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The Yoga of Time Travel: How the Mind Can Defeat Time

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The author, a theoretical physicist, uses an ancient Hindu meditative technique, that draws on yoga and quantum physics to show that time is a flexible projection of the mind.

272 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

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Fred Alan Wolf

38 books126 followers

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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Owlseyes .
1,805 reviews304 followers
November 13, 2019
"Time is a fire that consumes me, but I am that fire"
J. L. Borges



"every soul desires something impossible"



The book starts with the dialogue between the Queen and Alice on Wonderland. The Queen is suggesting to Alice that memory may work both ways: regarding past, and regarding future. Yes, but how can you recall something which didn't happen, yet?

The author makes the case for the premise that what's just "possibility", may become "probability"; i.e. time travel may turn into reality. Drawing inspiration from ancient Indian scriptures and Modern Science achievements, he explores time travel, a seemingly impossibility. But you may wonder: time is an arrow; it always proceeds forwards and is always connected to space. However, under certain conditions things may change, as in the Physics of cosmological Black Holes (and wormholes): time and space may be bent....under gravity.


(Sri Bhagwan Ramana)

There's a lot of mind-work to be done, as you read the book, because as Ramana Maharishi defended: "...in the Self there is no space-time". There are conditions for time travel; one of them: you've got to let some luggage behind....

There’s a curious story in the book about Ramana. Once he got visited by a Peruvian couple who upon meeting with him spoke of their difficulties getting to Arunachala, Ramana’s place in India. The Master suggested the couple they could have avoided those difficulties by simply “thinking about him” while they were in Peru. Yet, later in the evening, Ramana resumed the talk by asking them if the place in Peru where they used to frequent near the seaside had these characteristics.: marble benches, …and Palm trees and so on, even an exact description of the spot the couple used to seat (the 5th bench). The couple were just amazed.

"I've been on a calendar, but never on time"
Marilyn Monroe.

The book explores two distinct ways of doing time travel: (1) the ordinary way, referring a technology yet to be created, though some advances being made towards it; (2) the extraordinary way, through mind-yoga, being this an "available" method, according to the author. In the last way, mind and time assimilate, and "can have the same meaning". This method implies getting rid of "our luggage": our "egos"; and that's not easy. This is a highly subjective mode.

I would go ahead and point to another (correlated) phenomenon: that of reality going backwards (or History repeating itself). Just two examples: (1) today, after months of negotiations, finally, the Social-Democrats of Germany managed to get an understanding with Merkel to bring back the grand coalition, in power since 2013. (2) Recently, Putin, in an interview, was asked if he had the chance to travel back in time what would he change in Russia's history; he replied: the collapse of the Soviet Union. It seems he's been working hard, towards that. After all, some think he's a time traveller. Almost, immortal. Both (1) and (2), nevertheless, seem, in my view, backward-travel, when, in fact, in these situations, TIME SHOULD BE MOVING FORWARD. Pity.




PS On second thoughts, maybe some like to "walk backwards into the future, gaze fixed in the past"*, as some ancient Greek thought.

* Paraphrasing a review in The Economist
https://www.economist.com/node/365441
Profile Image for Pascale.
335 reviews18 followers
July 8, 2017
This work was extremely interesting. I've always been a fan of science and this book was all needed.

Strangely however, while I was more than halfway through, I started and finished "Conversations with God 4 - Awenken the Species", and both books, in my personnal opinion, explain the same concept, albeit very differently. I thought that the sub-space possibility waves and probability curves quite fit CWG's author way of wxplaining how we chose our future.

Some might not like the comparison but I really enjoyed reading both within the same time frame.
Profile Image for Craig.
1,092 reviews32 followers
November 19, 2008
Nice introduction to some basic physics and quantum physics. I struggled with the translation from quantum physics and time travel theories to mind yoga and time travel. I understand that the quantum concepts are difficult to prove outright in the "real" world (the author recognizes this and states it a few times in the text). At the same time, a tad sprinkling of scientific imagination is definitely needed to enter the world of quantum physics and time travel, especially if it involves the mind and not some machine. And that is one of the main ideas explained. That one must let go of the ego (material, real world base) and allow your mind (along with memory) to travel forward and backward (this travel is based on quantum physics and particle/wave possibilities and probabilities.

Overall, I enjoyed the theory and the overview of some basic physics ideas/theories. Maybe another small text would help to elucidate the intricacies of theory and exercises one does to achieve what the author states.
Profile Image for Pooja Kashyap.
303 reviews104 followers
May 12, 2020
Converging theology and modern physics, Wolf postulates that time and space are inseparable and that we perceive them as distinct entities, which actually is an illusion.

