How to make time elastic...

Apart, that is, from having an accident, when as we know, everything slows right down as the car slides towards you, or..well, I expect you know what I mean, no need to scare you. And apart from when you're so over-stressed and hard-pressed that the day just vanishes up its own, er, vanishing point.

After an exhaustive survey of one, I can tell you authoritatively that meditation makes time elastic.

I often take the bus, on a very familiar route. I can meditate, after a fashion, on the bus. I can keep my attention on my body, as it is bounced and jiggled around. (The bus drivers round here don't take prisoners, and the buses are not always of the newest.) 

When my attention wanders, I return it gently to my body and its presence, in the seat, in the here and now. My eyes are shut, so people don't try to talk to me. (In fact they probably steer well clear of me: "weirdo alert..")

The other day, I sat with my eyes shut for a few minutes and didn't meditate. I made a guess as to where we were, i.e. how far we'd come, opened my eyes: spot on.

Then I closed my eyes, meditated (as above.) Came back out of meditation, made my guess and: quite wrong. We were substantially further on than I'd thought.

You heard it first here. Meditation elasticises your perception of time.

Don't tell me the bus driver might have gone slower than usual, or the traffic might have been thicker (not much traffic on my route) because it also works during formal meditation. Half an hour, when your back aches and you are trying to stay awake, can seem like a lot more than half an hour.