The Fluidity of Time & Space - 1
Contrary to most people's thinking, time and space are not absolutes. One of the current waves of scientific thinking is that time doesn't actually exist, except in our own minds. In fact we, and the world we experience, may not exist and are merely projections of our consciousness.
With this in mind, Gongs, Bowls, and Bells are the perfect instruments to use in order to break through our perceived notions of time and space. After an hour long Gong session, it's not unusual to have someone say, “That seemed like only 10 minutes.” It's also not unusual to have someone say, “That seemed like all day long.”
The same session.
Different people.
Different experiences.
Time is an Illusion
We've all experienced our day dragging on, seemingly like it would never end. We've also experienced being engaged in some activity and having the time fly by. These 2 examples show that time is more a perceived experience than an absolute.
When I'm presenting a meditation session, I actively work to both slow down our perception of time, and to suspend it, hopefully reaching a point of no time, where we just exist in the moment. This is done through both specific tones and using increasingly longer arcs of rhythm. The key is getting the brain to disengage from being in time.
How do you perceive time?
~ MB
In part 2 we will look at specific ideas about using time in your playing.
With this in mind, Gongs, Bowls, and Bells are the perfect instruments to use in order to break through our perceived notions of time and space. After an hour long Gong session, it's not unusual to have someone say, “That seemed like only 10 minutes.” It's also not unusual to have someone say, “That seemed like all day long.”
The same session.
Different people.
Different experiences.
The illusion of time
Time is an Illusion
We've all experienced our day dragging on, seemingly like it would never end. We've also experienced being engaged in some activity and having the time fly by. These 2 examples show that time is more a perceived experience than an absolute.
When I'm presenting a meditation session, I actively work to both slow down our perception of time, and to suspend it, hopefully reaching a point of no time, where we just exist in the moment. This is done through both specific tones and using increasingly longer arcs of rhythm. The key is getting the brain to disengage from being in time.
How do you perceive time?
~ MB
In part 2 we will look at specific ideas about using time in your playing.
Chop Wood / Carry Water / Play Gongs™
Over the past 8 years and 3 different blogs, I've written almost 500 blog posts. That's a lot of my time and energy devoted to putting my thoughts and ideas out there on the internet for you to read. As we approach the 9th year of these blogs, if you've enjoyed reading them, and have gotten value out of them, please consider a donation. You'll be helping me keep writing for hopefully another 8 years. Thank You ~ MB.
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