do making time pass more slowly. Also, time seems to pass at different speeds depending on your memory of the events that took place. As an example of time passing, remember this sentence and refer to it as a marker in time.

As time moves forward, two minutes will have gone by, then two hours, then two days, etc. Before you know it, it will be two months from now and you will look back and see all of the activities that have occurred since you read this letter. It is important to be aware that when activities take place, and you reflect on the memories, there can be a number of responses. For instance, if you are in a painful situation, it is possible that, as time travels forward, the pain diminishes in proportion to time. If you are in a joyous situation, good memories are created and, they too will diminish in proportion to time.

One way to look at the rate of diminishment is to think of the intensity of the situation, your environment and your personality and divide it by the amount of time (Intensity+environment+personality/time). By this formula, take into consideration how intense the situation is. Then look at your environment and determine what you have ahead of you and what influences are going to affect you, and what you can control.

Then look at your personality and make a determination of your character, how well can you deal with situations, and what control do you have over your self and emotions. Then divide it all by the amount of time that has passed and make a determination of what you have to, or want to do to deal with the situation. However, on another note, sometimes you realize how much time has passed since you LAST enjoyed something, and it depresses you. Age has been known to be a powerful depressant, and in some cases, as the numbers go up (days/months/years), the sadness just increases. So acting on the phrase 'CARPE DIUM' has a lot of effect in ones outlook at life. If you can look back and remember all the positive things you have done, age will just be an accepted part of life. Another way to deal with this is to enjoy all situations as experiences. Try and make all memories positive ones. This, of course, isn't always easy. But why hold on to unfavorable memories as bad memories? It is very easy to live in the past and the memories you create will affect this.

I feel that it is hard to live in the present because right now is already then. The moment lasts only until the next moment arrives. Since it is a constant flow, the future passes though a doorway and becomes the past. If you can train yourself to let the future pass through you and not be swept back into the past, you can feel the 'current' and experience life to a greater degree. I feel that it is in this current that you can take control of your life and steer it in specific ways. Therefore, "Nothing bad ever happens, just something different". If you allow yourself to get rid of the old fashion way of thinking that unfavorable feelings are bad, you can look at them again as just experiences and have a better understanding, while learning from them.

Learning something is done by making a reference to BACK into your past. i.e. If you put your hand on a hot stove, you would learn not to do it again. Life is short. Too short, in my opinion, to be concerning one's self with negativity. This, unfortunately, takes a lot of self discipline and control over emotions. It is not easy, especially when you are in an unfavorable situation.

The power one can have over his or her own reality is quite intriguing. Reality, itself, is based on only five inputs into the brain (the five senses), these five inputs tell the brain what is occurring based on what the brain has learned from other experiences. How we interpret these five senses is what gives us an emotional response. If our brain interprets an occurrence as pleasant, it triggers a happy emotion, the same with fear, anger, jealousy, envy, content, joy, etc. Believe it or not you can choose, by relearning responses, how to interpret an occurrence.

If you feel jealous, you can look at the situation again and choose to feel differently by looking at the situation differently. "Why am I jealous? Is it because I am taking this outside influence personally when it is not meant that way?" This works for all the emotions. If you can't seem to find a way to redirect an emotion that you would rather not have, take a look at your inner security and see if the problem lies there. Inner securities are embedded in us as we grow up by reacting to others around us. For instance, if we are not treated with respect, then we tend to have more insecurities. Insecurities can cause all sorts of trouble because it affects the way we feel about ourselves and others. If you are feeling insecure, then chances are your confidence level is low and you choose not to partake in occurrences for fear of what others may think. This is one example and is, of course, not the only reason why someone would choose not to participate in an occurrence.

If you can accept yourself for who you are, and try to resist the negative influence of others, you could be more secure and develop, improve, move and/or learn more effectively. You can also take the criticisms of others and analize them, giving them their due credit. If they apply, use them and be grateful, if they don't dismiss them as bad advice. If someone is being mean, then try to inform them of such. Chances are they are feeling insecure about themselves and don't know how to vent it.

Just remember, your reality is your consciousness and your world. You have every right to live how you feel is right. There may be consequences, but be aware of them and see if they are worth your action. But it is best to be aware of how you interact with others for they have just as much right to live their life as they believe is right. If you look deep enough inside you and get past all of the emotions, the insecurities, and the learned responses, you will be able to find out what is right for you.

...I would love to hear any comments you may have. I can be reached via email at: bob@urbanproductions.com