The Illusion of Time

Imagine a video file. The frames that comprise it constitute a linear sequence of events that can be viewed from start to finish. As we watch it at a frame rate of 60 frames per second or higher, the illusion is created of smooth motion along a time line. Once we've finished watching, the video remains on a storage device somewhere and can be watched again if desired. Until that time however, it simply exists and the illusion of time is created only when we open the file and traverse the frames contained within it.

I'm using this as an analogy to describe the human perception of time. Suppose the universe is a series of configurations, each configuration being a unique arrangement of elements that differ only slightly from the related configurations that precede it and follow it. As we move or are carried from one configuration to the next, the perception of time is created but in reality all the configurations already exist. They simply are. Eternity is experienced when not caught up in the configurations. If this is achieved, the perception of time vanishes and we see that the configurations were always there. There was no beginning and no end, just the totality of configurations.

This is not an original idea. I first read about it in Julian Barbour's 1999 book titled The End of Time: The Next Revolution in Our Understanding of the Universe and it came as quite a revelation. Here is a summary from Good Reads:

Time is an illusion. Although the laws of physics create a powerful impression that time is flowing, in fact there are only timeless `nows'. In The End of Time, the British theoretical physicist Julian Barbour describes the coming revolution in our understanding of the world: a quantum theory of the universe that brings together Einstein's general theory of relativity - which denies the existence of a unique time - and quantum mechanics - which demands one. Barbour believes that only the most radical of ideas can resolve the conflict between these two theories: that there is, quite literally, no time at all. The End of Time is the first full-length account of the crisis in our understanding that has enveloped quantum cosmology. Unifying thinking that has never been brought together before in a book for the general reader, Barbour reveals the true architecture of the universe and demonstrates how physics is coming up sharp against the extraordinary possibility that the sense of time passing emerges from a universe that is timeless. The heart of the book is the author's lucid description of how a world of stillness can appear to be teeming with motion: in this timeless world where all possible instants coexist, complex mathematical rules of quantum mechanics bind together a special selection of these instants in a coherent order that consciousness perceives as the flow of time. Finally, in a lucid and eloquent epilogue, the author speculates on the philosophical implications of his theory: Does free will exist? Is time travel possible? How did the universe begin? Where is heaven? Does the denial of time make life meaningless? Written with exceptional clarity and elegance, this profound and original work presents a dazzlingly powerful argument that all will be able to follow, but no-one with an interest in the workings of the universe will be able to ignore.

It's tempting for me at least to connect these configurations with the Akashic Records, described by this site as:

The Akashic Records, or "The Book of Life," can be equated to the universe's super-computer system. It is this system that acts as the central storehouse of all information for every individual who has ever lived upon the earth. More than just a reservoir of events, the Akashic Records contain every deed, word, feeling, thought, and intent that has ever occurred at any time in the history of the world. Much more than simply a memory storehouse, however, these Akashic Records are interactive in that they have a tremendous influence upon our everyday lives, our relationships, our feelings and belief systems, and the potential realities we draw toward us.

On this same website, there is an excerpt from one of Edgar Cayce's readings (Reading 294-19) in which he vividly describes accessing these records:

I see myself as a tiny dot out of my physical body, which lies inert before me. I find myself oppressed by darkness and there is a feeling of terrific loneliness. Suddenly, I am conscious of a white beam of light. As this tiny dot, I move upward following the light, knowing that I must follow it or be lost. As I move along this path of light I gradually become conscious of various levels upon which there is movement. Upon the first levels there are vague, horrible shapes, grotesque forms such as one sees in nightmares. Passing on, there begin to appear on either side misshapen forms of human beings with some part of the body magnified. Again there is change and I become conscious of grey-hooded forms moving downward. Gradually, these become lighter in colour. Then the direction changes and these forms move upward and the colour of the robes grows rapidly lighter. Next, there begin to appear on either side vague outlines of houses, walls, trees, etc., but everything is motionless. As I pass on, there is more light and movement in what appear to be normal cities and towns. With the growth of movement I become conscious of sounds, at first indistinct rumblings, then music, laughter, and singing of birds. There is more and more light, the colours become very beautiful, and there is the sound of wonderful music. The houses are left behind, ahead there is only a blending of sound and colour. Quite suddenly I come upon a hall of records. It is a hall without walls, without ceiling, but I am conscious of seeing an old man who hands me a large book, a record of the individual for whom I seek information.

Of course, the author of The End of Time, as a reputable scientist, would probably be outraged at any connection being drawn between his concept of timeless "configurations" of the physical universe and the Akashic Records. However, it seems to me that everyone has her or his own configuration file or Book of Life. The contents of this book are hidden from us and of course we are still writing in our books as we live our little lives. The Avatar, Meher Baba, could read this book for any individual who entered his circle and thus he knew exactly what was needed for that individual's spiritual advancement. With enlightenment comes full access to the book of oneself and of others:

Nowadays scientists deal with physical matter as well as so-called dark matter. They have only the vaguest notions about what dark matter might be composed of but they happily accept its existence on the basis of its observed effects on physical matter. In my previous post, I proposed a connection between dark matter and either the astral plane or more likely the subtler states of physical matter comprising the etheric planes. I propose that the configurations have a gross physical (solid, liquid, gas), a finer physical (etheric) and an astral dimension. Each configuration has, is and always will be because of the illusory nature of time. Each action produces an impression. On the gross physical level, my footsteps in the sand are always there, they always were, they always will be. Just as my feet leave an impression in the sand, likewise my thoughts and feelings impress themselves on the substance of the etheric and astral planes.

As a physical being I am constantly disturbing the equilibrium of the physical world that I live and move about in. Even sitting in meditation, my weight is upon the surface of the Earth, I am radiating heat and chemically interacting with the atmosphere as I breathe in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide. The disturbances I am creating in such a situation are very slight and quite unavoidable. Travelling to and fro however, produces far greater disturbances as, unawares, I trample ants to death underfoot as I walk about. It's for this reason that Jain priests don't travel very much. They are sensitive to the damage that they will necessarily cause as they do so. Similarly, thinking and feeling disturb the equilibrium of these non-physical realms. A positive thought and a negative emotion both leave an impression in the same way that my foot leaves an impression in the sand. Looking at an individual's Book of Life, all the recorded impressions can be read, including the footprint in the sand, the positive thought, the negative emotion.