INTRODUCTION

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We are immersed in time. It surrounds us at every moment, at every turn. We take time as a fact of life.

Yet, although we think very little about the workings of time, we are at its mercy. In a sense it is all we/you have: on your gravestone, most likely, will be your name and the date you were born and the date you died.

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What could we gain by obtaining a perspective on time, by standing a bit outside of time (for lack of a better metaphor)?

About 100 years ago Freud uncovered our repressed feeling about sex. His discoveries did not change our sexual urges, yet his ideas gave us insights that allowed us to be more at ease with this basic drive.

I believe, the same could be said of time. We need to not dwell on the past yet realize that it is more important and accessible than we thought. As for the future, we can begin to get a grasp of what we can and cannot know and live within its boundaries.

Although the clock will still continue to tick, our relation to time will be changed. If my exploration is successful, for example, the past will become more relevant -- the future will be less remote and frightening.

And, hopefully, we can become more relaxed in the now moment. We can learn to shed the alienation, so common in today's culture, for a more comfortable sense of time and place.