Time Series Part 3: Hypnosis, Meditation, Awe & Time Perception

Part 3 in this Time Series explores altered states of consciousness and their effects on time perception.  We see that in everyday trance we can lose all track of time, such as when you are lost in thought or daydreaming.  Hypnotic states alter time perception in various ways, especially where we think an experience was very short, when in fact it was quite long. In meditation time often sems to expand, probably because we are paying very close attention to the details and the complexity of  moment-to-moment experience and because we are more relaxed. In states of awe, time also slows down, again as the perceptual experience is so rich and complex.  A key takeaway is to enagage in novel experiences and in day-to-day life turn our attention to the details of things and to the awe-inspiring.