When time stands still

What does it mean when we say, "Time stood still?" or "Where did the time go? I lost track of time?" We become aware at such times that for an instant there was no past and there is no future. As the Buddhists say, "Be here now."

When time stands still we experience a taste of eternity. We experience nothing other than pure awareness of being. This experience is the epitome of a spiritual state of bliss.

In psychology, there is the concept of "flow". Flow is complete absorption in the activity one is engaged in to the extent that there is a loss of awareness of space and time.

If there is heaven, this experience of flow is the closest we might come to experiencing heaven on earth where there is no time, no past, no future, only the eternal now.

Jennifer told me that there were moments when she forgot her past, didn't worry about her future, just experienced peace. I asked her when these moments occurred. She said that these moments occurred sometimes when she was listening to music, hiking along a wooded trail, and caught up in the exhilaration of  a run. I knew what she was talking about because I have the same experiences when I am writing, riding my motorcycle, and engaging in psychotherapy sessions with my clients.

In A Course In Miracles, these experiences of time standing still are called Holy Instants. Becoming aware of Holy Instants and allowing them to occur is a sign of spiritual development. May you have many of them and enjoy the peace they bring.