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When Dr. Stephan Rechtschaffen visits a big city, he often tests out his theory about how most of us perceive time. Which would be haphazardly. Rechtschaffen will spot someone who has just looked at his or her watch, maybe walking on a busy downtown sidewalk or waiting for a commuter ferry. He waits a moment, then asks the person for the time. The person almost always looks back down at the watch. There is no memory of time from the glance just a minute ago. Rechtschaffen tries a few more folks at random. About nine of 10 people will recheck his or her timepiece for the second time in a minute. It’s like a clockwork. Most of us live in time poverty. It doesn’t matter what we make, where we live or how much education we receive. Everybody seems short on time. Gotta get there, gotta leave, gotta a few extra minutes? "It's as if someone is quietly whispering 'fire!' in your ear all day long," says Rechtschaffen. "That inner voice makes us feel if we could go just a bit faster, everything would work out. We hurry ourselves when at that moment we need to do just the opposite. We need to pause, take a break." Rechtschaffen is an expert on the subject of how we regard time. He is a physician co-founder and CEO of the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, a personal growth and health center in upstate Rhinebeck, N.Y. The institute started with a few weekend classes in 1977 and now hosts more than 12,000 people in some 250 workshops between May and October. What’s more, Rechtschaffen is author of "Timeshifting: Creating More Time to Enjoy Your Life" (Doubleday). It is a would-be bible for anyone who struggles to make appointments on time or finish projects on deadline or feel there is enough quality time to connect with loved ones. That would be pretty much all of us. Rechtschaffen teaches "Timeshifting" stress management workshops at the Omega Institute. He begins each opening session with the same question: Do you have enough time to do what your want in life? You guessed it. Nine of every 10 people say no. Rechtschaffen is one of growing number of natural health practitioners who recognize that our highly compressed relationship with time is causing stress at all-time highs. For instance, Dr. Larry Dossey, a physician and bestselling author who has extensively researched the healing qualities of prayer, regularly asks his lecture audiences to sit quietly for a minute (no peeking at the clock), then identify when a minute is up. About 15 percent of the group will raise their hands within the first 20 second—almost unbelievable. The majority of participants think time is up at about 40 to 45 seconds. That’s 15 to 20 seconds out of sync for every minute or about 15 to 20 minutes every hour. We can quickly get into a sense of time debt. But there are ways to dig yourself out. It starts with changing your relationship with time. No matter what we think or do, the clock keeps ticking at the exact same rate, day after day, year after year. Time can be on our side. Rechtschaffen suggests we look to string together more "present moments" in each day. You might call it finding the flow—and it might only be a few seconds here and a minute there at first "We've all been in flow, felt how wonderful that can be," explains Rechtschaffen. "Your meeting goes perfectly. There's a fun outing with the kids. You have a good talk with a friend. A tennis match is filled with strong shots by both players." The idea is simple enough to understand if hard to execute. If you fully concentrate on the here and now--the task at hand--then you agonize less about the past or future. You feel more settled, less hectic. Of course, that can be difficult. Psychological studies show the typical American devotes roughly 30 percent of daily thought on past events and another 30 percent on future activities. It doesn’t leave much time for the present. Researchers have documented how this adversely affects memory and concentration. What some health practitioners are finding is people who seek more "present moments" feel a greater sense of accomplishment at the end of each day. "It's quite possible you didn't do one more thing than usual," says Robert Simon Siegel, a Santa Monica, Calif., psychologist and author of "Six Seconds toTrue Calm: A Revolutionary Approach to Remedy Stress" (Berkley). "What’s happened is you have wasted less energy on what has already happened or what might happen. You feel more whole, remember positive things from the day.’ Siegel says there in no stress in the present moment. Every chance we get to stay present—from seconds to minutes to hours—the better we will feel about ourselves and our appointment books. "When you simply do something rather than think about it or talk about it, the body activates a different set of neurological pathways," says Siegel. "You feel no tension because you leave the brain and trust your senses and instincts." Siegel has led training sessions for corporations and medical centers, including NBC, Chevron USA and the Pritikin Longevity Center. He always makes the distinction between his message and the tenets of increasingly popular time management consultants who teach people the questionable art of "multitasking," or doing two or three things at once. "This is about a greater appreciation of time rather than checking off more stuff on your things-to-do list," Siegel says. "If you can experience quality time, you will feel better about the day. You become more realistic about what you can get done in a day, which saves you from unrealistic expectations. And being less stressed is likely to help you approach the next task on your list with more energy." But your time shift is not necessarily about dropping a single entry from your datebook or slowing down at inappropriate moments. "There are times when you need to go fast or want to go fast," says Rechtschaffen. "Working on a tight deadline or attending a rock concert can be invigorating. But it's what you do in between those quickened times that makes the difference in your health. Understanding your own inner