Non-Practical Time

Day 2
Session 5

 
    At eleven thirty we began again.

Stanley waited until we had settled ourselves.

‘We are now going to consider the meaning of Non Practical Time.’

There was silence for a few moments until his guide, Ti Ming stepped in with a little bow of acknowledgement.

‘Greetings both and welcome to the Non-Practical Time Workshop.’

I wrote the heading in my book:

  
Non-Practical Time

 
    ‘So what do you think we mean by Non-Practical Time?’

‘Well,’ Betty began, settling herself back on the cushions, ‘earlier we agreed that Practical Time is time that can be used, so maybe Non-Practical Time can’t be used?’

‘It’s a good answer and is partly right. Abby, do you have anything to add to Betty’s definition?’

‘Can it only be used to create negative situations?’ I suggested.

‘That certainly seems to be the way most people use it,’ he agreed nodding vigorously.

‘So you mean then that non-practical time is negative?’ Betty asked.

‘Not exactly,’ his demeanour changed to become more thoughtful. He was obviously trying to find a definition for us and failing.

The thought crossed my mind that he might have trouble in translating from Chinese, or was it from a higher level of awareness?

‘But you may call it negative time I suppose if that is your understanding.’

‘So, are you saying then that if we think negatively we generate a kind of negative time that cannot be put to any creative use?’

He listened while I spoke with his head cocked to one side, as if analysing what I was saying.

‘In a way, although that is not quite right. There is a way of being creatively destructive or destructively creative.

Betty and I exchanged puzzled glances.

‘If we have generated non-practical time for ourselves we need to burn up this negative energy in a harmless way. Any ideas?’

There was silence so he tried again.

‘If we try to be creative when we haven’t got enough positive energy to work with, what do you think would happen?’

‘We’d get it wrong?’ Betty suggested.

‘Create more problems?’ I added.

He nodded. ‘When you are negative, all you can create is chaos. You’d end up making more of a mess and having one of those days when everything just goes wrong, no matter how hard you try. You would be being destructively creative, creating destruction,’ he paused and we all smiled. We knew just what he meant. Satisfied, he contin?ued.

‘If we are generating more negative than positive in our thinking then we are generating more and more non-practical time in our lives, which will manifest in negative consequences for us. Can you think of anything else that might happen?’

‘Arguments?’ I suggested.

‘Yes indeed,’ he confirmed.

‘Illness?’ Betty contributed somewhat hesitantly.

‘Correct. Arguments and illness. Yes. Anything else?’ he waited for a moment and then moved us along with another question.

‘What else would happen in our lives if we were negative most of the time?’

‘Things would go wrong?’ I offered.

He nodded. ‘Things would go wrong indeed, and what would we say had happened?’

I was confused, but Betty answered in a flash of insight.

‘We would say we’d had an accident.’

‘Ah, yes. That’s what I wanted to hear. An accident. Now that’s interesting isn’t it? To consider an accident to be the result of our own thinking, rather than a chance occurrence? What does this mean?’

‘That there are no accidents,’ I said, picking up my pen and scribbling furiously. I had been so involved that I had forgotten to keep up with writing it down. Now I wrote in large letters:

 
 
Negative thinking creates non-practical time.

Non-practical time is negative time and creates chaos, i.e. arguments, accidents, illness.

There is no such thing as an accident.

 
    Stanley marched up and down on the spot, watching as I wrote it down. Betty looked worried.

‘Do we have to take notes?’

‘No, it’s just that Abby wants to,’ Stanley explained, ‘but I don’t mind if you want to as well.’

‘And do you?’ I enquired looking amused, as I knew that Betty shared his views on writing.

She hurriedly shook her head. ‘No thanks. I’m fine just listening.’

‘OK then. There is a way we can be creative and use up our negative energy. Can anyone think how we might do that?’

We didn’t speak. He waited for a moment, looking from one to the other in an encouraging kind of way, but eventually realised that no answer would be forthcoming.

‘Well, think about tasks you could do that might require you to be destructive.’

‘Throwing out rubbish?’ Betty suggested.

‘Well done Betty, that’s a very good example of being creatively destructive. Any more, – Abby?’

Betty looked pleased with herself.