Neither space or time is real, nor are they separate from ego or the I-ness. In fact, this ego or the I-ness is embedded in time and space.

In dream, dreamer does not experience time and space. For instance, king forgets he is king and beggar forgets his identity. The I-ness or the consciousness of the body is not there too. However, the dreamer experiences the “dream ego”. This proves, time and space are a mental construct.
If spacetime is a just projection, then it is not real. Accordingly, limitation too is “unreal”. Moving a step ahead, he says, there is no past, nor future not even present moment. Taking a bold stand, his theory further suggests, that creation of the world has never occurred. Period.

Source: The Yoga of Time Travel
Profile Image for Z.
132 reviews176 followers
July 19, 2017
Phew - I don't consider myself dimwitted, but this was a tough one to plough through. Immensely technical in parts, Wolf attempts to explain how mental time travel is possible - but have I learned from this book how to do it? You'll have to wait and see...
Conceptually, Wolf's theory resembles ancient Vedic philosophy as well as some Buddhist tenets, and tries to tie them into quantum physics. Drop the trappings of ego, and because linear time is created by ego, you should be able to step outside of linear time entirely.
Maybe Wolf needs to come up with a simple-English how-to workbook to go with this book.
Profile Image for biblio-empire.
32 reviews2 followers
July 27, 2016
It is precisely at the point where science and spirituality meet that we come to find the magical. A physicist who can take us there is Fred Alan Wolf, who as the author of nearly a dozen works that seek to abridge the divide between the two fields, has been described as a scientist on the “fringes of mainstream science”. In The Yoga of Time Travel, Wolf ventures into the realm of quantum physics by exploring black holes, parallel universes, and wormholes to entertain the idea that spiritual practices which dissolve the ego---such as meditation---can defeat time. Known for his good-natured and lucid writing, Wolf tackles even the most abstract scientific notions through riveting scenarios and friendly explanations. Brilliant and innovative, The Yoga of Time Travel suggests the importance of quantum physics’ role in the future of science, which through the help of open-minded thinkers such as Fred Alan Wolf, may come to join full arms with spirituality.

Liked my review? Check out my book blog for more!
Profile Image for Brendan.
1,585 reviews26 followers
August 30, 2016
Of all the books I've read that deal with the intersection of Eastern Spirituality and quantum physics, this one falls the heaviest on physics content. It's intriguing and interesting, but I'm left wishing for just a little more yoga.
Profile Image for Podkayne.
72 reviews
August 23, 2019
Yoga meets quantum mechanics. Great book for the open minded.
10.6k reviews34 followers
June 18, 2024
TIME TRAVEL AS “A MATTER OF THE MIND”

Fred Alan Wolf (born 1934) is an American theoretical physicist (and former physics professor at San Diego State University) specializing in quantum physics and the relationship between physics and consciousness. He has helped popularize science on the Discovery Channel, and has produced a number of audio and video presentations.

He wrote in the Introduction to this 2004 book, “Indeed, such ideas may seem like science fiction, but when we examine what scientists are doing these days in terms of realizing time travel and time manipulation, you will see that science fiction has become science fact. My hope is that if nothing else, after reading this book you will understand just what is meant by time travel and why scientists are now taking it seriously.., I, too, time travel. In fact, I do it nearly every day, especially when I find myself in creative activity---lost in my work, as we say. Later, we’ll look more deeply into this phenomenon.” (Pg. 3-4)

He suggests, “suppose you had been to the future and what you saw was either so uneventful that you didn’t notice or so scary that you simply decided NOT to remember it. According to what we shall find out in this book, your ability to remember the future depends on your ability to pay close attention to these future events, not just idly glance over them… With some guidance and analysis, perhaps you could learn to recall the future with as much success as such procedures can enable you to recall forgotten past events.” (Pg. 2-3)

He observes, “Certainly all of us have experienced at some point what I call a timeless moment---a period of quiet reflection when everything seems at peace. The reality of this moment surpasses the illusion of time. [Richard] Feynman tells us that what we mean by the immediate present is mysterious and undefinable—whatever we say about this mystery remains a projection of the mind, and that projection has no physical existence, hence there is no way to define or measure it.” (Pg. 37)

He states, “We can anticipate the future time only in our imaginations, and the past times are only in our memories---if we have them, and if not, past events too are only experienced in our imagination. So that leaves just the time you are experiencing now as a possibly measurable quantity. But the instant you claim to measure it by, say, looking at the watch on your wrist, that time mysteriously vanishes into the great depths of the immeasurable past. Hence, has any time actually been measured? Has any time really ever ‘passed’?... Thus there really is no present moment---or not past moment or future moment---ever present at all.” (Pg. 61)

