SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Time
By JD
Henry Van Dyke knew when he wrote 'time is not' (or alternatively 'time is eternity')
The Symphony of Time
Featured in the video are, in order of appearance-
Dean Radin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Radin
Robert Lanza: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Lanza
Maurizio Benazzo, who produced this video: http://mauriziobenazzo.com/
and in glorious monochrome the legendary Alan Watts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Watts
Michio Kaku: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michio_Kaku
Brian Cox: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Cox_%28physicist%29
... and a transcript of the video -
"Our experience of time is an illusion; there is no clock out there in the world. No Clock, keeping time! No Clock, out there in the world! Space and time are tools of our understanding. Time is just a concept, an illusion, a construct of the mind. The concept of the time, creates what we call the self. What is the I without time? The only reason for time to exist is so everything does not happen at once. Your mind has the capacity to put this together and add to what's going on. Time is like a super glue keeping our story in order while we navigate the world around us. While we navigate the world around us! Science says that's space and time are these whole external objects. What we need to do is readjust the way of thinking. The concept of time creates what we call the self, what is the I without time? The concept of time, creates what we call the self, what is the I without time? For all human beings time is a matter of extraordinary importance and perhaps this is one of the principle ways in which we differ from animals. Time drives every second of our lives in ways we can scarcely imagine. Is one of the greatest mysteries in all of nature! It's time that makes us uniquely human and it's knitted into the fabric of our being. Time is also intimate. It comes from within. From the journey of the Sun to the atomic clocks, we can accurately track the passing of time. But what is time? Did time have a beginning or has it always been. This is truly the unknown! What time is it? It's not even straight forward as you might think. What time is it? It's a problem that's confounded us to these day. Our perception of time can change, time can speed up, time can slow down. Time is just a concept, an illusion, a construct of the mind. The concept of time, creates what we call the self, what is the I without time? The concept of the time, creates what we call the self, what is the I without time? Time is like a super glue keeping our story in order while we navigate the world around us. While we navigate the world around us!"
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Above is the scientific view of time and this next part is the poetic view of time.
Shakespeare knew, of course. He had Harry Hotspur say with his dying breath:
“But thought’s the slave of life, and life’s time’s fool, And time that takes survey of all the world Must have a stop.”
…..and the metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell (1621 - 1678):
“But at my back I always hear Time’s wingèd chariot hurrying near, And yonder all before us lie Vast deserts of eternity.”
T. S. Eliot, in the Four Quartets:
"Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present All time is unredeemable."
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:
"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven — A time to give birth, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to tear down, and a time to build up. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to throw stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a time to shun embracing. A time to search, and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep, and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; A time to be silent, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate; A time for war, and a time for peace."
Omar Khayyam (via EdwardFitzgerald):
” Ah fill the cup – what boots it to repeat How time is slipping underneath our feet Unborn tomorrow and dead yesterday Why fret about them if today be sweet!”
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If you are finding it all a bit confusing, here is an alternative explanation of the mystery of time by 'Professor' Terence Milligan -
and who is to say this alternative is any more or less plausible than the 'scientific' one!
Henry Van Dyke (1852 - 1933):
"Time is Too Slow for those who Wait, Too Swift for those who Fear, Too Long for those who Grieve, Too Short for those who Rejoice; But for those who Love, Time is not." ------------------------ This story is sort of related and also shows how thinking about the mystery of time can make scientists become unhinged!... http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2012/03/one-time-zone-for-the-world