No shortage of time in Mind

A friend was concerned that he didn’t have enough time left in the year to finish a critical deal he was working on.

In a flash on inspiration, I emailed back, “When working in the one Mind, the clock stops and eternity takes over. There is no time in divine Mind, only eternal opportunities, possibilities, options, solutions and answers.”

This angel message from God has held my attention for a couple of days now, while I strive to mine its deeper meanings.

I like the thought of not working in time, but in divine Mind.

In Mind, time is not a factor, because how fast you get a job done has nothing to do with packets of space called minutes and hours. Success is about listening for ideas, acting on fresh inspiration and following wise guidance. Time has nothing to do with the creation of ideas that get the job done. Mind is the creator, and Mind does not require time to create an idea. Mind’s creative powers are instantaneous.

The ideas we receive are conceived of in Mind long before we notice them.

So, if we’re putting together a deal, finishing up year end business, or trying to get everything together before family and friends arrive for the holidays, we don’t have fear a lack of time. Time is neither a friend nor a foe. It’s a nothing. Divine Mind is our friend, and gives us all the ideas, inspiration, insight, strength and support we need to see our project through successfully.

Enjoy your “time” with Mind!

With Mind in charge, there will be plenty of opportunity to get the job done.

Giving time

Wondering what to give this Christmas?

Here’s a thought-provoking blog post by Nipun Mehta, which is no one I know, on the benefits of giving your time over spending your money for gifts that have meaning.

Seven Questions on Giving Time

Keep score of the best times

Last weekend, I went with my family to Federal Way to watch my daughter swim in the Washington State swimming championships.

She qualified in four events, which was quite an accomplishment—the 50 and 100 meter single freestyle, plus the 200 and 400 freestyle relay.

Her goal at the beginning of the season was to place at the state level in one single event, so to place in two singles, plus two relays, was a major thrill for her and her teammates. They felt like winners before they arrived, and rightfully so.

I have much to learn about swimming competition, but one record keeping practice caught my attention this weekend like never before.

To place at the state level, a swimmer must beat predetermined times during the meets they compete at in the three months preceding the state competition. Once they get a state time at a local or district meet, they are in. It doesn’t matter if times at succeeding meets are worse. The good time they achieved stays locked into their record until they better it.

I pondered the value of adopting this practice of keeping track of the best score with all aspects of life.

How many of us keep track and record in thought only the best times we have?

Do we remember the best things our spouse said to us? Do we remember only the compliments and praise that came from our boss? Do we mentally lock onto only the happy times of our past?

Or, do we break the rule of “cling to your best time,” and dwell on the mean things other people said, or the weak moments when our spouse uttered a scouring word, or a time of failing we wished had never happened?

I’ve learned from watching my daughter swim.

When she gets a bad time, she looks me in the eye and says, “It doesn’t matter dad. I already beat it in the past. Only my good time counts.” She doesn’t fret and fume over the failures. She focuses only on besting her best time. And that’s where she puts all her time, energy and attention.

Isn’t there a metaphysical lesson here for us all?

Our whole thought, time and attention should be focused on besting our best time too. We should not waste one milli-second moaning or despairing over the bad times. They don’t matter. It’s the best time that counts.

And the best time, from a spiritual point of view, is the record established in divine Mind by God.

God created us perfect, with a whole, complete, happy and healthy Life to express and fulfill. This Life is the best, and anything less is not worthy of attention, time or energy.

Soooo, keep track of the best times, not the worse times. Don’t be a hard drive for error. Focus on the good and only the good, and your best times will be replaced by even better times.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, my daughter made it to consolations in all events. She did well, and looks forward to besting her times for next year.

No more time

“Time is not a spatial distance one must traverse,” I said to one inquirer who was stressed out about not having enough time to do things. “Time is a state of mortal mind that dissolves with an understanding of eternal Life.”

To illustrate:

Have you ever had a boring job?

How fast did time pass while you were on the clock? I’d guess about as fast as a creeping glacier, from my past experience with monotonous tasks.

Now, to the contrary, have you ever had a job you really liked?

How fast did time pass then? You probably forgot about time for the joy of being happily occupied.

What was the difference between the boring job and the interesting work in terms of passing time? It wasn’t the number of minutes counted, but the state of mind during those ticks that made time feel like an onerous burden in one case, and non-existent in the other.

One of the lessons we gain from this illustration is a glimpse that time is not space in life, but a limited constricted view of life.

The more material our concept of life, the more a burden time appears to be. The more our understanding of life is spiritually inspired, the less time is a factor.

The life God created for us is eternal, without beginnings and ends, but involves one continuous flow of joy and love.

Life is more than 8 hours of sleep, 3 meals a day, commutes to work, and bills to pay. Life is more than blood rushing through the body, a body rushing through a day, and a person rushing through a schedule. Life is spiritual. It is love, peace, harmony, compassion, generosity in action. These are qualities of Spirit, and they are eternal. To express them is not a strain or stress, it’s a joy. The more our daily commitments are filled with activities of the Spirit, the more timeless our work feels.

"Life is without beginning and without end. Eternity, not time, expresses the thought of Life, and time is no part of eternity."

