Time Travel 101 – Techniques For Reliving The Past and Seeing The Future

I remember the first time I saw Back To The Future.  I was hooked and couldn’t wait to see the rest of the trilogy.  It blew my mind, and I wondered what I would do if I could go back in time. What would I see if I went forward in time? Would I (eventually) make some mistake that would cost me my guitar playing skills forever – or would I go on to greatness?

With that, here are the ways I time travel back into the past as well as travel forward in the future, and then successfully return to the present.  Proceed with caution, use at your own risk, and kids – don’t try this at home.

Techniques for Traveling Backwards In Time

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. ”
-F. Scott Fitzgerald

  • Put an old mixed tape/CD or favorite album on and close your eyes. Gin Blossoms and Third Eye Blind take me back to my freshman year in college.
  • Visit your home town. Visit your old schools – elementary, middle, high school. Take a walk through your old college campus – your professors might still be there.  Eat at the restaurants you used to visit as a child.  Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas are my ticket back to middle school.
  • Read old journal (physical, or online blogs). Great if you have your own.  Even better if you can get your hands on someone else’s with you in it!
  • Smell.  Go outside to a park, or anywhere with lots of greenery. Close your eyes and breathe in deeply, and smell the air.  Pine cones is my childhood in Lafayette, Indiana.
  • Review old photographs of friends and experiences.
    • Yearbooks
    • Prom and other formal events (yes, you were as dorky and naive as you look)
    • Embarassing pictures from graduation parties
    • This technique is most successful if you can find pictures of you where your hair looks different (or, if you’re old enough, where you still have hair)
  • Visit your parents (or children if they are grown!) and other relatives.  If that’s not an option, call them on the phone.
  • Attend your high school class’ 10 year reunion. You’ll be surprised how little people change in 10 years. You’ll also be surprised how little you may have changed, when you are back in their company.
  • Reflect, and give thanks.  We may not realize how fortunate we are or count our blessings often. With thanksgiving coming up, it’s a great time to reflect, and travel back to where we’ve been, how we got here – and be thankful for all the things we have.

All of the above have been used to transport the subject into the past and return them safely to the present, without altering any past events.  Subjects may return to the present disoriented, invigorated, and nostalgic.

Techniques for Traveling Forward In Time

  • Visualize the future.  Lie down, close your eyes, and imagine the future. Picture yourself, your job, your house.  Visualize the milestones that will lead to that future:  high school and college graduations, moving for your first job, promotions, achievements of personal goals.  The clearer you visualize the future, the more likely you are to be correct (hey, nobody said time travel was perfect)
  • Write down your goals.  Winston Churchill once said “History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.”  We have the power today to write our own future – the more specific we are, the more likely it is to be right.
  • Just relax and enjoy the ride.  We’re all going forward 60 seconds at a time.  Enjoy the present, learn some lessons, take pictures and write journals along the way – and travel back and enjoy it again whenever you want.

PS – One Of My Goal Setting Secrets

Today, realize I have already traveled back in time.  When I am confronted with tough decisions, or days where I feel like not doing anything, I imagine meeting myself from the future.  Sid from the future tells me this:

I am Sid from the future. I am here to tell you that, today, you have the opportunity to change everything. Your whole live hinges on today’s actions.  If you do not act today, if you do not grab control of your fate today, your life will take a completely different trajectory.  One path leads to greatness, and the other path leads to a life where you will look back on today as the day where you could have spoken up, today is the day where you could have reached out.  You will look back realizing that today was the one chance you had to change everything.  Do not let this moment pass you by.

I am Sid from the future. Make the most of today.

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  • Very unique post, Sid. I love the insight at the end that reminds us to make the most of our days by using our foresight to speak to us. Great stuff! Eric.
  • Thanks Eric! I am pretty sure if we all look at ourselves, deep down we
    know some of the things our future selves would say to us =)
  • I love this too, Sid! Our past is part of who we are - and sometimes it's good to bring back what made us who we are today. Recently I spoke with a friend from college (it had been nearly ten years since we'd spoken). Instantly we were back to those days of college - like not a day had passed since we'd last spoken! It was awesome to reconnect - and relive moments from our past.

