I find certain necessary activities to be very unpleasant. One of my least favorite activities is going into a store. Sometimes you have to go into one, but I never enjoy it. The lights, the atmosphere, the endless aisles of confusingly-organized stuff… ugh.
So to get through that experience, I go into what I call “monk mode.” This works best by myself, because a big part of it is sort of retreating into my own mind, letting my body do its thing on mostly auto-pilot while I let my brain think about other, more pleasant things. I walk out of the store with the stuff I need, having barely registered the experience.
This is a very useful ability, honed over many years. The ability to separate my higher and lower consciousness functions, letting my “higher mind” wander and enjoy itself while my more basic brain moves my body around to complete rote tasks is helpful in many situations. One drawback is that while my sensory perception can be managed by the lower brain, actual interaction with intention is only capable (so far) from my higher one. So if someone talks to me, my options are: respond like a dismissive jerk, or leave monk mode. Hence why I don’t like to go into stores with other people especially.
I’ve never really discussed this with anyone else – is “monk mode” something you do? Do you have some version of it? If so, what do you do?
The Opportunity Machine 