Break on Through to the Other Side: Disruptions in Time

Originally printed in the January - February 2002 issue of Quest magazine.
Citation: Johnson, Andrew P. "Break on Through to the Other Side: Diruptions in Time." Quest  90.1 (JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2002):18-23.

Andrew P. Johnson

We chased our pleasures here. Dug our treasures there. Can you still recall the time we cried? Break on through to the other side. Break on through to the other side.

—Jim Morrison, The Doors, 1968, © Doors Music Company ASCAP

In his book Black Holes, Wormholes, and Time Machines, physicist Jim Al-Khalili suggests that time, like space, is an entity that simply exists without flowing in any direction and that the passage of time is simply an illusion. Time, on the other hand as we generally think of it, is not fixed but is constantly passing. Albert Einstein's theories of relativity propose that both speed and gravity can alter time (Hey and Walters). According to Larry Dossey, time can also be altered when the temporal and the cosmogonic realms converge at a single point.

This Side and That: Two Concepts of Time

The alteration of time is possible because time can be conceived as either linear or field. Linear time reflects the temporary world of cause and effect and is what most of us conceive of as time in phenomenal reality. This time moves from past to present and off in to the future like a row of dominos falling. Conversely, field time reflects the other side, the world of the soul, where past, present, and future are all parts of a single reality. The cadence of this other realm often leaks into our unconscious and out into the realm of the senses. Because of this leakage, we are aware of things yet to come in the form of precognition, intuition, clairvoyance, and prophecy. St.Paul describes this spiritual gift and others in 1 Corinthians 12.7 -10:

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy.

The great spiritual masters are able to access this realm and thus are not restricted by time and space. They can describe things future and interact with things past. In conversation with religious leaders, Jesus spoke about his ability to transcend time:

"Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."
"You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham?"
"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was, I am."
At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. [John 8.56 -59]

Shamans too are able to move out of linear time. Through trance (as Mircea Eliadereports) they are able to leave their body and enter dream time, which is the place before time when communication between the spirit and temporal realms is much easier. The ability to travel back and forth through time is available to all of us through the portal found in our unconscious, leading to the Self or the soul, which exists outside of time (Zukav). From that place, one's perception is unencumbered by the limitations of time as well as of space. In The Other Side of Silence (269), MortonKelsey states:

In the unconscious, the barriers of space and time do not exist, so there is nothing but our own desires and our view of things to keep us from being open to people in biblical times or in any age of history.

Disruptions in Time

We may experience the disruption of time and space in any of three ways, all of which can lead to personal growth. These three ways of experiencing disrupted time are synchronicity, meditation, and peak experiences.

Synchronicity

Made the scene, week to week, day to day, hour to hour. The gate is strait, deep, and wide. Break on through to the other side. Break on through to the other side. Break on through, break on through . . . .

—Jim Morrison, The Doors, 1968, © Doors Music Company ASCAP

In the lineal time of the temporal world, one event is always directly linked to another. For example, a person throws a rock and breaks your window. The throwing of the rock causes the window to break.However, when the other side breaks through to this side there are moments when the rules of time and space as we know them are suspended. For example, you have a feeling or impulse to move away from a window, and seconds later a rock comes flying through it. In this case, the effect happens first, and the cause happens second. This is synchronicity or meaningful coincidence.

Synchronicity is an a causal connection between psychic states and objective events. It is a relationship between incidents that happen together and are connected, not through cause and effect but through meaning. Whether the psychic states in synchronicity are actual mystical experiences emanating from the noumenal realm or are simply projections by the unconscious mind onto the phenomenal field to create meaning does not matter, as the result is the same in both instances.

There are various types of synchronicity, all of which are unrelated to the cause and effect regularities of temporal time and space. You maybe thinking of a person, and that person telephones you. Or you may have a suspicious feeling about someone you are with, and that suspicion turns out to be correct. Or a parent may sense that his or her child is in trouble. Or you may understand the link between multiple events that have happened or are currently taking place in your life so that you are able to see patterns in the incidents popping up around you and intuit the meaning these patterns have for you.

Meditation

You know the day destroys the night. Night divides the day. Tried to run, tried to hide. Break on through to the other side. Break on through to the other side. Break on through to the otherside.

—Jim Morrison, The Doors, 1968, © Doors MusicCompany ASCAP

We can create blips in time through meditation. Meditation is any practice in which the mind is stilled so that accurate images and intuitions can appear. The Buddhist mystic Thich Nhat Hanh, in his book Going Home, says a stilled mind is like the smooth surface of a pond inthat it reflects the images surrounding it. Whereas a turbulent mind creates a choppy pond surface and allows us to see only tremors and waves, a stilled mind creates a smooth pond surface that allows us to see things as they really are.

Peak Experiences

I've found an island in your arms, a country in your eyes. Arms that chain, eyes that lie. Break on through to the other side. Break on through to the other side. Break on through.

—Jim Morrison, The Doors, 1968, © Doors MusicCompany ASCAP

A peak experience or the state of flow described by Abraham Maslowand Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is another condition in which the time-space continuum is temporarily disrupted. It is a moment of heightened concentration brought about when we are completely immersed in an activity that seems to challenge our technical skills and imagination. Although it occurs in many circumstances, this altered state is common among artists, musicians, and athletes who have mastered the skills of their field. In this state, people are able to create or perform from somewhere outside themselves and time is altered. Many hours may seem like a moment or a moment may seem like many hours. The apostle Peter (2Peter 3.8) describes this time difference: "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."

