(Prague, Czech Republic—December 18, 2006)

“Consciousness” is not a thing (anymore than “mind” is a thing or “soul” is a thing). Instead, what we call “consciousness” is the awareness of a streaming field of impressions, of the passage of those impressions: they come, they go. Our awareness of this passing is what we call “time.” Thus these two phenomena—“consciousness” and time—are inextricably connected.

Because of this linkage, if consciousness is manipulated, then so is the experience of time. And if time is manipulated, then so is consciousness. This latter event may someday pose interesting possibilities for space travelers. But more immediately, the linkage between consciousness and time raises intriguing possibilities for those who purposefully manipulate consciousness: To what extent can they also purposefully manipulate time?

This linkage also raises further questions: Is time no more than a value assigned to experience by consciousness? Or does time exist in the world independent of conscious perception? And, finally, is it possible both these questions can be answered with “yes”?