As mentioned previously, time is a measure of duration. Duration, however, is but one of the conditions that make perceiving and subsequently the recording of experience possible. For perceiving or witnessing to happen, several conditions must be met.
The first condition, the pure “I” or the Absolute, is a given. It is the one true constant. One always exists though one does not always know it. For that knowingness to be present, Consciousness, the second condition and the source of that knowingness must appear. The sense of knowingness that Consciousness provides is what makes all things knowable, including the knowledge of one’s existence. Without this knowingness, nothing could be known. This is but one of the reasons why Consciousness is considered Godly, for without it, there can be no experience of existence. Divine as it may be though, there are still other conditions that need to be met for this witnessing through Consciousness to happen. For Consciousness to be present, manifestation must also be present so that there is something to be Conscious of. There must also be the presence of life energy to animate the manifestation; otherwise, there would just be a lump of lifeless elements. So the appearance of Consciousness, life energy, and the elements that make up the manifestation are all prerequisites for this perceiving or witnessing of events and objects to happen to the Absolute.
Even with these pre-requisites in place though, there are still other conditions that must be met for perceiving to happen. For perceiving to take place, there must be both a perceiver and something to be perceived; both a subject and an object or objects. The Absolute, or you, with the aid of Consciousness, serves as the perceiver, while the life-imbued manifestation provides the objects. Also, the movement and activity generated by the life energy through the manifestation produces events. This is where space and our topic of time come into play. Objects that have appeared require volume in space for them to be perceivable. That volume can be anywhere from microscopic to planetary or beyond as long as it is measurable volume. Having volume does not necessarily mean the object is visible, mind you. Such is the case with air, which is invisible, and yet, its volume is still measurable. Similarly, events that happen must have duration in time. An event could be as simple as the length of time an object is in existence or it can be far more complex involving multiple objects, interactions, and occurrences. The duration can be as brief as a moment or carry on for years, decades, or centuries. Regardless of simplicity or complexity, regardless of the length of the duration, an event cannot be said to exist without duration in time. It could not be perceived nor could the experience of the event be recorded without duration.
So it is by way of duration that time, much like volume in space, serves as a function of Consciousness as is the case with all of the aforementioned required conditions. Time, space, manifestation, life energy, the subject-object relationship, and the appearance of objects and events are all the content of Consciousness. Time, like all content of Consciousness, is a humble servant of the Self, aiding in the perceiving or witnessing, and the subsequent experience of life. They are all equally essential and are all interdependent. Take away any one of them and the whole process ceases. Time, though conceptual, is as important as the rest so take some time to appreciate time in whatever way or shape it appears in this moment, for without it, the experience of life simply could not be.