How To Slow Down Time By Default With Consciousness

Where does the time go?

Time flies whether you're having fun or not. And time is speeding up as we get older, as the children grow up quicker.

But does it have to?

In a world where we are constantly connected and stimulated. We feel like there isn't enough time, even when we aren't busy. That sense of not having enough isn't always about hours - it's about presence.

When we live on autopilot, time blurs. When we live with consciousness, time deepens.

Consciousness enriches life, which slows down time.

The Brain Doesn't Use A Clock - It Uses Attention

The brain doesn't measure time by a clock. Some minutes and hours and days feel longer than others. Why?

The brain measures the perception of time through attention. When we do something new or we truly notice what's happening, our brain records more.

When we give something our full attention, that adds moments of richness and texture - turning it into memory. And memory is how we really experience life.

Consciousness doesn’t require us to literally slow down, although that helps. It simply means we become more aware of what's actually happening - inside and around us - so we aren't sleep walking through.

And by default, that gives us time back.

Why Time Feels Faster as We Age

Time does get faster as we get older. Proportionate to the time we've lived, a minute, a day or even a year feels smaller because it is. To a five year old, 1 year is 20% of life, whereas to a 45-year-old, it's only 2.5%. Our perception of time shrinks as our reference point grows.

But it's not just math. As a child, life is full of newness and firsts and then imprints into our memory. Our brains are constantly lit up by new experiences, which means we process them with more detail, engaging more senses and forming more memories. It's about paying full attention.

With age comes routine, familiarity and repetition. The brain, designed to conserve energy, stops storing repetitive experiences as richly. When nothing stands out, time collapses into sameness and disappears.

Add in stress, overstimulation, and distractions, and we start to lose the very essence of the life we're living. The more distracted we are, the less we record and the more time seems to vanish.

A Disconnected Society Moves Faster

Of course, this is personal, but much of it is cultural.

Our modern society is built on disconnection.

Take the economy, for example, the easiest people to sell to are people who are disconnected.

Tired? Buy energy.

Lonely? Buy love.

Empty? Buy meaning.

Not literally, of course.

To keep the machine running, we have to be slightly disconnected. If we felt everything, we would burn our faster, question more and resist systems more.

And yet, we all long for more time, for youth, for a longer life than the one we're in. If only we knew what we had right now.

Consciousness disrupts control.

It pulls us out of autopilot. And into a place where real choice, connection, and presence begin.

Why Numbing Feels So Good?

Within ourselves, being disconnected protects us. We don't have to cope with negative feelings. We function better in demanding environments and we avoid being overwhelmed.

Feeling everything feels like too much in this society. Society has never celebrated our feelings unless they are labeled “good”. Feeling is actually a sign of failure.

But the numbing, though it feels protective, is costing us connection to the one life we have. And when we lose track of consciousness, we lose track of the moment and vice versa.

This Way of Living Is Not Natural

Humans are wired to feel. "Good" and "bad" - both equally important. We're wired to connect to others. To navigate life with our intuition, empathy, and inner guidance. We're wired by rhythm, not overstimulation.

The simplest area to see that is rising with the sun and sleeping in darkness. But much of that has been overridden. 

Disconnection might be common, but it's not natural. It's a behavior adaptation - one we can unlearn to enjoy more deeply again.

Substances Are Socially Acceptable Relief

Alcohol and drugs are the break from the noise that society gives us.

We're raised to believe that alcohol or drugs make good times better and easier. They cut edges of stress, noise, tension, pain, and distraction.

Sometimes they even seem to bring us to the here and now. They encourage us to be in the moment, so we believe. "It will be more fun, more loose, more relaxed."

But they actually tend to do the opposite.

Alcohol and drugs are actually a numbing agent. If they numb some, they numb all, including the richness of life. We lose memories, lose texture, lose details.

They blur the edges of experience and rob us of the potential depth.

They may manage stress, emotions, and pass time. They may even enrich a dull moment mentally.

But what's actually happening is detachment. If an environment needs a drug to be rich, our bodies know - even if our minds don't. Sometimes they even put us in situations that cause harm.

Now, with so much available research and support, we have the tools to feel, question and cope in ways that are more inline with our natural essence than societal norms. We can experience the richness of human existence without numbing.

Meaning we can add more consciousness in, enhancing our lives and literally giving us time back and a longer life here.

Big Life Moments Bring Us Back

Big life moments with intense feelings drop us back into the moment. Like the birth of a child, loss of someone we love, or unexpected beauty that stops us in our tracks.

In these moments, we feel everything. Time slows because we're truly here.

That's not a coincidence. That's what it means to be conscious.

Newness is the Key

"To see like a child is to see things as if for the first time."

When we engage with the world like children do, meaning curious, present and open, we start to notice again. The trees, a new face, the sky, the birds.

These things don't need to be new - they just need to be noticed by you like they are. You know, as they say, literally, stop to smell the roses.

This is the gift of consciousness. It helps us reclaim time. It's the ability to feel time again, instead of watching it disappear.

Consciousness Makes Time Count - Not Just Pass

You don't have to live in full presence all the time. That's not possible. But small, conscious moments anchor us back into time.

Stillness stretches time. Flow speeds it up. Curiosity slows it down. And paying attention to the moment, actually lets the moment stick around.

Distraction erases time. Consciousness fills it.

You don't need more hours - you just need space to feel the ones you already have.

You can't stop time for moving. But you can stop time from disappearing.

Instead of fearing how fast it goes, notice it. Notice what's around you. Enjoy the ordinary.

Take your time back - one moment at a time.

Adding Consciouness Back In Simply