From Punctuality to Presence: Reevaluating Our Relationship with Time

Today I would like to delve into the concept of time… From a personal as well as Reiki practitioner and healer perspective…

Since my 2017 NDE I have stopped wearing a watch and only really pay attention to what the time is if I know that I have scheduled appointments of some sort. My attitude towards time is that it doesn’t matter what time it is – the time is now. And my only concern regarding time is that it matters to other people, and I respect that. So, when it comes to appointments, I make sure that I am punctual.

Then, I live in Africa and here is a thing we refer to as “Africa time”. It is a term which we use as an indication of more or less when something is likely to happen with no attachment to the specific time as defined by any time-keeping device. In “Africa time”, being 30 minutes late is well within the scope of being punctual. Often, the time set for an appointment implies that the set time is the time to leave home/office to get to where you need to be. It is all very relative, and we go with the flow – no rush, no hurry! Trying to do things otherwise by running your life based on the precision of a time-keeping device is both futile and stressful.

As you can imagine, this can cause havoc in the running of a practice – reconciling the prim-and-proper Western concept of time with the local let’s-go-with-the-flow attitude towards time. But it is something I have learned to live with and “plan” for…

• I expect and accept that clients/students will arrive late as defined by a time-keeping device. I have released my attachment to and obsession with time and surrendered to an easier way of being where time truly goes into the dimension of what the Distant Healing Symbol represents. Timelessness through its meaning of “No Past, No Present, No Future”. And here, I am also reminded that the HZSZN is also a symbol of enlightenment and peace.
• I don’t stress about “lateness” and usually make use of the waiting period in a constructive and creative way – I see it as a time-out gift to do with as I please. For example, many of the bits and pieces of my published Reiki Rays articles are put into words during these times.
• I put less pressure on myself to fit in too many healing sessions during a day. I allocate 2 hours to a healing session. Clients that are on time benefit from this more relaxed approach. And clients that are late don’t upset the rhythm of my practice or other clients’ schedules, yet still having the benefit of a full healing session. It is only in cases of extreme “lateness” that I will shorten a healing session so as not to penalise other clients for such delays.
• And most of all, I am relaxed about the flow of it all, allowing me to be in the best frame of body, mind, and spirit – to be the healer that I need to be.

And it really is about the flow – the flow of time, the flow of Reiki, the natural flow of life. When trying to force time or Reiki or just life in general into a specific direction we create disharmony and upset the balance. This is counterproductive to the healing and health benefits created through Reiki and the Five Precepts we proclaim to be our guide. Just for today – just this moment – is not defined in any way by the exact time. The time is NOW!

I am also reminded of the benefits of Reiki healing and the fact that it promotes stress reduction and relaxation, which triggers our natural healing abilities and improves and maintains health and general wellbeing. As already mentioned, stressing about time counteracts these benefits. And when someone is time-keeping-device late there is nothing you can do about it except going into the flow of things and reminding yourself that just for today – just for that moment – you will not worry, you will not anger, you will be grateful, you will do your duties and you will be kind to others.

Not being too obsessed with time also supports mindfulness practices as mindfulness is about being in the here and the now. As with Reiki, there is great benefit in these mindfulness practices and the disconnect from our obsession with the exact time. We can overcome some of our anxieties which often relate to stressing about not having (enough) time and relax into what the present moments brings into our being and our awareness, being grateful for the here and the now – an essential element of cultivating inner peace.

Remember, you never have time, for time is not yours to “own” – you only have NOW…

Namaste

Article by Thea van der Merwe, Ph.D.

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Thea van der Merwe, Ph. D. is a nationally and internationally trained holistic energy, certified and experienced Master Reiki Practitioner, qualified in Usui Reiki, Reijukido, Karuna® Reiki, Karuna Ki Reiki, Crystal Reiki, and Gendai Reiki. She obtained the title of Shihan (full master/teacher), the highest level in Gendai Reiki Ho. Besides her greatest passion which is Reiki, Thea is also a spiritual shaman, healer, and teacher, offering readings as a way of accessing spiritual guidance. Her journey of personal discovery, growth, and healing started back in 2005 when she was personally in need of healing and searching for something more than what conventional medicine and therapy could provide. Thea is currently nationally and internationally registered with the South African Reiki Masters Association and The Reiki Healing Association respectively – both professional associations for the local and global Reiki communities, working to promote the wide-reaching practice and healing effects of Reiki throughout the world and where the primary philosophy is that together, we can do so much more. You can get into contact with Thea van der Merwe at viterra.co.za, which is her website, and at facebook.com/viterrahealing on Facebook.