Echart Tolle wrote The Power of Now, which is a great way to understand that the only moment that exists is the present. We live in the Now moment, not in our memories or our dreams. That’s not to say that memories and dreams aren’t important to us. We have learned from our past so that we won’t make the same mistakes in the future. However, we can only move and take action in the present moment.
What is the Now Moment?
Does time exist outside of the Present Moment? Everything exists in the present, but it's not a static entity. The present moment is in a constant state of flux, changing billions of times each second into a new reality. Atomic clocks also change billions of oscillations from one second to the next.
Thus, both change and time help us understand our daily lives. Consider that our moments are labels that allow us to communicate with each other in mutual understanding. It’s easier to say, meet me in one hour or at the same time tomorrow. We use the time as a way to keep track of our moments. Time is a convenient way to label events that show us when our appointment arrives.
Time is a label to describe our history and to keep track of our daily moments. Clocks are practical tools that allow us to communicate and coordinate our shared reality. Time, as we commonly perceive it, is a helpful concept, but the only moment that truly exists is now. This understanding can bring a profound sense of reassurance and grounding. It helps us navigate the paradox of time, reminding us that the present moment is all there is.
Time isn’t something that exists outside of our experiences. The universe changes without using a magical force called time. If we use the world's most accurate and reliable clock to measure the speed of light or the frequencies of atoms, we can say the universe changes billions of times each second. Moreover, the universe is expanding at the speed of light, and the electrons in our bodies shine infrared light as we move with the universe at the speed of light.
We use clocks to label the motion of everything without knowing that the present moment is speeding into the next moment at light speed. We measure the speed of light per second using clocks, causing us to think that time is moving. We measure the motion and call it “time” while the universe moves with the speed of light. Time is a measurement of motion, not the cause of motion.
Time only moves because the frequency of light and motion are moving. Clocks count the frequency of atoms and show the measurement as numbers describing the duration of motion as “time.” Quantum motion moves at the speed of light, and clocks help us understand life slowly so we can experience our daily motion in seconds and minutes.
Time is our measurement of the motion we experience. However, clocks and time are separate things. The main point is that everything is moving, and we use clocks to measure the speed of everything. Time only moves because clocks tick at the same rate as our planet rotates.
Is the Passage of Time an Illusion?
Time is an illusion if you are not living in the universe. However, we are constantly living with time. In a modern society, we must monitor the time spent on every possible activity. In addition, scientists use time in every experiment and equation, so to say that time is an illusion for us is ridiculous. However, we need to understand what time is.
Time isn’t something that causes events or makes experiments happen. Time comes from the motion of our planet. The daily rotation and yearly orbit around the sun define time for us. But the motion we experience is the reality, and the time we experience comes from clocks that tick at the speed of Earth's rotation. That means that the movement and frequency of everything is happening everywhere, but time doesn’t cause change or movement to happen…
Time is our invention that measures the movement we experience. For example, we measure the speed of light using clocks that move at the same rate as our planet. Time doesn’t cause light to move; we measure movement using clocks. However, clocks are tools that often fail to keep accurate time because the temperature and force of gravity control motion and frequencies. Time dilation happens to clocks but not to reality…
Therefore, clocks are relative to physics, but the actual age of the universe is absolute. The universe is expanding at the speed of light, and this movement is happening everywhere at the same rate. That means time is absolute because the duration of time is the measurement of that motion. We need to realize that clocks do not measure time. Clocks measure the duration of motion, which we translate into time. Clocks and time are separate things. However, we cannot live our lives without knowing the time, but we must differentiate between clocks, the concept of time, and reality. Nikola Tesla said to understand the universe," think in terms of energy, vibration, and frequency."
Time Dilation Isn't Time!
The following mind experiment shows that clocks fail to keep accurate times.
Drawing of a spaceship and three clocks simultaneously orbiting the Earth. (Not to scale)
Einstein said relativistic motion produces time dilation but is time dilation actually time or false time? In this diagram, visualize the motion of a spaceship with a clock orbiting Earth and attached to Earth's center by a solid cable. Another clock is connected to the cable about halfway between the spaceship and Earth, and a third identical clock is on Earth. (This mind experiment also explains the twin paradox by using three identical clocks.)
The spaceship travels at almost light speed in a synchronous orbit around Earth. The spaceship and the clocks rotate with the Earth for one day, so the duration of time on all three clocks should be 24 hours or 86,400 seconds. But when we examine the clocks, the times on the clocks are different. The Earth clock shows 24 hours, the spaceship clock shows about 12 hours, and the middle clock shows around 18 hours (estimated amounts). The clocks should have the same time because it took 24 hours to make one rotation. The time display on the clocks in space is known as gravitational time dilation. But the reality is that it took 24 hours for each clock because they were connected to the same cable rotating with the Earth. The time dilation on the two clocks in space is false time due to forces changing the quantum motion of atoms in the clock's operating atomic structure.
What mechanism alters a clock? We know the distance traveled doesn't change a clock's ticking rate. Does speed alone cause a clock to show time dilation? All three clocks experienced the force of gravity and temperature… Clocks on Earth experience gravity, temperature, and atmospheric pressure, which is the environment of our Time Standard.
The spaceship's clock is subject to relativistic forces of energy and acceleration. The middle clock has a smaller acceleration force and a temperature close to absolute zero. We always forget to mention that the cold temperature in space would cause quantum motion to slow down a clock's ticking, while the lack of gravity has a gravitational effect.
This mind experiment shows that time dilation is a false display on clocks caused mainly by the force of gravity and temperature. The GPS clocks verify the same effect. The satellite clocks tick faster in space due to the weaker gravity but slower due to the force of acceleration. A constant speed of travel doesn't cause time dilation. Time dilation is relative to the force of gravity and acceleration a clock experiences.
Furthermore, the time or time dilation has no physical effect except on a clock's display. However, the forces acting on a clock would also affect the chemistry and physics of all atoms in matter and biology. These physical forces affecting matter are never mentioned in relativity…
The Twin Paradox is explained because the duration of time for the Earth twin is the same for the spaceship twin. Time dilation happens to a clock due to the force of gravity and acceleration, neglecting temperature. However, the time dilation on clocks is false time and doesn't change the actual time, as the diagram shows. The exact time for each clock was 24 hours because they were attached to the same cable during the synchronistic rotation around the Earth. This proof doesn't need observers looking at each other's clock or equations using false times.
Temperature Time Dilation
Temperature affects atomic frequencies and is the basis of the Kelvin scale. At zero Kelvin, all atomic vibration stops. A great experiment would be to place an atomic clock in a cold container at the same temperature as the GPS satellite's environment. After 24 hours, compare the time dilation with an identical reference clock. The time dilation value is then compared to the time dilation on a satellite clock to see how much temperature affects the GPS clock's time dilation versus having less gravity in space.
For more information about time, visit my books on Amazon, especially "Einstein Misled By Time." Thanks for reading… I appreciate you following my newsletter about the Science in Your Life. I strive to use critical thinking to explain science and the evolution of consciousness. With love, Erik.