01 Apr 90 seconds

The American neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor is best known for her book My Stroke of Insight and the accompanying TEDx talk. In these, she recounts the fascinating story of how she experienced a stroke and studied the event from within, using her expertise in the field. This experience yielded a wealth of information and insights, perhaps the most significant of which is the idea that consciousness is not created by the brain. Even when the brain ceases to function or is clinically dead, consciousness persists—clearer and more expansive than when experienced through the lens of individuality. This conclusion is also shared by cardiologist Pim van Lommel, who has extensively researched near-death experiences.

Bolte Taylor has drawn another remarkable conclusion, which she calls the “90-second rule.” She explains that when we experience an emotion, it takes less than 90 seconds for the emotion to be triggered, flow chemically through the bloodstream, and dissipate from the body. If one remains fully open to the emotion and consciously present with it, nothing of that emotion remains in the body after those 90 seconds. Any continuation of the emotional experience beyond this point is due to repeatedly personalising the emotion and attempting to control it with the mind. Resistance to the emotion recreates the same chemical reaction in the body over and over, perpetuating the cycle indefinitely.

Before encountering this research, I had already observed a similar phenomenon during the clearings I conduct for individuals and spaces. When emotions, thoughts, or physical sensations arise, they are fully activated and experienced in their intensity. However, as long as I do not personalise or attempt to resolve these experiences, the sensations completely dissipate within minutes. This way of living reveals that the human system is inherently equipped to experience life in all its richness without clinging to it. Yet, due to identification with one’s experiences and the relentless interference of the mind, the opposite often occurs. One holds onto tension within the system, unconsciously recreating the same experiences repeatedly.

This insight is profoundly valuable, as it eliminates the need to protect or shield oneself from experiences. By becoming consciously aware of your experiential world, perceiving it as it is in the moment, and allowing it to simply exist, you expand your capacity for awareness. Additionally, the intensity of your experiences can increase without triggering reactive patterns.

The 90-second rule does not mean you should hold your breath for 90 seconds whenever you are triggered. Rather, it encourages you to be fully present with the experience, observing it for what it is during that time. Successfully applying this principle teaches your system that it can process information, frequencies, or energies without being burdened by them. This creates an inner freedom that allows you to be fully available to life, unencumbered by limitations.

Conscious feeling then becomes an enjoyable process, as you learn to use any moment—whether with yourself, another person, or a particular place—to tune into your emotional state and explore how you relate to it. Such moments become opportunities to sit with what arises, using your compassionate heart to embrace the sensation.

So, the next time you find yourself holding onto anger towards yourself or someone else for three days, remind yourself that this anger has been personal to you for three days minus 90 seconds.