Spiraling Through Time

Winding inward toward the center, I walk the “time spiral.” Perhaps I am traveling to a distant past or future, or maybe I am entering a dimension previously unknown to me. Surrounding me are pine, fir, and deciduous trees and shrubs. Some of them tower high above, others are bushy and low. A gurgling stream flows nearby, lulling me with its steady, fluid song. Following the curling interchange in the center, I spiral outward, arriving on the banks of the stream, ready to embrace a new reality.

I have used the time spiral to lead children on imaginary journeys back in time and lead grownups on visionary journeys into the future. The physical experience of moving through time while walking the time spiral inspires imagination and facilitates thinking beyond boundaries. I find the time spiral to be a simple, yet satisfying path that can be traveled one pass through or each direction in succession.

The opening narrative describes my journey through a time spiral that I created recently while camping. Being immersed in the natural world through activities such as camping and hiking—or sauntering*—can shift your consciousness, opening your being to a more intensified awareness and interconnection with the more-than-human world. Walking a time spiral in this setting can amplify the experience and create liminal possibilities, bridging boundaries in space and time. The resulting changes in perception of the world may feel as though you’ve traveled to a different time or entered an alternate dimension…and perhaps you have.

Philosopher, Jean Gebser, refers to a shift in consciousness, whereby consciousness does not expand or evolve, but rather adds dimension through a process of restructuring (1, 2). It is through a shift in consciousness that people may both perceive and embrace a new reality and way of being.

For all that is,

Night Time Spiral

* “I don't like either the word [hike] or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not 'hike!' Do you know the origin of that word saunter? It's a beautiful word. Away back in the middle ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going they would reply, 'A la sainte terre', 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them.” - John Muir

1) Feuerstein, G. (1987). Structures Of Consciousness: The Genius Of Jean Gebser. Santa Rosa, California: Integral Publishing.

2) Gebser, J. (1985). The Ever-Present Origin. Translation by N. Barstad with A. Mickunas. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press.