Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and How to Control it

by Steve Taylor

Why does time seem to speed up as we get older? Why does it seem to drag when we're bored or in pain, or to go slowly when we're in unfamiliar environments? Why does it slow down dramatically in accidents and emergency situations, when sportspeople are 'in the zone', or in higher states of consciousness?Making Time explains why we have these different perceptions of time, suggesting that there are five basic 'laws' of psychological time and uncovering the factors which cause them. It uses evidence from modern physics and unusual states of consciousness to suggest that our normal sense of time is an illusion, 'created' by our minds. But perhaps more importantly, on a practical level, this book shows us what we can do to control our sense of time passing, to make it pass slowly or quickly in different situations. It suggests that it is possible for us to live through more time in our lives, and so effectively increase the amount of time which we are alive for.In the final chapter, Steve Taylor uses insights from Buddhism - investigating the practices of mindfulness and meditation - to show how we can actually transcend linear time, and learn to live fully in the present moment.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Psychology, Self Help

256 pages, Hardcover

Published August 2, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Steve Taylor is a senior lecturer in Psychology at Leeds Beckett University, UK. His latest books in the US are The Calm Center and Back to Sanity: Healing the Madness of the Human Mind. He is also the author of The Fall, Waking From Sleep, and Out Of The Darkness. His books have been published in 19 languages. His research has appeared in The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, The Journal of Consciousness Studies, The Transpersonal Psychology Review, The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, as well as the popular media in the UK, including on BBC World TV, The Guardian, and The Independent.

Reviews

[Bharath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has some genuinely new and though provoking material on how we can make the most of our time on this planet. This is less about being more productive with work, but more about using the time we have in a holistic and satisfying manner. It starts by stating psychological time experience laws including – time speeds up with age, time slows with new experiences, time speeds with absorption & the reverse in non-absorption, and the most intriguing & possibly important being time slowing with ego suspension.

Each of these are discussed in detail with some references to research and documented experiences. It is important that we link these with our own experiences. I do find much of what is stated to be what we all experience in life. I was not really comfortable or convinced with the theories and cases suggested for premonition though. However, the way we perceive time as a linear march is unlikely to be correct either, nor is it backed by science.

The last two chapters which deal with how we can make the most of time with new experiences, finding balance, limiting absorption, changing how we see the world with mindfulness & meditation cover excellent life enhancement methods, which logically backup the earlier material on time passage and quality.

Overall, a very good book for the interesting material it has, though each one has to apply the methods in their own way.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

The theories, research and the way the author speaks about autism and transgender people is quite outdated (to be fair, it was written in 2007) but this is a topic that I am interested in and have studied at uni.

[Alexander Vreede · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting book but unfortunately not too interesting. Some parts I found vague and superficial. The book definitely contains useful facts and insights as well as a compelling theory that the experience of time is linked to the ego. I would rather say that the experience of time is in fact created by the ego.
The basis are 5 ‘laws of psychological time’ and 2 ‘fundamental relative factors of psychological time’.
With them Steve Taylor tries to answers his questions on how to control your time and manage it (chapter 8) and how to lengthen your time and supersede it (chapter 9).
I read the Dutch translation of 2008 and do not know whether it is completely the same as the original English version of 2007.

[Steve Kingsbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book with fairly decent insight into the topic of understanding the pace at which time passes by, whether that be literally or figuratively. The author's suggestion that time is not linear, in my opinion, is based upon our human lack of understanding of cosmic and eternal perspective. There certainly is merit to the concept that our human understanding of time is insufficient. Time can and should be valued in the incomprehensible span of infinity rather than by our mere mortal lifespan of less than a century.

From my own perspective, based upon my own experiences, there are other factors that impact our perception of how quickly time passes that should have been included within this book. Possibly, this represents a cultural difference since the author is British and I live in the United States. For Americans, many of us suffer from hurry sickness, packing far too much into an ever shrinking span of time. The inevitable result is that time slips through our fingers extremely quickly, proportionately or equally to the pace that we have set for ourselves.

The author's observation about indigenous peoples' perception of time and indifference to a time obsessed or controlled life is indightful and useful in considering this topic. Also, the intentional and dedicated use of meditation and mindfulness demonstrate the power of living in the moment.

There are many useful tools within this book that can aid readers in understanding how time passes, but it is critical to start with a very well-formed and thoroughly informed individual assessment. Then and only then can desired objectives and goals can be established and refined and/adapted over time. Critically, you must take charge of your life and commit to managing it to fulfill your desired objectives.

[Betti Moser · Rating 3 out of 5]

So so.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Wilfully unscientific without ever dabbling into pseudoscience" claims The Independent's byline adorning the front cover. For much of the book, I suppose that's accurate. But if cherry-picking case studies in favour of precognition and premonition (then seeking to validate them by drawing incredibly vague parallels with the special theory of relativity or quantum mechanics) isn't pseudoscience, I'm afraid I don't know what is. Even David Icke (simply referred to here as a "New Age writer") is quoted at one point.

But don't click away just yet. The book contains some genuinely absorbing material. It's engagingly written and nicely personalised by Taylor, who comes across as an interesting and agreeable guy, offering up his own reflections and experiences. In addition, most of the core themes are hard to dispute (not to mention useful to live by), such as the observation that the whole purpose of doing things quickly is supposed to save time, yet if we did things more slowly and mindfully - living fully in the present - we actually create more time.

I wish Taylor would have explored in more depth aspects like professional athletes entering 'the zone' or time slowing down at times of emergency. For me it would have given the book a much firmer footing than the New Agey portions where woolly words like 'energy' and 'transcend' and 'consciousness' are repeated ad nauseum, as if they're revealing something more substantial than they actually are. Nevertheless, if you're similarly unconvinced by such dalliances you can at least be reassured that (irony alert) you'll finish the book in no time.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is way unexpected for me. From expecting a secular concept of time, and maybe some scientific explanations, I find that the author tries to sneak in the fact that Time is a metaphysical concept, and he weaves it towards religion, spirituality and culminating in meditation.

I did enjoy reading it, but it was boring at parts because I already knew some of it. However, I didn't like that much of it was a conjecture or a 'logical conclusion'. It was much like reading an essay, but I did like how the autho taught us how to expand and transcend Time.

There is no concrete answer to Time, and Taylor attempts to explain and try to control it. I like the hypotheses, but it isn't easy to abolish the linear concept of time to view it as all happening at once - I believe the author has scraped on some psychic phenomena, but it's not the whole truth by any means.

Overall good effort, although the hypotheses didn't strike me as memorable truths.

[Sylvia Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although in parts it was very repetitive, on the whole I found this a fascinating and thought provoking read.
The author explores the aspects of the way we experience time under various circumstances, including hypnosis, and explains why people of other cultures might experience it differently.
The phenomena of near death experiences and precognition and retro cognition are discussed too.
Of most interest I found the discussion of meditation and it's use in slowing down time and possibly achieving a higher state of consciousness.
I would recommend this as a self help book.

[Sashi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book to read on a simple concept