Author Spotlight
When we get lost in time, there is actually no loss at all; as parts of us are found, it becomes an expansive experience. Marney Makridakis
Author of Creating Time Marney Makridakis invites you to make dynamic shifts in your life by organically reshaping the way you think about and use time. Explore the concepts of kronos and kairos, synchronicity, and flow through the lenses of the ancient Greeks, Maslow, Csikszentmihalyi, and Jung. Gain fresh insights and awareness as you journey through this series and notice how varied experiences of time play out in your life.
In today's technology driven, fast-paced, multi-tasking world, it can feel like time is moving so rapidly that it is impossible to focus on our dreams, hobbies, and the things that touch our hearts more deeply. There is an interesting historical context for a subjective perception of time that can help prepare the way for the conceptual journey of creating time. The ancient Greeks had two words for marking the differences between the experiences of time: kronos and kairos.
In real life, we can call it flow, peak experience, or losing track of time different labels to describe the same type of experience, an experience that we all seem to crave. The perception of time is the quintessential human paradox. We often want to escape ourselves and lose track of time, and yet when we become fully aware of the gift of time, we are more present and in touch. A discussion of Maslow's peak experiences and Csikszentmihalyi's flow.
When we are being true to ourselves and existing in authenticity, we are not measuring ourselves against time or anything else. We are simply being, and this opens a doorway to flow. We approach timelessness in the moments when we feel most at home with ourselves. When we are being true to ourselves and existing in authenticity, we are not measuring ourselves against time or anything else.
Finding flow in everyday life is all about discovering ways to fill more and more of your time with the things that matter most to you, the things that fill you with curiosity, joy, wonder, and awe. Once we identify the things that get us in a flow state, not only can we take steps to engage in them more often, but also we can work on inserting the essence of those things whenever we are doing other, seemingly nonflow activities.
Synchronicity refers to the awareness of meaningful connections between objects, people, events, symbols, and feelings. A discussion of Carl Jung's three types of synchronicity. Be gentle with yourself in your explorations, and view your insights with curiosity rather than judgment.
Synchronicity awakens and expands our natural curiosity with new examinations of what we believe, what we don't believe, and what we might believe. Synchronistic events can be simple, ordinary experiences, like connecting a quote with a photograph. Or they can be extraordinary circumstances that don't even seem believable. Creativity, meaning, and time dance together in an unavoidable, and rather effective, cycle: the more meaningful your projects are to you, the more likely you are to engage in them.
If you are seeking to experience more meaning and play in your life, engage in this inspiring series of activities from Marney Makridakis' Hop, Skip, Jump.
She says, "Most of us view work and play as mutually exclusive opposites, but now you can blend them together in your new route to joy-filled success. These activities will guide you to be more playful and productive as you move through three vital phases of the manifestation process: dreaming (Hop), experimenting (Skip) and taking action (Jump). Discover your Play Personality and learn how to use it to create more experiences in which work feels like play, and struggle gives way to momentum, ease, and joy."
To approach manifestation playfully, your first step is to create a foundational philosophy of play. One way to define a meaningful life at its fullest is expression in action. It happens when you take something from inside and create it on the outside. This is true even if nobody else sees what you manifest.
What if a mission statement could be playful? What if your mission, like you, could be ever evolving, ever changing, and always expanding?
What role will you play? As you're happily Skipping along, you will surely encounter challenges: both everyday frustrations and challenges that shake you to your very core. These challenges threaten to stop you mid-Skip and bring your momentum to a halt.