Getting out of rat race mode

One of my favorite things about mindful presence is that it is the antidote to autopilot mode. Think of an airport- everybody rushing to their gates or baggage claim or whatever. Bumping into each other, bags whacking each other...autopilot mode central. Now picture that scene with people in mindful presence mode. People are aware of where they are in space, stepping around and slowing down and respecting each other. Yay!

Now think of you as you go through your day. Wake up, breakfast, head to work, settle in to parenting mode for the day, do your duties, lunch, transition back to off-duty mode. Are you thinking about all the things from all of your day no matter what mode you are in? I sure am! Unless...unless I take the time to do a simple short mindful transition. Which brings me to the practice I am sharing this week.

How I discovered the arriving practice

An arriving practice is simply pausing as you shift from one mode or event throughout your day. Let yourself arrive fully in your present, allowing the concerns of your preceding time block or mode fall away for the time being. Over the course of a few breaths, maybe a little stretching, bring to mind your intention for what you are about to do. Our brains looove having a task to do, and this can help your brain keep your attention on the task at hand. Even if that task is, "I just got home from work and I want to be present with my family."

Throughout my two year mindfulness teaching program, we began every session with an arriving practice - just five minutes of meditation, sometimes silent, sometimes one of us would guide a simple focus. For my in-person days at grad school, it was standard practice for faculty to lead us in an arriving practice each day (I even led some of them!). In my trainings with The Embody Lab, we did all kinds of arriving practices - mindful movement, breathing exercises, tuning in to our bodies. It was wonderful!

Arriving practices for everyday use

These practices are not just for formal evolutions though! I started doing them when I was in full-time grad school and had to switch into student mode after work. A few breaths wherever I was settling in to do homework (desk, dining room table, couch) and allowing the busyness and concerns of my work day to fall away so I could arrive in student mode. I started doing it when I arrived at work, just to settle in. Game. Changer.

The more I used this simple practice, the more I had a sense that I was in choice in what I was doing. I felt less like I was on autopilot, mindlessly participating in the rat race, and more like I was present and ready for the task at hand. I could let my body and mind settle into my current environment and not be half floating off wherever I was before. If there was stress or busyness that was unavoidable, that arriving practice was a welcome breath of fresh air even just for a few moments.

Open-minded arriving practice

Then I started to use it in my open time blocks. I would take a few mindful breaths and contemplate, what should I do with this free time? The answers were delightful: read a book, go for a walk, cuddle the pup, clean out your gmail, rest, rest, rest, do nothing, do nothing, do nothing. And yes I even started doing nothing: setting a timer for ten or 15 minutes and just zoning out! Not trying to meditate, or make a to do list, just stare out the window or at the wall. It's surprisingly refreshing for my brain to not have to do anything for a bit. Highly recommend giving that a shot!

Sneaking it in

So if you are curious as to how to do this throughout your day, try sneaking in a few mindful breaths, a mini stretch break, as you transition throughout the day. Maybe in your car once you park at work, or get to your desk. After you get the kids out the door for school, or sit down to study. I find it is most helpful when a different lens is required - what I am doing at home is wildly different from what I am doing at work. So you can think of it as shifting "modes," whatever your modes are. I even find it helpful at work after a mind-numbing meeting, shifting back into my work tasks for the day.

For sure, this is an antidote to all the messaging we get to go go go and do do do- which is technically optional! But hard to rewire our brains when we are constantly bombarded by those messages. So try these moments of arriving to help bring more presence, choice, and agency to your activities and modes throughout the day. There's a better way to live than in rat race mode, and that is with intention and mindful presence.

Here's to more presence and peace, and less rat race mode for all of us!

In deep gratitude,

💕Carly

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