How to slow down time

Have you ever looked back on a day or week or month or year and thought, "Where did the time go?" You are not alone. Almost everyone is experiencing this phenomenon where time feels like it is flying by.

For some limited number of people however, they look back on the same period and feel, "Wow there was so much I did." People in this latter category will one day lay on their death bed and think, "I lived a full long life. I am grateful for every minute."

What is the difference between the two mindsets? We all have 24 hours in the day. For some it feels full, but most others, fast and uneventful.

In the present moment, time is the same for all of us. It has an infinite feel about it, especially if you are in a state of flow or meditation. But the passing of time is only evident upon reflection. This is where it is relative and feels different for all of us. Therefore, you cannot slow down time in the present, but you can either look back on it as if it went fast or as if it went slow.

Have you ever gone for a long road trip and noticed that it took forever to get to your destination, but on the way back, it felt so much faster? This gives you a clue into the reason for the relativity of time.

Everyone dies, not everyone lives

The answer to the conundrum of time lies in your five senses: seeing, touching, smelling, hearing and tasting.

When your five senses experience the same thing every day, they become numb. Consequently, you become too familiar with the known. Some call that their "comfort zone" when in reality it is a dead zone where you spend your seconds, minutes, hours and days living predominantly from the subconscious.

You are not really conscious of your thoughts, feelings and decisions. Consequently, you look back on your life and feel like nothing much happened and you interpret that as "time flying".

So while everyone is pursuing a long life, the real answer is to pursue a conscious one.

The BIG question is how do you live a conscious life? What is the formula? We hear so much about being mindful, but mindfulness is very different from consciousness. The former is all about witnessing.

The latter is more about decisions and actions that help you live a purposeful life where the speed of time is in your control. The latter can only happen when you choose to live with fearlessness and adventure. This is where your five senses come alive.

I have been teaching a five-step method called the Circle of Conscious Living, which I have personally lived by from a very young age. I explain this method in great detail in my book, A Higher Branch. I apologise if this sounds like click bait but I am not asking you to buy my book – instead I want to invite you and your family to a holiday destination where you will hear from a line-up of leading global experts and learn to upgrade every aspect of your life.

Join us at Upgrade Your Life in Dubai, 4-8 January 2019.

This is an event like no other, curated by my team and I at A Higher Branch Success Academy. The program, parties and experiences we have organised will stimulate every one of your senses, and arm you with a new framework for living a holistic life.

This is a truly unique event not to be missed and an opportunity to join an exclusive community and network with thought leaders from all over the world. Click here for more information.

Sam Makhoul is the chief legal officer and managing director of MSA National.