THE AUTOPILOT
When a system meant to be of support, hijacks your life
Have you discovered yourself from a situation, where you have reached your destination without actually noticing how you got there? Maybe you have hit 40 and could ask the same question…
The autopilot is a mechanism, that automizes processes based on repetition – regardless if you judge them as pleasant or painful/beneficial or harmful. Once automized, the “training pattern” will run until you have not consciously discontinued it. As a system, it is responsible for producing all our ready-made actions i.e. reactions.
You would choose to be calm, but the autopilot activates an emotion of anxiety. Instead of motivation, procrastination gets activated. You would choose joy, but it activates sadness – against your will. You wouldn’t entertain all those thoughts /memories /scenarios, but… You want to keep your focus still, but the autopilot pulls it to all kinds of stimuli.
Your inner autopilot is not conspiring to make you suffer, for it is not a live person. Instead, it’s a reactive system gone out of check. Sometimes you catch your autopilot “in action”, we all do. And we have been told that there is nothing you can do about it. What if this conviction is outdated?
Consider airplanes – they fly on autopilot. Even if the captain is present, can the pilot fly the plane if the autopilot is still “ON”? What does the pilot need to do in order to fly his/her plane? You see, the pilot can do all sorts of things, but not all actions will do – only ONE will. Until switched “OFF”, the autopilot is still “ON”. Using logic – will ignoring/turning attention elsewhere/pretending to fly/discussing its peculiarities switch it “OFF”?
If you were to learn that you can discontinue it and all you need, is to learn the skills – would you wait? Imagine those reactions today in your top 5, no longer activating on their own…
A life that goes by as if in a dream
Feeling out of control: “The 2017 research revealed that 96% of Brits admit to making decisions on autopilot, resulting in an epidemic of non-engagement with the world and sub-conscious decision making. Responders admitted to saying ‘yes’ four times a day when they wish they hadn’t, alone resulting in 70,000 moments of being untrue to ourselves over the course of a lifetime. 76% have moments when they feel they are not spending their time well, 44% have forgotten something whilst on autopilot including birthdays, paying an important bill, locking the front door and even picking the children up from school. By sleepwalking into choices, we feel trapped like we’re living someone else’s life” (online survey with 3000 consumers by M&S, 2017).
Distracted and unhappy: “We found that almost half of the time (47%), people are doing what is called “mind wandering”. They are not in contact with the world or focused on the task at hand because they are looking into their own thoughts. Our analysis revealed 3 facts: First, people’s minds wandered frequently. Second, analyses strongly suggested that mind-wandering was generally the cause—and not merely the consequence—of unhappiness. And third, what people were thinking was a better predictor of their happiness than was what they were doing” (D. Gilbert and M. Killingsworth, 2010)
The Art of Conscious Change – my story
I myself started implementing the AoCC techniques in 2004. Working as a staff psychiatrist, my first aha came from discontinuing the reactions that are usually buried deep by growing a “thick skin”. Since then I feel at ease, free from hurt or stress.
I went on to discontinue reactions that pop up at work – while treating difficult cases of depression, anxiety, chronic pain, PTSD etc. I observed which reactions lead to burnout and what is the root of this syndrome. By today I have completely freed myself from any risk of it happening.
In personal life, becoming a parent gave me an opportunity to discontinue emotional exhaustion, irritation, feeling helpless etc. Gaining freedom from reactions in relation to love allowed me to discover a more profound level of intimacy. On my path towards Self-Realization, I keep on liberating myself from automatic fluctuations, until I am free to be Me.
I have seen hundreds of lives have change: anxiety vanish, depression lift, anger fade, tension ease, a natural smile appear. Amazed and grateful, I became a teacher of the AoCC in 2017 so that I could pay forward the wisdom towards a life with greater ease, joy and meaning.
Is dominance of the autopilot a mistake we have since failed to correct?
