By Marie-Dominique Rail

February 1, 2026

Inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh

There comes a moment on the spiritual path when time loosens its grip on us. Not because life stops moving, but because our relationship to time transforms. As Thich Nhat Hanh so beautifully teaches, time is not an absolute reality. It is a creation of the human mind. Years, weeks, beginnings and endings are useful markers, yet they do not define the deeper truth of our existence.

Imagine the New Year traveling across the world from East to West, arriving first in one country and later in another. 

This simple image reveals something profound. Time appears to move through space, yet in reality, it only exists through our perception. Time and space are not separate entities. They are intertwined constructs shaped by consciousness itself.

Through deep mindfulness and true presence, we begin to step outside these mental boundaries. When the mind is no longer pulled toward the past or projected into the future, we enter a different field of awareness. It is a living now, spacious and still. In this state, time softens. It no longer governs us. We touch something timeless.

This insight is not merely philosophical. It is experiential. In Buddhism, this realization is considered one of the deepest forms of practice. It is the capacity to see beyond time and space and to rest in what simply is. Modern science, through the concept of non locality, is beginning to echo this ancient wisdom. It suggests that at the most fundamental level, reality is not confined by linear time or physical distance.

In Reiki, we encounter this truth naturally. When hands rest gently on the body, when breath slows and energy flows freely, the sense of time fades. There is no past to fix and no future to chase. There is only presence.

And in presence, healing unfolds.

True healing does not happen within the constraints of time. It arises in the timeless space where the body remembers its original harmony and the soul reconnects with its essence. In that space, fear dissolves, urgency softens, and the nervous system finally feels safe enough to rest.

Touching timelessness does not mean escaping human life. It means living it more fully, without being imprisoned by mental constructions. It means remembering that beneath change, beneath aging and transformation, there is something within us that has never been born and will never die.

This is the peace Thich Nhat Hanh points us toward.

This is the space Reiki gently opens.

And perhaps the greatest gift of presence is this simple realization.

The present moment is already beyond time.