Seriously, sounds like an easy task, and like it should be common knowledge, but this is something I seem to not be able to do despite trying. I have experienced it a little a yoga since I have started going, and I am hoping this will help being present in the rest of my life, but so far, not at all.

I feel like I am constantly getting stuck in time, anyone else? I cannot understand time at all. It moves , it appears to stand still, but is continually moving for some, it speeds up , slows down. I cannot touch it, or see, smell nor taste it, but I know it. And without time we cannot exist.

In an episode time does stop for me. Would learning how to be present help with this, and if it can help with this can it help me with my episodes, ok that might be a long shot, but I think time is sorely overlooked. maybe I am overthinking, but I want to understand.

[Detach]

I will admit that I had forgotten much of what I knew as truth in the past 4-6 months, then mania took over. However, Now that I have recovered I'm back on track with trying to stay in the present moment, as much as possible. The true test will be when I go back to work next week.

One thing you said struck me as odd. You said "without time we cannot exist", but that is not true. We exist "NOW" in the "present moment", not tomorrow or next week, you exist in this moment. And when tomorrow comes you will again be in the "present moment", because all you ever have is the present moment- time is an illusion.

Time is of the mind (the ego)...your mind want you to worry about the future and relive problems of the past. Yes, time is needed for daily events, such as cooking, being at work on time, some planning, etc, however what I speak about is the mind (ego) creating suffering in your life by being in the past or future, not living for today or better yet this moment.

Eckhart Tolle is a true spiritual teacher. He has written "The power of Now" and "New Earth".

You can watch him on Youtube also, here is a 7 minute interview:

[dragonfly2]

Your post reminds me of an article I once read by John McManamy, who is a bipolar author/blogger/commentator. It's called The Bipolar Time Warp and I've linked it here: http://www.mcmanweb.com/bichronic.html

I think the relative experience of time is something that many, if not all of us, go through sometimes. I know I certainly do. Sometimes it's very hard to stay in the moment, and it speeds on by. Other times, I'm trapped in it and it is excruciating. Sometimes, if I try really hard, I can slow it down just enough to savor something...food, sunlight, time with my kids...and I try to just be there, right then.

I think that, as you do more yoga, you will find it easier to be "in the moment". In the meantime, enjoy the journey. It is "time" well spent.

[Detach]

Dragonfly2,
Very interesting article. A much different spin on "time" then what I was thinking. It's true that time had changed several times for me during my recent episode. When I was manic I could be on the internet for what seemed like 2 hours to me, but in reality it was more like 5 hours, then when meds brought me down too low the clock seemed to tick by ever so slowly. Now that I am stable however time is not an issue and it is only now that I can once again be "present" and be in the "now".....Something that was impossible during mania.

[dejavu65]

Seems to me time is something that is monitored by the mind. BiPolar seems to confuse the mind about the passing of this time according to what state you are in. We have time that will never seem to move and time that passes all to fast.

I really dont know what we can do to change our perception of time. It would be great if there was a way to harness our mind's time clock even if for a little while.

I don't think this thread is aimed at talking about the time our mind lives in. But it is something I feel is also important and can affect us. I seem to get stuck in my past more than anything. Probably because that is where events shaped who I am. Not all of these are remembered events. Some you seem to just feel. Hence the name DeJavu. Though not by choice, the past always seems to stay with me.

[Confusedinomicon]

Time is a convention made by man to standardize made up moments in a 'time contineum'. (Example: A second is a made up unit, a minute is a made up unit) It would be monitored in the mind because it's how we perceive this made up notion, yet there is always a clock out there that will tell you exactly what time it is so you stay on track with the rest of the world.

None the less, to stay in the present you have to really put yourself into activities and focus on them. Daydreaming leads you to think of the future. Doing nothing and ruminating leads you to think of the past. It's normal to think of the future and past, but the challenge is pulling strength together to get what is needed now. However I would not discount the past or future. If you don't think about either at all then you'll never learn from what has happened and you'll never plan to be ahead.

[venusss]

I feel like I am constantly getting stuck in time, anyone else? I cannot understand time at all. It moves , it appears to stand still, but is continually moving for some, it speeds up , slows down. I cannot touch it, or see, smell nor taste it, but I know it. And without time we cannot exist.

for me time is multidimensional. I guess my love of photography is partly because of... yes, pictures last longer. I mean, I don't forget my experiences, I remember them often to clearly, but i have hard time to locate them on a time line.

I tend to float away at times... I often run on autopilot. Other times I get so overfocused that the part of life becomes a blurr... with few clearly defined memories.

I don't have much advice here sadly... I live in world where time is not lineral and where space cannot be defined by distances.

I guess journaling and trying to focus on world a little... may help to a degree. Do not journal just about yourself, your feelings yadda yadda... mention something that happened on the outside. Neighbors got new dog. There was a revolution over there. Such things.

[AniManiac]

Originally Posted by Anika

Seriously, sounds like an easy task, and like it should be common knowledge, but this is something I seem to not be able to do despite trying. I have experienced it a little a yoga since I have started going, and I am hoping this will help being present in the rest of my life, but so far, not at all.

It's definitely not as easy a task as it sounds!

I find that meditation gives me more of a feeling of being "in the now" than anything else I've tried. It's also much harder than it sounds to sit quietly, trying not to move, and trying to think only about your breathing.

I haven't gone back to meditation sessions since the new school year started, but I really should. Maybe when I get back from this trip, things will settle down enough...

[Inedible]

Being in the now is like lucid dreaming. It is about being less caught up in the story of your life and being able to experience it more deeply. Colors look brighter and objects appear more defined. Everything is more vivid in general. The trick to doing it is to identify the ways you use to distract yourself from what is going on, and this leads to doing them less often. It isn't something you make yourself do; becoming conscious of something that is done unconsciously is enough that even if you keep using a tactic - if you are conscious of it - it stops working. It is a very gradual process. There will be a lot of resistance involved, because distraction is meant to protect you and you are undermining that protection. The thing about it is that part of you doesn't realize that this sort of protection isn't necessary; it just keeps doing it. Along the way if you can find other ways to feel safe, it will be easier to give up distractions as unnecessary.

Thanks everyone for your well thought out replies, this really gives me a lot to think about from many different perspectives.

I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the past or future, but I don't feel in the present either.. That's where I feel lost in time. And I find time so fascinating. However I feel very unbalanced when it's August and next thing I know it's October and I can't really recall September, that seems too happen all too often. I am really going to think about everything everyone has said here, it's a lot for my little head to take in, so much to think about.

I do think time is multidimensional, and this is where I get lost, maybe I cannot fully understand how it all works yet, my cognitive skills have been very robbed by my last episode or meds , who really knows, I was thinking I don't feel right with my new found stability because somehow I am not quite back to the right time everyone else is flowing on.

Sincerely thank you,
Anika