The key to an advanced state of Consciousness is the Ego – or rather, the absence of the Ego.

Our sense of time passing is a function of the Ego. Young babies have no sense of Ego, and therefore no sense of time passing.

Young children only have a weak Ego structure and so only have a vague sense of time.

It is only at the age of 16 or so that we have a clear sense of the past or future and are able to accurately estimate periods of time.

This suggests that if the normal sense of Ego was absent, we would not have a sense of time passing.

Or at least that if our sense of Ego was weaker, our sense of time passing would be less pronounced, so that it would pass more slowly to us.

And this is exactly what happens in an advanced state of Consciousness for a short period, we lose our sense of Ego, our sense of being an I trapped inside our heads.

And so we lose our normal sense of time passing. Our normal conscious mind is immobilized, and we cease to be subject to time.

There are 2 ways in which the Ego can be immobilized. The first is a result of intense concentration or attention.

This happens in meditation, when we focus our attention on a mantra, or on our breathing.

If we can keep our attention focused, we begin to experience a state of mental quietness. Our thoughts begin to slow down, until eventually they fade away altogether.

At the same time, our normal sense of Ego fades away. We experience a state of Egolessness, an advanced state of Consciousness.

The act of concentrating our attention has the effect of dissolving the Ego. This is why states of deep meditation also bring a sense of timelessness.

The second way in which the Ego can be immobilized is by sudden shocks. This is what happens in accidents and emergencies.

The sheer shock of the car crash, the engine failure, the earthquake or the violent encounter, paralyses the Ego.

It all happens so quickly that it can not react in time and gets left behind.

As a result, with no or very little sense of Ego, the person also experiences a sense of timelessness, or an acute slowing down of time in an advanced state of Consciousness.