He asserts, “It is widely believed that time travel is impossible because it violates the laws of physics. In fact, skeptics and others who have contemplated the logical paradoxes of time travel figure that a physics theory predicting time travel in itself shows that theory to be false… Do the laws of physics prevent time travel? The answer turns out to be a surprising and resounding no. Not only do the laws of physics NOT forbid time travel, they may require it!” (Pg. 95)

He explains, “To better grasp how this new quantum world behaves, it’s helpful to have a brief summary of quantum-physics laws… 1. Quantum physics deals with a new kind of object called a ‘possibility-wave,’ and everything in the world, including your brain and your mind, has a possibility-wave. 2. Possibility-waves travel both forward and backward in time. 3. Possibility-waves can be superposed (added together) to create new possibility waves. 4. Possibility waves can be multiplied (squared) to create probabilities.” (Pg. 121)

He says, “Let me give you an example… suppose you had in the past taken in a toxic substance or heard some words that angered you and had a toxic effect on your mind-body, making you ill. Could time reversal in the machine remove this illness? The answer is yes, provided the counterfactual past was not toxic. If you were well in the counterfactual past, then you would find yourself returning to a healthier state. Hence, the device would also be used to cure illnesses.” (Pg. 132-133)

Significantly, he states, “We will not worry about a device that enables a time shirt to take place. Rather, we will look into what the time shift accomplishes in the mind. Once we grasp that, it is just a short journey to a mind yoga for time travel---a means to actually cheat time.” (Pg. 136) Later, he adds, “when a possibility-wave encounters a situation that is logically impossible in the real world, we can still use our imagination to envision how it might behave… But in the ‘real world,’ we don’t see POSSIBILITY-waves at all. We don’t see an object splitting apart each time two or more possibilities arise---for example, when flipping a coin, rolling dice, or spinning a roulette wheel… We ALWAYS see only a single outcome…” (Pg. 149-150)

He argues, “If both the possibility-wave and the complex-conjugate wave are real, time must not be a one-way river after all. Events that have passed must still be around. Events that will be must exist like new scenes around blind corners on the roads of life… devices must be feasible that can enable us to tune in on the future and resonate with the past. These devices seem to be our own brains, with our minds the controlling factors… following quantum rules, we are constructing a past based on the multiplication of two clashing time-order streams of possibility-waves.” (Pg. 157)

He states, “From your birth until your death, you will believe… that you have lived your life along a time line pointing to ever-increasing years and old age. But as we have learned, that line has several loops in it, allowing you … to more forward or backward in time while the remaining world moves on in agreed temporal order. Becoming a time traveler through mind yoga means learning how and when to focus and unfocus your mind.” (Pg. 180)\

He acknowledges, “I fully realize that many, including scientists, would object to the notion that time travel is a matter of the mind… Time travel as envisioned through the mind… plunges us into the areas of psychology of spirituality… Using the mind for time travel is not only indirect, it is also highly subjective. As such, it becomes part of spiritual discipline as much as of psychology… time travel using the mind rives the traveler a whole new vista of possible exploration, but it also requires a sacrifice… which is our egos and our sense of individuality…” (Pg. 184-185) He adds, “I time travel every day. I do so by simply gaining or surrendering control of my ego in holding onto or letting go of fixed ideas I have about myself and others.” (Pg. 192)

He concludes, “This respite from the space-time continuum allows us to more backward in time and revisit past ‘errors.’ It enables us to forgive ourselves and others because we see that the other is nothing more than the self. It offers a fresh, new life-affirming quality to everyday existence. Perhaps most importantly, while engaged in this kind of travel you slow your body’s aging processes, simply because the mind has relaxed its concern with creating an objective world arising from probability-curves.” (Pg. 212)

This book will be of little value to those seeking a book about the speculative physics/science of “time travel,” but will be of interest to meditators and other spiritual seekers.
Profile Image for Orgadena.
66 reviews
May 20, 2025
Space

Mind, Brain : Souls, of Time, "Time, Time" ; Time, Bread, Space.
Mind, Light, Energy : a queen, True Self, Paths, Point.
Hooks, Patterns, "Time, Time."
Time Machines, Time Travel, Process, Be ... Ancient Vedas.
Dreamless State/Non-Being, Dream State/Delusion, Wakeful State/Intelligent Awareness, and One, Lost, Sense of Time.
Limitations ; Two, Densities, Natures.
Space-Time, Arrow, Future.
Physics, Spirits.
Universes.
Realisation, Pure Self‐Awareness.
Creating Illusions.
Dimention, Travel.
Opposite Directions.

