Time and Time Quality
Time and Time Quality
People have always tried to predict events, recognize patterns, and understand the qualities of time in order to prepare for the future and avoid adversity. This desire to control the uncontrollable stems from the fact that the future is uncertain.
Chinese metaphysics uses the astrological system Ba Zi (the 8 signs), based on the 5-element theory, to represent the quality of time at a given point in space. The Chinese zodiac is a simplified version of this system. Each year, the Chinese New Year (this year on February 10) is celebrated, and a new zodiac gives the year its name. Many people, for various reasons, get excited about trying to see what the New Year will bring.
Fire Cycle
Putting on the Chinese meta-glasses, we enter the Year of the Wood Dragon in 2024. The fiery dragon has a lot of energy of its own and supported by the wood element even more. Hence it can both move and glow a lot as well as wreak havoc.
According to the time cycles of the lunar calendar, a new 20-year cycle dominated by the element of fire begins at the same time. For the next 20 years, the characteristics of the element of fire will be dominant:
Activity and dynamism: Fire represents the development of activity and passion.
Transformation: Fire turns wood to ash and represents transformation and change.
Passion: Fire represents emotion, passion and joy.
Light and Warmth: Fire brings light and warmth to darkness and cold.
Depending on how high the flame blazes and burns, fire can also burn. According to the Chinese calendar, the next 20 years are therefore considered to be turbulent and unpredictable, in contrast to the last 20 years, which were assigned to the stable element of earth.
The Pure Field of Consciousness
Patanjali explains in Chapter 3 of his Yogasutras that time (and space) arise in our mind. Beyond the mind, in the realm of pure consciousness, there is neither time nor space. The third chapter is a rather mystical chapter, describing what can happen when we approach the field of pure consciousness (the term "pure awareness" is often used in English) through meditative techniques.
Swami Hariharananda's Meditation Instructions
This can go so far that yogis acquire so-called "siddhis" (magical abilities) that literally override the laws of physics in our four-dimensional world of space and time. As appealing as this may seem to a sorcerer's apprentice, these abilities are treated as background noise on the true path within. The real goal is still to discover and hold the space behind the mental movements.
Swami Hariharananda, considered a modern exponent of Samkhya philosophy, explains in his commentary on Patanjali's Sutra III.1 on Dharana (simplified first stage of meditation) that this space can be approached meditatively step by step. First, one concentrates on objects in the external world (a picture, a candle flame) or on regions in the body (e.g., the heart space), as a kind of training for our moving mind to be able to hold on to an object. We can then go deeper by detaching ourselves from external objects and internal regions and concentrating on the 'I am' consciousness - in the form of 'I am' - without additions. The pure 'I am' can then emerge from the 'I am'. Because it is undirected and broad, the pure 'I am' feeling comes closest to the pure consciousness feeling.
Small Steps are Fine
So why am I making this big arc from the Year of the Wood Dragon to the broad feeling of 'I am'?
Regardless of what's happening on the outside, whatever influences we're exposed to through time and space, Yoga teaches us how to find strength and be anchored within. And at the risk of repeating myself: Every step counts.
The goal is not so much to reach a challenging destination of pure consciousness, but simply to set out on the path, to keep turning the focus inward, and to gradually discover and cultivate the soothing, open spaces that give us the strength and serenity to face the challenges.
Bild @Sasin Tipchai, Pixabay
