Slowing Down Time

Slowing Down Time 

May 20, 2019 

Have you ever had a day or an experience where you just wanted to stop time or slow time – bottle the full experience – and savor the moment, the feelings and people, even the sights and sounds? 

The 2^nd week of May I was looking ahead to a series of small celebrations and I “just happened” to have a session titled “Slow Time”, Session 12 in Declarations, which is the third in a series of courses offered as part of our Certified High Performance Coaching™ Program. In my mind, there are no coincidences. 

I set my intention to be fully present in the celebratory events coming later that week. What did I do to prepare myself to be even more mindful and to Slow Time?”   

First, I started with asking myself questions, which are included in our “Slow It Down” Worksheet for Session #12 in the CHPC Declarations course. For example: 

1. What trigger would I use to help me be more mindful to my feelings throughout the upcoming day? I decided my trigger would be to rub my favorite pendant made from an old spoon, inscribed with Be Happy NOW. This is a tactic to slow me down and make me smile. Smiling brings me fully into the present moment. What would you choose for your trigger?
   
   
2. Who in the room or around the table needs me to slow down and notice and appreciate them more? Ahead of each of the events, I identified one or two people who needed my full attention and appreciation. Whether or not you have an event coming up – every day is special -- and you can ask yourself, who in your life needs you to be more present each day? And, why? 

Second, I re-read the closing chapter in Brendon Burchard’s best selling book, The Motivation Manifesto. This chapter is Declaration #9: We Shall Slow Time. There is a beautiful section, “Awareness Can Stop Time”, and a few excerpts are included below: 

“To those who cannot sense and slow time, we need only remind them of the times it happened almost automatically. 

‘Remember when you were immersed in your art and everything narrowed around you?’ 

‘Remember when you slowed time and breathed in the smell of your lover?’ 

‘Remember when the world stopped as you listened closely to your friend sharing her pain and you just felt for her?’  

‘Remember when you walked into the meadow or the woods or the sand and looked out on the vista of nature, and it felt as if you were part of it and it a part of you, that magical immensity and power of nature taking your breath away?’ 

‘Remember the sounds of the concert you waited so long for, that pulsing in your ears that seemed to beat with your own heart?’ 

It was as if we put time itself on hold so that we could sense something that was timeless, beautiful, meaningful. These needn’t be rare moments. 

There can be an everyday magic to our experience, and that magic need not be mystical but, rather, a conscious trick of elongating time, of heightening and deepening our senses to the moment.” 

I believe we have all experienced moments such as these. 

And the question remains, how do we train ourselves to slow down time and be even more mindful? This is where having triggers can be helpful. And, this is where I believe meditation can support us in becoming even more mindful. To me, this is an example of the power and impact of experiential learning. 

My third step: I immediately went back to a 10-day course I had taken late last year on Insight Timer. This course was led by Tom Evans, “The Art of Timefulness: Transform the Way To Get More Done With Less Time and More Ease.”  That very day, as part of my setting the intention to slow time, I went through all 10 classes – a commitment of about 2 hours. [Note: if you have the free version of Insight Timer, the course fee is a modest $20. If you subscribe to Insight Timer, all courses are free.]

On Insight Timer, Tom Evans writes: “I love taking the esoteric, the unknown, and making it exoteric, understood. I am the creator of The Art of Timefulness and Mindfulness for Busy People and the author of 16 books and counting on metaphysics, mindfulness & philosophy. Do you want to create more time, see the future, tap into unlimited ideas and to open your heart, mind and soul?” This course delivers on his commitment and delves deeply into the different perceptions of time between the right brain and the left brain, the use of alternate nostril breathing to bring the left and right brain into balance, and how the speed of our breathing can alter our perception of the passage of time – and much more. Suffice it to say – I highly recommend this course. Here is the link: https://insig.ht/H1uuv7g9GW. 

For those of you who would prefer to ease into the concept of how to Slow Time, I recommend “Ten Minutes of Mindfulness” by Tom Evans: https://insig.ht/plZc67o0CW, which is free. Can you spare 10 minutes tomorrow morning as you savor your first cup of coffee or smoothie?   

This meditation is elegantly simple as Tom Evans provides a guided meditation, minute by minute, and asks us to:

1. Become aware of our body.
2. Become aware of our breath.
3. Become aware of our thoughts.
4. Become aware of our mood.
5. Become aware of our intention.
6. Become aware of our gifts.
7. Become aware of our purpose.
8. Become aware of our potential.
9. Become aware of our inner guidance system.
10. Become open to all possibilities.  

Ten minutes and we are ready to step mindfully into a new day – a new world. I would invite you not to judge your answers to these questions. Please accept yourself and your answers exactly where you are in the moment. It is all good. 

As I expand my coaching practice under the trademark of CHPC, please understand my approach to performance is about full engagement and confidence and goes beyond goal setting, winning the next promotion, etc. The three courses I currently offer as a Certified High Performance Coach^™ are: 

• High Performance Habits;
• The Charged Life;
• Declarations. 

The courses are offered only by CHPC’s certified by the High Performance Institute and largely reflect the research and structure of best-selling books by Brendon Burchard: High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way, The Charge: Activating the 10 Human Drives That Make You Feel Alive, and The Motivation Manifesto: 9 Declarations to Claim Your Personal Power.  The value in working with a certified coach is that you get to personally live the experience of the life lessons and gain a confidante who challenges you and cheers you on.   

For additional detail on my coaching programs, please go to www.alisonlanzafalls.com. I offer one-on-one as well as group coaching sessions, via conference call, Zoom, or in my office. I am there for you. Please take advantage of my standing offer to provide a free 1-hour coaching session so you and I can evaluate the fit and how the course may serve you best.

Till next time, 

May you be happy now and always.