Why Isn't the Past as Malleable as the Future?
by Julia Melges-Brenner. Copyright Sabrina Scott, Inc. All rights reserved. Written for and originally published in Kajama.

Dear Julia:

I've been struggling with the idea that all time exists simultaneously. If this is the case, why doesn't it feel like that? It feels to me like the past is known while the future is unknown. If all time exists right now, then shouldn't the past be as malleable as the future?

Rob

Dear Rob:

I like that you're questioning abstract theories in light of your own personal experience. We can hypothesize all day long, but until we have direct personal experience of something, we can't know whether it is "true" or not. The whole notion of time boggles my mind, too. Since I'm no physicist, all I can do is pass on metaphors from Spirit and relay my own experiences with transcending space/time in order to access psychic information.

Given some reflection, I think everyone will agree that our own personal experience of time isn't constant. Our state of consciousness has a dramatic effect on our perception of time. When an artist is in the flow, the hours fly by, but when that same person is being paid by the hour to do something boring, time seems to move at a snail's pace. During meditation, if we're trying unsuccessfully to let go of conscious awareness, time will seem to drag, but if we're able to get beyond normal waking consciousness, we can be "gone" for long stretches without any conscious awareness of time passing. Of course, the most striking passage of time without awareness happens when we are asleep. One minute we're dozing off, and the next, we're waking up a day later with either no recollection of the hours that passed in between or vague, fleeting memories of the dream adventures we had throughout the night.

My point is that our experience of time is variable and depends on our own state of consciousness. Our conscious minds are rooted in the physical dimension, so they perceive time in physical terms. The more we are consciously focused on the physical world, the more our experience of time tends to match what can be seen on a clock. Our subconscious minds and higher selves aren't rooted in this realm, so the more we're focused beyond the physical, the more flexible and fluid our experience of time will be.

In my own psychic experiences, beyond the physical realm, time seems more like a where than a when, for I can focus on a time and mentally go "visit" it. Psychics do this when they "tune in" to see what's going to happen in the future. Psychically, time and place feel very similar, for when I transcend space to connect with someone's energy, it feels much the same as when I transcend time to see what the future holds.

This is one reason why psychically pinpointing the exact timing of events can be tricky, for the source of that information exists outside of physical time. While spirit guides can offer lots of helpful general advice and information about specific events, dates and times seem to be beyond them. For example, I may be able to see a client in a wedding dress and deduce that she will get married, but to try to determine WHEN this will happen, I have to employ tricks like peeking outside for weather-related clues or going in search of a nearby calendar in hopes of seeing a date.

You've asked why, if all time exists simultaneously, it seems like what has happened in the past is already done and settled while what will happen in the future is far more open to being influenced. It's my understanding that both are true: all time is happening now, AND the future is more malleable than the past.

When I ask Spirit about this, I'm given a metaphor. Imagine that everything – past, present and future - is made of cement. In the present moment, cement is constantly flowing from a huge cement mixer. The past is the cement that has already hardened into all sorts of shapes, the present is the cement as it is flowing, and the future is the space into which the cement will flow and take form. As it all exists right now BEYOND the physical plane, we can mentally (metaphysically) tune in and focus on any aspect of it. On a physical level, however, we can't leave the cement mixer unattended, so we only experience what is happening right "now."

Destiny might be thought of as the molds the cement is flowing toward - existing shapes in the path of the cement that it will conform to. By studying that landscape and the flow of this cement, we can sometimes predict the shapes it will take. The closer we are to where the cement will harden, the more we can predict what the future will look like.

If we take action to influence the flow, we can affect which way it goes. To manifest what we want in the future, we can mentally create the molds the cement will flow into. As we focus on various desires and ideas with emotion, they start to take shape on this landscape ahead of us. When these metaphysical molds are strong and clear, the cement conforms to them. When they are weak or unclear because we've not given them enough focused energy or because they've been countered by conflicting metaphysical influences, the cement will flow right over them or take a shape that isn't exactly what we were hoping for.

There are lots of forces that influence the flow of this cement. Two big ones are destiny (the molds we established before we were born) and the desires/wills of other people. Everyone incarnate on planet Earth is sharing the same cement landscape. We each have our own little patch of it in the form of our own lives, but just as we frequently leave our homes to go various places, we often cross over into each others' metaphysical territory and leave our footprints in their setting cement. We are constantly influencing others and being influenced by them.

Since we all share a lot of beliefs, expectations and experiences, we collectively tend to focus on the same things. For example, if there is much on the news about war, many people will visualize various aspects of war and thus reinforce those molds for the future. Similarly, many people praying for and visualizing peace can have an impact on how things unfold.

It helps me to conceptualize time as space like this. In my mind, what has already happened is to the left. This landscape is already "set" in that it has already hardened into certain shapes. As I move through life, the present is constantly flowing with me and determining moment by moment the shape of my personal experience. To the right, the future is a vast space that is empty of physical objects but full of metaphysical forms or potentials. By mentally walking back to the left, I can mentally relive what happened through memories and explore visions of past lives and such. By mentally looking toward the future, I can glimpse the molds that will influence how things will take shape. If I don't like what I see there, I can take physical actions to influence the flow and mentally create new molds by visualizing what I desire instead.

Julia



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