The peak experience has three elements in common with the Buddhist idea of right-mindedness:

1. You become totally immersed in the activity. Concentration is focused on the activity to the exclusion of almost everything else.Unrelated physical stimuli are often unnoticed. "When you are deeply concentrated, you are absorbed in the moment. You become the moment" (Nhat Hanh, Heart of the Buddha's Teaching 107).

2. Deep effort seems effortless. It is very peaceful in that state. All your resources are concentrated on the task at hand and thus associations are easily made and new insight is gained. "If we have joy, ease, and interest our effort will come naturally" (Nhat Hanh, Heart of the Buddha's Teaching 101).

3. Concern for self disappears. This is the phenomenon of the empty cup. You are aware of the moment, but not of self. Self becomes an empty cup used to contain perceptions. A selfless moment is created to hold the experience so that it is untainted by preconceived ideas or emotions. The Gospels repeatedly quote Christ as saying that we must lose our life in order to save it. This losing of life refers to the disappearance of self when we are able to accept the moment fully. "Your concept or perception of reality is not reality. When you are caught in your perceptions and ideas, you lose reality" (Nhat Hanh, Heart of the Buddha's Teaching 55).

Using Disruptions in Time

Disruptions in time enable us to break through to the other side in order to touch eternity. But to what end? Time disruptions can be used to reconnect us with unconscious content, to restore balance between our inner and outer life, and to encounter important guideposts for our spiritual journey. Below are six activities to use for these ends.

Using Synchronicity

1. Inductive analysis. This activity helps you see patterns and begin to understand the link between multiple events happening in your life. Inductive analysis, a term taken from qualitative research, means to look at a field and put order to it by finding patterns and arranging things into groups (Johnson). In this case, the field is your life. List important events in your life. Write quickly without pausing to analyze or reflect. Then look for patterns or similar things. What feelings or types of incidents seem to occur three or more times in a short span? Put these common elements into groups. Finally, what does it mean? What is the metaphor? What are you to learn? By looking for patterns and honoring your insights, you will begin to perceive on a deeper level and be able to use your insights as a teacher and guide.

2. Time travel. This activity also helps you find the link between multiple events happening in your life. It has five steps: First, go back in time and pick a meaningful event. Second, use a journal to describe feelings, thoughts, or ideas related to this event. Third, find a current event that evokes one or more feelings, thoughts, or ideas that are similar. Fourth, list the external things or circumstances that are similar between these two events. Finally, look for the metaphor or the lesson.

3. The daily double. This activity is used to strengthen the link between intuition, current events, and future events. Make a journal entry and date it. Then draw a vertical line down the middle ofthe page. On the left side, first thing in the morning, record your inner feelings, ideas, dreams, or associations. On the right side, at the end of the day just before you go to bed, record the external events of that day that are interesting or important. As the days pass, you will begin to see the intuitive, left side matching up with the events of that day or a future day recorded on the right side.

4. Power write. This activity strengthens the link between the unconscious and current events. Try to catch and write down as many ideas as you can in a three-minute period of time. Keep your pencil moving, and write down the first thing that comes to your mind. If you do this correctly, your writing will be very disjointed. Don't be afraid to use scribbles, scratch marks, arrows, diagrams, single words, incomplete sentences, and quick impressions. The goal is to get beyond the logical mind to find the images residing in the unconscious. Within a couple of days, you will get very good at doing so and will begin to see things appearing on the pages that are outside your conscious thoughts. Some of these things will be from the past and some from the future.
   
   

   Using Meditation
   
   

5. Embrace silence. Silence is needed to understand fully our emotions and unconscious promptings (Miller). It is very hard to attend to the inner if we constantly fill our heads with chatter and endless noise. Silence here means internal silence or quieting of the mind. To use silence, take a few minutes every day, breathe deeply, empty the cup of the mind, think of nothing, and then begin to watch the thoughts and images running through your head. You may wish to record these in a journal so that you can see the patterns that appear over time.
   
   

   Using Peak Experiences
   
   

6. Find your passion and act on it. This is what mythologist Joseph Campbell calls finding your bliss. Your passions (in the sense of your intense, driving conviction, devotion, and interest) are the keys to knowing who you are and what your task is here on this plane. For example, if you have a passion for music, indulge yourself in it. This does not mean you have to give up your job and become a professional musician; rather, give yourself time to learn or relearn an instrument, join a musical group, or simply listen to the music that moves you to a higher place. Peak experiences occur when you are acting on your passion and serve to create sacred spaces. These spaces are the holy ground of the burning bush that elevate our consciousness so that we can sense the Divine and allow the unfolding of the universe to take place within us. Peak experiences also enable the guiding metaphors of our passions to trickle out into our lives.

Remember

Finally, we must remember where we come from. We are beings of eternity, able to access eternity to guide us during our very brief visit on this plane, and we will eventually return to eternity:

You have elected to be in time rather than eternity and therefore you believe you are in time. Yet your election is both free and alterable.You do not belong in time. Your place is in eternity. [A Course in Miracles 86]

References

 Nhat Hanh, Thich.

Andrew Johnson is co-director of the Center for Talent Development at Minnesota State University. His last article in the Quest (November-December 2000) was "The Spirituality of Oz: The Meaning of the Movie."