~ Mary Baker Eddy

Time disappears in eternity. The more our thinking is spiritually occupied, the closer to eternity we feel. We are governed by God rather than by a clock.

Life is not X number of hours passed, but God’s qualities of love expressed.

"Love vanquishes time. To lovers, a moment can be eternity. Eternity can be the tick of a clock."

~ Mary Parrish

Living by the clock is like owning a huge mansion, but residing in one small dark room in the corner of the building, and never leaving that spot. Our whole world becomes that itsy-bitsy space, to the exclusion of all the adventures we could have in the other rooms if we were to venture out and explore.

Don’t get mentally stuck in the prison cell of time. You have an eternal Life to live and discover. It’s in Spirit, and is expressed in Love.

The more we think true to our spiritual life, the less time is considered, and becomes as nothing, even to the point of realization that John saw in his heavenly revelation from God that “there should be time no longer.”

Come out of the circle of time.
And into the circle of love.

~ Rumi

Have a spiritual day today. It’s the stress-free way.

Do you have time for God?

Some people believe they don’t have time for God. But is this true?

God is all good. God is all love. God is all wealth. God is all health. God is all happiness. God is all true success. If we don’t time for health, love and happiness, what do we have time for?

There is great misunderstanding in the world at large about the nature of God. Many think of God as remote to their experience, as being somewhere else in the universe not paying attention to what is going on locally. But this is a limited view of God stemming from the age-old belief of God being a man in the sky or some type of human savior that has limited ability.

God is infinite Love, an all-knowing Mind, and ever-present Spirit. We cannot think, act or exist without God. Our existence and God are one and the same. So to believe we don’t have time for God is to totally misunderstand our relationship to God.

If we’re working on a project and are on a tight deadline, every right idea we think to complete the work is coming from God. If we have a family to feed and clothe, every act of love and care for those family members is God in action through us. If we have a business to run, we can’t do it without intelligence, wisdom and insight—all God in action. We can’t do anything without God.

Now, there are some things that have nothing to do with God—like anger, hate, frustration, and discouragement. These are godless states of thought, and as we learn through experience, no joy comes from them. Eventually the suffering that results from indulging in such demoralized ways of thinking causes us to turn from them and we are more receptive to God’s ever-present help. But even when life looks dim and gray, God is there sustaining us, giving us life, perpetuating our being and ensuring we will live forever and triumph over every evil lie.

Do you have time for God? God is all you do have time for if you want to live a happy healthy life. God is all the good you pursue. God is responsible for all the success you accomplish, and all the strength, wisdom, insight and confidence that enable you to continue and prosper.

God is it. God is all there is in the big picture scheme of things. Without God we are a nothing. But we are not a nothing. We are something, and the real substance of the “something” is God at work through us.

Feeling pressured?

Do you have too many jobs to do? Uncompleted projects piling up? Not enough hours in the day? People demanding your attention?

How does one cope with too much to do?

One way is to love more. There's always time to love.

Love calms thought. Love eases the tension. Love reveals answers. Love points the way. Love lightens the load. Love helps out. Love uplifts, inspires and comforts. Love is a healing presence that resolves conflict, solves problems and makes life more enjoyable.

It’s not time-consuming to love. In fact, love doesn’t require time at all. Love makes its own time by revealing more efficient possibilities and healing troubles that are major time-consumers, like worry, anxiety, and despair.

Love is about being patient, kind, caring, thoughtful and forgiving. Love doesn’t fritter time away fretting and fuming. Love doesn’t worry, agonize or torture. Love is easy, ready, abundant and generous. Love is not a hard thing to do.

Love never gets mad (a huge time waster). Love doesn’t get angry, upset or jealous. Love is positive, upbeat, hopeful, pleasant and expectant. Love is not a heavy weight, but a morale booster. Love is quick to favor, happy to help and a joy to have around. Love calms and comforts.

Don’t waste time complaining you don’t have enough time. Use your time better. Love more!

There’s no pressure in expressing love to others, but there’s a huge amount of peace, harmony and goodwill to be gained.

Love more. It's the path to no pressure living.

"I want it now"

A recent AP poll says Americans are impatient. Can you believe it!

Survey results confirm we’re a nation of customers seeking instant self-gratification and any bit of delay in getting what we want frays nerves.

Waiting in a grocery line, at the Department of Motor Vehicles, or on the telephone for a live person are some of the most dreaded wastes of time.

I ask myself, is there a lesson to learn from this survey? Do we have to battle through life feeling time-challenged with every task?

I don’t believe so.

Maybe it’s time to re-examine priorities and decide what’s most important.

It’s not how many jobs we get done that make us happy and content over the long run. It’s how close we feel to God.

What we most need is not more things in our basket or items ticked off of our to-do list. It’s increased spiritual mindedness that makes us truly happy.

Next time you’re standing in line anxiously tapping your toe and coveting someone’s position ahead of you, use the free moments to pray. Go to God in thought and seek a spiritual idea to improve your perspective and bring you peace of mind.

Don’t waste another moment worrying about wasting more moments. Use every moment wisely. Seek spiritual mindedness. Grow spiritually.

With a God-inspired outlook you’ll feel much better when you actually do get to the front of the line.