Note. The video version of this podcast is available here.[https://youtu.be/0y02vs_PIw0]

Dr. Bennett will be presenting at The Science of Consciousness conference (October 11 - 16) in San Diego. [https://tsc2026.org/]

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This episode explores one of the most liberating qualities of the Time Adjustment Protocol (see Quest for Presence, Book 1); it is the reminder not to take life too seriously, except for maintaining practices that lift the spirit or help transcend daily conditions. Beyond that, we’re encouraged to engage life with enjoyment and gentle detachment.

Spiritual traditions have long pointed toward this expansive view of time. The Quest for Presence and its mandala invite us to witness life as it unfolds and to explore layers of time beyond the rigid ticking of the clock.

Our guest, Dr. Allan Hamilton, neurosurgeon and author of Cerebral Entanglements, describes the difference between inner time—our natural, experiential rhythm—and public time, the externally imposed clock. He explains how Western clock‑time emerged from power and control, shaping how society functions and often disconnecting us from presence, playfulness, and perspective.

The conversation emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with natural rhythms and rediscovering childlike immersion, where time is felt rather than measured. The mandala serves as a symbolic map for moving between inner and outer worlds, supporting awareness, flow, acceptance, and synchronicity beyond linear time.

Dr. Hamilton discusses how internal time often conflicts with external time, creating friction that affects wellbeing. Living strictly by the clock can harm health, as seen in experiences like night‑shift work. They contrast this with Indigenous cultures, who lived in harmony with natural cycles and did not treat the world as something to own or exploit. The transcript argues that modern society must recalibrate toward ancient wisdom and natural rhythms.

The conversation also explores how technology and constant busyness have fragmented people’s sense of time. Children, once naturally present and playful, become overscheduled and lose touch with internal rhythms. Stories illustrate how creativity and laughter diminish as people grow older and become more bound to external expectations.

Later, the episode shifts into a guided meditation on four truths:

• Everything is as it is.
• Everything ends.
• Everything influences everything.
• Everything is in the process of becoming.

The meditation encourages presence, acceptance, connection, and awareness of unfolding.

The closing reflection suggests that time—not space—is the final frontier. Shifting from content to process, and from ownership to the preciousness of time, reduces stress and increases coherence. When we witness unfolding rather than divide reality into dualities, things fall into place and reveal their interconnectedness.

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Visit us at www.presencequest.life

VIDEO FOR THIS EPISODE (https://youtu.be/D2UjKxngh6Y)

• "Time is mutable and can take many forms"
• "Our culture is spinning out of balance"
• "Losing oneself is part of the journey"

In this first episode of Season 2, Joel Bennett and Guest Dr. Roger Jahnke explore the profound nature of time and its relationship to life, consciousness, and well-being. Drawing from philosophy, science, and personal insights, they encourage a deeper understanding of time as a living resource that can be redefined to enhance health and presence.

MAKE SURE TO WATCH THE QfP Mandala (Preview to Season 2)

https://youtu.be/9t2aUdt15Q0

SECTIONS

00:00 to 2:08 -- Overview of Episode

2:08 to 3:02 -- Dr. Roger Jahnke Excerpt

3:02 to 6:27 -- Beach Musings on Being Alive

6:27 to 10:07 -- Dr. Jahnke Meditations on Nature and Time

10:07 - Bridge

10:40 to 14:19 -- Dr. Jahnke continues

14:19 to 18:05 -- Purpose of QfP Journey/This Podcast

18:05 to end -- An Ode to Losing Oneself

PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT BELOW

Welcome to Season Two of the Quest for Presence podcast, our budding season. I prefer to call it more like a budcast, like an ever-unfolding, like a new flower. This season shifts from the conversational format of season one to a living montage of guest speakers, contemplations, guided meditations, research spotlights, and readings from the Quest for Presence collection.

In this first episode, we begin with Dr. Roger Jahnke, my Qigong teacher, doctor of Chinese medicine, author of The Healer Within, and writer of The Forward to the Connoisseur of Time. From there, we move to my beach musings on deep time, weaving back and forth with Roger, and closing with a reading from Book Two, The Soulful Capacities, An Ode to Losing One's Self. Speaking of which, why this work matters comes down to a few essentials. First,

Time pressure is now the most common workplace stressor in national surveys. Second, a major meta-analysis shows that time management strongly predicts life satisfaction. Season two is an invitation to explore these truths together through rhythm.

I talk a lot about the four radiant forces, time-shaping, cause and effect, form, gravity, nurturing conditions, dependent origination, and chaos (or entropy). Well, all four of those are what make us alive. This was an insight that I got from reading Antonio de Masio's book, Feeling and Knowing.

And in that book, he pretty much argues that homeostasis, which is the basis of all life, the self-regulating nature of life, is the basis of consciousness. So what that means is that when we're conscious of the fact that we're self-regulating, which occurs in time, it's unfolding in time, it's happening, and it is in fact the definition of what is happening, that means we are not only embracing time, we're also embracing the fact that we're alive. So for example, nothing that's alive doesn't act. And we have to act, we have to move. What are we acting on? We're acting to create form. We're acting to create some stability. Why are we acting to create some stability? Because there's change, there's interruption, there's perturbation, there's chaos.

And in doing that, what are we doing? We're actually growing. We're creating forms in response to chaos to grow. That's so simple. That's deep time.

Visit us at www.presencequest.life

**WATCH THE FULL VIDEO OF THIS EPISODE HERE**

https://youtu.be/9t2aUdt15Q0

**WATCH THE FULL VIDEO OF THIS EPISODE HERE**

Welcome to Season 2 of the Quest for Presence podcast—a multidimensional journey into the heart of time itself. This season, we spiral through the layers of past, present, and future using a rich tapestry of readings, interviews, music, video, poetry, and personal storytelling.

Each episode is a portal, aligned with the Quest for Presence book collection, inviting you to explore how time shapes our consciousness, our choices, and our capacity to thrive.

We begin at the center—the swirling mandala—where presence is born. From there, the season unfolds like a living mosaic, revealing the whole time of our lives: the patterns we inherit, the rhythms we craft, and the futures we dare to imagine.

#presence #timeweaving #tempognosis #mandala #attraction

Visit us at www.presencequest.life