    I also really like the idea of visioning for the future. I'm looking into doing something like that in the very near future. This is something new, and yet very exciting, to me. Thanks for sharing your journey here!
  • Thanks for your comments Lance!

    I still keep in touch with many of my close friends from college.
    Birthdays, Christmas parties and New Year's parties are times we always
    rehash old stories, as well as talk about our future and where we are. From
    time to time, it's always fun to talk about our "glory days" ;)

    I use visualization a lot, especially for short term goals. Weight training
    is one area where visualization has helped me immensely, though long term I
    believe if you won't know where you want to be, you'll never find a way
    there!
  • Aww, I really enjoyed this! I returned home after graduating from college this past summer. It was simply awesome to be in my childhood town, to spend time with my grandparents, sit in the sun, plant a garden, see my old high school. Yes, things are different looking back. ;)
  • Thanks!

    I was just at my university recruiting last week (the day before I posted
    this). I graduated from there about 5 years ago, and most of the professors
    and everyone are still the same. Definitely took me straight back!
    Grandparents are the best - mine always spoiled me ;)
  • Great article! Our future person is depending on us. Who we are and what we do today, will determine who we are tommorrow.
    Thanks, Tom (TRCoach)
  • Thanks for you comments Tom! I definitely agree - we can't go forward in
    one direction today and believe we'll end up somewhere else tomorrow. Very
    often, we end up exactly where we were headed.
  • "That's the power of love!" (Insert Huey Lewis & the News soundtrack)

    Wow, interesting stuff... made me a little nostalgic reading through the "back in time" section. Some great tips, makes me think about what makes life interesting - remembering the past, looking forward to the future.
  • Don't need no credit card to ride this train!

    Man that's one of my favorite songs - we almost always sing it at karaoke.
    Everyone loves a good power ballad.
  • Hey Sid,

    Reviewing old photographs definitely help to invite some laughter. We can in the same time see how much progress we had made from the past till now.

    Cheers
    Vincent
    Personal Development Blogger
  • Hey Vincent,

    Totally! Nothing quite like looking back on our old days and what we used
    to look like.
  • Wow! I loved the "Sid from the Future" visualization. That was powerful!

    This article reminded me of some things I did on that list like the one time I was visiting my parents and one day I decided to take a drive through my old neighborhood where I grew up. Then I drove to all three schools I had attended (elementary, junior high and senior high). It brought back incredible memories. I felt nogstalic to the core.

    Several months ago I was sitting on my couch staring at the bookcase when my eyes were drawn to a couple of green notebooks, the kind you buy in Hallmarks. I felt compelled to pull them out and read through two volumes in one night, shocked at some of the things I wrote about myself, about my fears, my worries, my gratitude list. It was a most amazing journey to the past.

    I have never, believe it or not, attended any of my reunions but I totally agree with you that none of them will have changed much (except for their physical appearances) and neither have you when back in their company. For instance, there was this guy who used to tease me. I bet if I were to see him again at a reunion, those feelings I had back then will resurface. Isn't that something?

    You rock my friend. You have a sense of inner wisdom that I appreciate greatly. I hope you are having a nice "end of the year" this month.
  • Thanks Stephen!

    Regarding the 10 year reunion - surprisingly, even though physical
    appearances change - they weren't as changed as I would have thought.
    Nobody got super fat or super skinny, everyone was slightly different
    - but I could have sworn they all looked just like they did 10 years
    ago!
  • I love your work, you are in a great direction for creativity and success. These words are in line with the flow of life's upward and onward manifesting. The proxy.
    Thanx, Ron Marriott
  • Hi Ron,

    Thank you very much for your comment. I really appreciate the time you've
    taken to visit my website, read my articles and comment.

    I'm glad you enjoyed the articles, thank you again =)