body rhythms is vital." For instance, we all know when sleep deprivation is affecting our work or relationships. Next time you feel short, consider how you might get to bed 15 minutes earlier the first night, then 30 minutes the next night. Don’t promise to "catch up" or sleep in on weekends. It can actually wreak havoc with your body rhythms. Getting up at same time every day is one of the best ways to reset your inner clock—and get better aligned with the one on your wrist or on the kitchen wall. "We can't be always be downshifting," says Rechtschaffen. "That's reality. People have jobs and family responsibilities. Dropping out of life is not an option." For his part, Rechtschaffen stopped using his watch altogether when researching his book. "I was actually more punctual because I allowed myself 30 minutes to get to appointments rather than shave it too close," he recalls. Another Rechtschaffen idea: Honor the mundane tasks. "Even sweeping the floor can be a more present experience," he said. "You can be swishing the broom around thinking about the 'important' things you haveto do, or you can bring full attention to your muscles as they move. Listen to the broom brush the floor while forgetting the day's troubles for a few minutes. Either way, the floor gets cleaned." Rechtschaffen borrows from Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist (see page 28 for an article by Thich Nhat Hanh. For instance, Thich Nhat Hanh suggests taking a deep breath every time the phone rings. Rather than answer on the first ring, inhale and pick it up on the third ring. Or try a walk without thinking too much. Rechtschaffen remembers the first time he saw Thich Nhat Hanh lead a walking meditation on the grounds at Omega. "The way he was walking made it seem that, with each step, he was kissing the earth," says Rechtschaffen. "He was totally present, obviously immersedonly in the act of walking. That same evening, Rechtschaffen noticed was "not conscious" during his post-dinner walk. "I decided to focus on my breathing and the glow of the lights from the Omega dining hall," says Rechtschaffen. I allowed myself to enter into the present moment, to become aware of my activity and drop the preoccupying thoughts of the past and future. I began to notice a deep peacefulness come over me. It was as though my whole being was shifting into relaxation." Best of all, Rechtschaffen says he realized "I could have such an experience at any time." Another method for teaming up with time—instead of fighting the clock—is to develop a daily self-nurturing practice. Rechtschaffen says 15 minutes is enough time to make transformative differences in your life and relationships. Carol Lloyd, author of "Creating a Life Worth Living" (HarperPerennial) and director of the popular San Francisco-based seminars by the same name, suggests a "daily action," or an activity that allows you to empty the mind of everyday clutter. These might include dancing, writing in a journal, walking,meditating, yoga, drawing without purpose or singing improvisational melodies. The daily action should be performed at the same time every day to make it a habit. Lloyd said early morning—basically waking up 15 minutes earlier—works best for most seminar participants. A modest first step could be a daily action as simple as taking a daily vitamin supplement or praying on the subway. Siegel has a couple of suggestions: Put yourself into a "thriving focus" (actively pursuing more of what you desire in your life) rather than the more typical "surviving focus" (avoiding what you don't want in your life). A sports coach might describe it as playing to win rather than not to lose. Siegel encourages his clients to find solitude in the crevices of even the busiest days, touching on a need for quiet time expressed by a third of the respondents in a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. His six-second remedy involves (1) Inhaling deeply and visualizing the breath sending energy to the core of your being (such as the lungs, heart, soul, whatever you prefer); (2) exhaling, releasing all muscles from the forehead to the feet; and (3) pausing briefly, hearing all external sounds. The technique will take longer than six seconds at first. "The time frame is relative," says Siegel. "I had one client, a CEO of a Los Angeles-based company, who told me he couldn't even afford six seconds out of his day, especially during important meetings. I told him a one-second routine will help him feel more 'in time' than 'out of time.' " Most Americans appear stuck on fast-forward, even when there is no payoff. A few years ago, National Public Radio conducted a revealing though unscientific experiment: One group of commuters was asked to drive as aggressively as possible during a normal 45-minute drive to work while another group was asked to stay relaxed during the same commute (presumably kicking back and listening to "Morning Edition"). The agitated group arrived only about two to five minutes earlieron average than the calm group. Tell that to your carpool group. Rechtschaffen encourages his hundreds of annual Omega Institute students —including his time-enlightened former Albany neighbor, Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson--to seek every opportunity to rejuvenate themselves during the day. Some examples: Use a car or train ride to relax—rather than read or listen to "hard" news—and even meditate or pray. Spend a few minutes each morning "doing nothing." Turn off the evening news and talk to a family member. Visualize a cool Puget Sound breeze while waiting for your computer to boot up. Better yet, get outside and talk a short walk break. Close your eyes during a phone call rather than try to do something else. Don't cram your vacation with morning-to-night activities. As the holidays approach, it’s a good time to plan a vacation that isn’t just a front to move your high-tech gear from the office to home. "Vacation comes from the Latin word vacare, which means 'to vacate,' "says Rechtschaffen. "A little bit of emptiness can go a long way." Bob Condor is the editor of The New Times. |