Sometimes it happens when you are driving. It can strike at work or in the home. Auto-pilot. You’ve been on the highway for some time, the radio has been playing a steady stream of familiar songs and by the time you get to work, or where ever you are going, you have not experienced the event, rather played it through by reflex. At work we are sometimes thankful for mindless periods when we can work from rote doing our jobs with our experience somewhere else, or nowhere at all. Where did we go? It is argued by D.M. Armstrong, J Levine, P. Carruthers, and other twentieth century philosopher of the mind, that our higher-order perceptions shut off and we stop perceiving our experience.
In Loneliness of the Long Distance Truck Driver, by William G. Lycan & Zena Ryder, it is shown that instead it is only our awareness of our higher perceptions that is switched off. The capacity for consciousness and abstract thought is too hard wired to be turned off, continuing in the background even when we don’t notice it. If it is ongoing, innate, in-stifleable tuning it out, going into auto-pilot, is time that our brain has the capacity for incredible abstract meanderings that go tragically unobserved. We can use this time, be aware, and mindful of our own inner states.
One great way to remind ourselves that the journey of life is made up of individual steps is Buddhist Walking Meditation. I find walking meditation, as opposed to sitting allows a rhythm to breath along with when concentration is difficult. Slowing the pace of the walk and meandering aimlessly allows the mind to relax while focusing on the journey and not the destination. For those of you new to mindful meditation walking has a naturally calming effect that makes the transition into a relaxed fully aware state simple to achieve.
Matthew Callaway is currently a senior trainer with Focused Awareness Inc., an organization which teaches mindfulness and contemplative practices to facilitate personal self growth. Focused Awareness uses relaxation techniques, taught through individual instruction and group interaction. Our mission is to bring mindfulness into everyday life for personal development, emotional well-being, and self empowerment.