It is a real problem: “The existence of automatic, unconscious processes influencing human emotion, cognition, and behavior is widely accepted and confirmed by numerous studies” (e.g., Ohme et al., 2001; Jarymowicz, 2002; Hassin et al., 2005; Wentura and Degner, 2010; Bargh et al., 2012; Bargh, 2014; Wentura and Rothermund, 2014).
We learn the link between data & emotion: “Across emotional experiences over time, learned assemblies of processes (perceptual, interoceptive, motor) accumulate in memory that later underlie emotional experiences in similar situations” (Neuropsychologia. 2018)
Stuck on skills we used in kindergarten: “Processes related to regulating emotions are learned in childhood and tend to be favored/maintained throughout adulthood” (Handbook of emotion regulation, Appleton AA, Kubzansky LD, 2014)
Leading to loss of psychological flexibility: Psühholoogiline jäikus moodustub mustrist, kus käitumist juhib korduv komplekt mõtteid, tundeid ja teisi sisemisi ajendeid (või soov neid vältida) arukamate valikute arvelt. Psühholoogiline jäikus ja vältimine on oluline faktor suure hulga psüühikahäirete tekkes, säilimises ja väljendumises.
AoCC COURSE I-II FOR INDIVIDUALS (2,5 days)
For all people longing for tools to step out from an automated life, end
burnout and destructive emotions. Taught in EST/ENG as per request.
The Art of Conscious Change provides you with tools. You decide when, where and how often to use them.
These are skills to address any event across 3 meta-categories of life: the vital (emotions & energy), the mental (memory & thoughts) and the consciousness (awareness, insight and more). Like a manual, it allows orientation in what makes you a “smart cookie” and why you “lose it”.
Practical re-discovery of the true Self is part of the program. It is the same state valued in all meditative and yogic traditions as the ultimate goal, Self-Realization. Without this step, confusion between the autopilot vs Self would remain, so it is essential. The course flows as a sequence of pointers and practices, using naturalistic observation so that you could discover yourself as the pilot – who are you, what are your main tools and potentials, what is (your) life about?
Burnout is a psychological syndrome characterized by 3 dimensions of feelings: vital exhaustion, cynicism and feeling of diminished personal achievement. People who burn out are not weak. It’s the opposite – these are the people who aim for doing things the best way possible. The brilliant minds, the responsible ones, the perfectionists.
But usually, the focus is on the external. Almost nobody talks about what actually is the main cause – a specific set of psychological reactions that take place under our skin, on the inside.
In detail: burnout is the consequence of an unceasing activity of certain extremely accelerating emotional states that in turn cause fight-or-flight type of activity in the body. How long can the body take this acceleration? One may relax their muscles, have a massage, work out – but will it stop the automatic activation pattern of these emotions?
Conscious self-transformation has been known for thousands of years and used in kriya yoga not only to solve problems but also to discover and unlock potentials one has been unaware of.
On the first day (course I), you will arrive at a different experience about yourself. Knowing one’s own build-up, getting to know the 5-body system or the wholistic self is the cornerstone of all subsequent courses and opens up an opportunity for real change. You will discover practically:
- 5 different groups of phenomena i.e. bodies related to oneself;
- what is your most valuable tool in life – awareness;
- what is your own essence, your true nature.
On the second day (course II), you will discover how we spend our whole lives hunting for positive emotions because we know – when a positive one is absent, the negative appears. That’s why we think we are constantly lacking something. In fact, the opposite is true: we have an excess of harmful automatic processes. You will learn to:
- notice that each problem “lives” due to the emotion paired with it;
- become aware of emotions and how they differ from sensations;
- discontinue emotions triggered by memories and the imagination;
- instantly discontinue emotions that arise in different situations;
- independently liberate emotions related to pain and health;
- discontinue emotions constantly in the background.