Created Universes
-- Travel, Magical Birth -- of ...

The Form, Trip.

Quantum Physical Observer Effect
-- Gravity --
Travel, Change, Forward Cycles.

Sources.

Changeless Time
-- Moving -- Your Little Girl.

Appearance, Ago.
Energies.

Minimum Value
-- Ten (10), Levels -- of Dreams.

Our Minds, Energies.

Or so ...
-- Our Own Levels --
The Subtle changes, "the Time, the Time."

Their Switches
-- One Place -- the Guidebooks.

An ...
Enchanted, by This Realisation.
Say ...
Years, Creation.



Yoga Time, "Mind Mind" : Dreams, Mind, Spiritual Self-Awareness, Paths, Times.
Dream-Time, Waking.
Collective Dreaming, now Finding, New Clothes, Body Heat.
Of...
-- Downward Motion, in Time, Go, Slowly -- a watch, Time.

It.
"Time & Space, Time & Space."

A position
-- Space -- Languages.

Limitations, Traps, Fiction, Illusions.

Colours
-- Changing -- Travel.

In, Real Sense.

Bodily...
-- Easily -- Indian Texts, and ...



The Circle, Confined.
The Times.
Self
-- Human Souls -- a flood, the Beginning.

Heat, Energy.

Awareness, in Dream-Time
-- Renewed -- Cosmic ...

In ...
-- In -- Thy Self.



In ...

The Sun, the Cycle
-- Space -- Humanity.

Time.



Worlds.
Air.

~
Profile Image for RSDhar.
66 reviews1 follower
December 15, 2024
Superb book. dealing with complex matters in a simple manner. Simply mind blowing explanations and details. Very thought provoking.
Profile Image for Andreas Schmidt.
810 reviews11 followers
September 19, 2017
Krishna esiste e Einstein ha ragione perché era un ultra genio, quindi si può viaggiare nel tempo!
Giustamente, come si può non dare ragione all'idiota che ha scritto questo libro? E' assodato che esista Krishna e Einstein aveva ragione su tutto, perché era un genio (ipse dixit) indi per cui si può viaggiare nel tempo, anche con la mente volendo, e andare avanti e indietro e ricordare avvenimenti futuri. I primi capitoli sono su quest'onda, l'autore cita più che altro dottrine orientali usandole principalmente come argomenti non solo a favore, ma prove inconfutabili della sua tesi. Poi, dal momento che trattasi di un fisico, i successivi capitoli sono le solite seghe mentali (altro non sono) dei fisici che si divertono a pensare a cosa c'è dietro un buco nero, e che per attraversarlo basti viaggiare alla velocità della luce. Dopodiché, dopo 8 capitoli di segoni mentali e stronzate sulla fisica, giungiamo al tema del libro. LO YOGA DELLA MENTE E IL VIAGGIO NEL TEMPO: ovvero il buon Fred inizia ad improvvisarsi maestro spirituale, perché giustamente pensa di aver finalmente spiegato il suo modo di vedere le cose, e di consigliare al lettore come praticare il suo "yoga della mente". Ho letto seriamente fino a pagina 50, poi dalla 51 alla 180 circa non ce l'ho fatta più. Del resto, come si può pretendere di citare Krishna e il romanzo di Lewis Carrol - Alice nel paese delle meraviglie (!!!!!) e pretendere che un lettore di buon senso non inorridisca? Qui faccio il mio voto: mai più comprerò libri della Macro Edizioni. E' una delle poche malfamate case editrici a pubblicare queste "perle". Una presa per il culo che mi è costata 13 euro. Un consiglio: leggete due o tre pagine prima di comprare, in libreria.
Profile Image for Maureen.
47 reviews
March 28, 2011
I'm not a mathematician/physicist type but I've loved the concept of physics/quantum physics etc since I was really young. I also have loved studying alternative philsophies like yoga. Fred Wolfe does a fantastic job in bringing this to the lay reader. There were 2-3 chapters that gave me a challenge. I stuck with it and was rewarded later by being able to keep up as he refers to what he's explained before to build to where he's going with it. At the end, a wonderful synopsis of each chapter helped me really get it into my mind!
Profile Image for Tari.
12 reviews1 follower
January 23, 2008
(5 stars if I could thoroughly understand this!)
Profile Image for Andrzej.
88 reviews12 followers
June 27, 2016
Ātrs skrējiens gar fizikas, kvantu fizikas, relativitātes un stīgu teorijas, psiholoģijas, meditācijas un apzinātības lauciņiem. Gar pašu maliņu, tipinot un balansējot.
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