Dear Choose Happy Community,

When we feel tense and exhausted, it’s often not just from doing too much—it’s from how we relate to time itself. This gentle teaching invites us to pause and ask: What is my relationship with time? Swami Nityananda reminds us that time isn’t our enemy—it’s the Divine, showing up as support, as grace, as the very structure that carries us. When we shift from urgency to curiosity, from resistance to play, peace becomes possible—even joyful.

Here’s one of our favorite quotes from the video:

“ If I am feeling tense and exhausted and I would like to feel at ease, I would like to be able to let go of stress, I’m inviting us to tune into what is my relationship with time. So just ask yourself, ‘What is my relationship with time?’ And I think that humans, very often, they can have like this sense of anxiety or this sense of pressure or this sense of urgency in relation to time.

“But then sometimes there’s another response, which is, ‘I just want to avoid it. I just want to pretend time doesn’t exist.’ And so just notice where are you in that? And then remember this teaching from the Bhagavad-Gita, and this is chapter 10, verse 33: The Divine says, ‘I am time.’ Do you know what that means? That means time is actually our friend.

“Time is our companion. Time is a gift. Time is a form of support that the Divine gives us. The very next phrase, ‘I am time. I am the cosmic support of all that exists.’ And so to open, and I would invite you to have a sense of curiosity, a sense of play, a sense of humor. Can I open to have fun in my relationship with time?”

We also shared this video on YouTube, but wanted you to be able to have it on your Substack video player as well, in case you prefer that.

Having it on Substack makes it easy for you to see any other podcasts, videos, articles, or full meditation services that might be available in the Open to Clarity and Peace by clicking here.

If you have heard this teaching before, we invite you — as Swami so often invites us — to hear it as if you are hearing it for the first time. Often we receive these teachings right when we need them.

In loving service,Awake Yoga Meditation

Everything available to a paid subscriber. Are you one yet?

This is a free post made available to everyone. If you are not yet a paid subscriber to Choose Happy with Swami Nityananda, consider becoming one today to receive exclusive audio talks, articles, meditation service replays, access to the archives, and so much more.

Podcast Episodes*: All Episodes

Darshan Articles*: All Articles

From the Founder Series: All Series • Mantra Series • St. Francis Prayer Series

Live Meditation Replays: All Services • Index of All Services by Series • Sunday Meditation Services • Tuesday Darshan Meditation Services • Friday Night Healing Meditation Services • Satsangs

Book Excerpts**: All Excerpts • Satsang with Swami Shankarananda

Workshops (formerly eCourses): All Workshops • The Spiritual Art of Intentions: Creating a Life You Love • Pillars of Self-Realization: 50 Days with Swami Shankarananda • Love: The Eternal Flame of Life Within You • Wisdom: Discovering the Peace in Our True Nature

*Also available to Free Subscribers**Select posts also available to Free Subscribers

Consider making a financial contribution to Awake Yoga Meditation

Your generosity makes it possible for AYM to share Kriya Yoga, meditations, and teachings of truth with people around the world. It also allows the community to support the presiding teacher’s Dakshina (reimbursement of basic living expenses for housing, transportation, and insurance). The presiding teacher for Awake Yoga Meditation is Swami Nityananda.

Consider making a financial contribution to Swami’s Bowl

As the presiding teacher, Swami Nityananda selflessly offers her wisdom without taking a salary from Awake Yoga Meditation. Your gift honors her giving and ensures she can continue to share her invaluable teachings. The tradition of meditation communities like Awake Yoga Meditation is to support the presiding teacher’s Dakshina (reimbursement of basic living expenses for housing, transportation, and insurance). All of the other myriad expenses of life are offered from student to teacher through Swami’s Bowl.

Choose Happy with Swami Nityananda is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit awakeyogameditation.substack.com/subscribe