How big of a role do negative emotions – frustration, depression, guilt, jealousy, laziness – play in your life, depleting your lifetime? How do they shape your relationships to yourself and others? Now imagine if the feelings that have guided your activities so far, no longer pop up on their own. By reducing the autopilot of disturbing emotions, you make room for new breathing, new opportunities.
Once learned, all it takes to discontinue an emotion is 10 seconds…
WHAT IS THE OUTCOME OF USING THE TECHNIQUES?
- presence to what is important
- stops distraction/improves attention
- all-around skills to prevent burnout
- ability to build a life based on consciousness
- “map” to understand yourself (5-body system)
- clarity on the autopilot vs true Self
- ability to activate emotional energies
- skills to dismantle unhelpful habits
- improved level of energy
- alleviates pain
- fewer conflicts
- relaxation, both vital and physical
- boosts peaceful confidence
- increases awareness
- boosts happiness
- improved health and breathing
- relieves stress
- enables to discontinue feelings of anxiety
- reduces the frequency of negative states
- grounding
- sense of being on top of things
- insight
AoCC AT WORKPLACES / WELLNESS RESORTS
From intros, weekly workshops the full 2,5-day program.
With special emphasis on burnout, provided in EST / ENG as per request.
People who burn out are not weak. It's the opposite - these are the people who aim for doing things the best way possible. The brilliant minds, the responsible ones, the perfectionists.
Usually, the focus is on the external and almost nobody talks about what actually is the main causing factor - a specific set of psychological reactions that take place under our skin, on the inside.
In detail: burnout is the consequence of an unceasing activity of certain extremely accelerating emotional states that in turn cause elevated levels of activity also in the body. How long can the body take this constant acceleration?
First, let's recognize some of these accelerating emotions: passion, drive, "being on the ashes", being on-the-go, always-on, the feeling of busyness, restlessness...
One may relax their muscles, have a massage, work out - but will it stop the automatic activation pattern of these emotions? Burnout marks the moment of a forced switch-off, an attempt to save the body from death by acceleration.
Total freedom from burnout means a practical change when the tendency of such emotions to auto-activate is discontinued. Ending the need to "handle" them and the consequences that usually follow.
What is a conflict but a clash between currently active emotions?
What is emotional exhaustion other than a feeling that you haven't been able to shake off (but can be discontinued)?
What makes a person "toxic"? And if you could instantly discontinue whatever it is that you feel around them?
If people working together would no longer need to keep their activated emotions in-check (risking an explosion sooner or later), rather such activation would no longer take place?
WHAT BENEFITS WILL EMPLOYEES / CLIENTS EXPERIENCE?
- A spark in the eyes, improved efficacy and attention
- People feel empowered by wisdom and skills to prevent burnout
- Better relationships and collaboration between colleagues
- Prevention of mental health issues that have emotions at the core
- Supports healing from burnout, adrenal fatigue and stress
- Promotes personal development, a sense of ease and wellbeing
- Enables to experience the phenomena of "the present moment"
- Insights on the autopilot and how to discontinue it's harmful parts
CREATOR OF THE AoCC
Ingvar Villido is the creator of The Art of Conscious Change, a Teacher, and the master of Kriya Yoga (ingvarvillido.com).
He grew up in Estonia, in the midst of remote forests of Northern Europe. Searching for answers, he questioned – why do we suffer? For over 30 years has he investigated the application of consciousness, immersing himself as a practitioner in naturalistic observation and ancient sciences. In 1993 he founded Lilleoru - a sacred site and home of the teachings.
The AoCC is a teaching based on an aware and purposeful use of the qualities of consciousness. First taught in 2008, it provides techniques that help people live out of their full potential and not be restricted by disturbing emotions and thoughts any longer. Having reached 10+ countries, the teaching enables people to understand who they truly are, fostering a change towards a better life as well as a better world.
Technique for inner silence (free video):
Technique to recognize True Self (free audio):
Ingvar Villido Ishwarananda's "The Path of Wisdom" (free lectures):
Book "Practical Consciousness":