"The time asked the time how much time does the time have,
the time answered the time that the time has as much
time as the time the time has” (riddle)

 
The present rush in our life is the symptom of the imbalance caused by the frantic quest to meet our daily chores and appointments, in order to achieve the maximum possible result, often in a highly competitive manner, causing anxiety and insecurity.

Amid the momentum we have established for our life, at the end of the day, we often are under the impression of being in the same situation of a hamster running on a wheel, exhausting all its energy in an intense and sustained effort, but without leaving the same place. We feel empty and as if we left something to be done. This causes great discomfort and reinforces the idea that we will have to “run” even more the next day.

This reaction generates an increasing and vicious spiral that drives the human being to feel even more empty and with more things to do. This is so set in man’s present mental model that, when we ask him: “How are you?" most of the times the person answers: "Running".

Not even our children are free from this mad rush. They face a stressing routine with extracurricular duties, which range from martial arts to learning languages, informatics, among others, not allowing them to live their childhood as children, with some time to play and learn about life.

However, the parents in panic say that they need to prepare their children to meet the challenges of today’s life.

Does this mad rush give us what we need? Are we happy, motivated and contented with our lives? The answer that we most often hear is a resounding no! These are issues that we bring to your consideration and thinking, as they are vital to our balance both emotional and physical.
 

Consumerism and its consequences

We live in a society of entertainment and continued spending. We have an urge to satisfy our desires through a voracious and uncontrolled need to buy things we do not miss, and most probably will never use. We move our motivation focus from our inside to the outside level with consequences that go beyond the conditions of our present life.

Some may say, "But this running has a meaning because we want to improve our financial condition and be happier." The idea itself is not wrong, but we should consider that when we only prioritize the purpose of a better social and economic position, we are failing to meet the development of emotion itself. And this is precisely when the conflicts between the having and being start.

Joanna de Angelis calls our attention when she says: "Today’s man and woman, after the great and unimaginable flights of knowledge and technology, surprisingly are struggling within the murky waters of restlessness and suffering, noting that the millennia of culture and civilization that extended their understanding and widening their horizons did not solve the great challenges of their emotions"[1]  and she goes on: "(...) the dehumanization of feelings, aiming at the conquest of levels of power, of glory and pleasure, painfully conspired against the essential being, which has a physical wrap to be able to perform the ministry of evolution ".

What can we do to achieve happiness?

In this wild rush, "man has almost no time left, not even to think clearly about his own greatness, due to passions to which he surrenders, and which devour him up”. [2]

Our loving and sweet benefactor, with her clear and enlightened spirit, brings us the diagnosis of the cause that generates our present state of imbalance and pain: the dehumanization of our feelings, translated into our daily life, in psychic diseases such as depression, which is increasingly present in people's lives, requiring proper medical, psychological and spiritual treatment, since the whole imbalance of the soul indelibly reflects in the physiological area. In support of this idea, Emmanuel, the estimated spiritual benefactor, states that "people today have machines that help you save time, but not the required calmness when they go through their necessary trials”. [3] What shall we do then to regain our spiritual balance and be able to achieve true happiness and peace?

This is a question that has no simple or easy answer, because it depends solely on a change in the person’s own attitude, through his own free will.

While we understand the world as the only source of satisfaction of our needs, we will spend our effort and time to achieve what we erroneously believe to be the most important and necessary, and we are not aware that we do not find happiness outside, but inside us in the peace of mind and emotional balance. Remember what Jesus says about this issue: "The kingdom of God is not found outside”. Therefore, the Kingdom of God is within each one of us, God’s sons. What we must do urgently is to look for this condition inside us, and then express it through our daily attitudes and behavior.

No one can serve two masters

However, for it to happen, we need to review the criteria we are using to make our decisions, to make our choices. When someone goes into action, he is putting in practice a prior decision. When we rush on a daily basis, we are acting in accordance with a previous individual decision-making. When we choose to focus only on our intentions and material interests, meeting the demands of a crazy day, we are no doubt giving more time to what we really value: the world’s requirements. However, Jesus, warns us through the teaching: "no one can serve two masters”[4]. If we exclusively privilege the world, and its material requirements, we will necessarily fail to think of God and serve Him. The Master does not ask us to isolate ourselves, but to live in a balanced manner according to our earthly needs, however, not forgetting to value our spiritual growth in the first place.

Thus, the use of available time follows a hierarchy of importance in accordance with what we truly value. To accomplish everyday issues, the main excuse is that we have no time to think about the "religious things" because, as already mentioned, it is necessary to seek, at length, what we need to live well, obviously within the perspective of the here and now.

But, do we really have no time left to think about the things of the spirit? Would it not perhaps be a matter more of our will to perform this search, instead of the real amount of time available?

Chronological time and inner time

To support this reasoning we would like to ask: But what ultimately means not having time?

When we refer to time, in modern civilization, usually we employ a single word to represent it. But there is a clear conceptual distinction between chronological time and subjective or inner time. While the former is the measurable time (hours, minutes and seconds), the second refers to the perception that everyone has regarding the amount of hours at his disposal.

When we think about this, we begin to see that when organizing our time we base it on doing first things according to our interests. It is true that we need to meet our responsibilities and commitments. However, when we think about this issue, we arrive to the conclusion that we can reorganize our day, despite the rush, to find some time to pause once in a while to meet our spiritual needs, and thus replenish our energy and restore and maintain our spiritual health.

Our friendly Spirits, regarding our mentioned spiritual health, give us a recipe to truly enlighten our lives:

"This is why when we pray for ourselves, we draw the Divine Force to restore our human forces, and to pray for others to benefit or help them through magnetic energy (this energy is at the disposal of all spirits who wish to truly serve), will always ensure them the best chance of self-adjustment, it being understood, however, that if love relieves and comforts, teaches, softens, lifts and redeems, we are all conditioned to the rule that establishes that, according to the teaching of Our Lord Jesus-Christ, this or that is given “to each one according to his work”, leaving us to remember that happy or less happy works can be the result of our guidance every day and, therefore, every day it is possible for us to change the course of our own script" ^[5]. (Emphasis added)

Denis says, Earth is a battlefield

We are more than simple matter with feelings. We must strengthen the idea that we are spirits, counting the minutes, hours and days in this reincarnation, which is, however, a great opportunity offered to us all, living this present moment a new experience in our body.

Therefore, we end by mentioning with Léon Denis, the great philosopher of the Doctrine of the Spirits, in his book After Death: "Remember that life is short. While it lasts, be strong to acquire what you came here for: the real improvement. May your spiritual being leave this Earth better and purer than when it arrived! Be careful with the temptations of the flesh; think that the Earth is a battlefield where the soul is constantly tempted by matter and senses. Fight with courage against evil passions. Fight for the spirit and heart; correct your faults, sweeten your character, strengthen your will. Raise yourself through your thoughts, above earthly vulgarities and enlarge your hopes on a bright sky”.