*44 Life "on autopilot"

*44 Life "on autopilot" is a state in which thoughts and feelings gradually emerge from within and determine a person's course in life almost independently of his will. If we decide to live our lives consciously, then we try to follow each of our thoughts, words and acts. At first, the conscious state, in which we have control of our thoughts, words and acts, is only momentary, but conscious living gradually covers most of everyday life, particularly in critical situations in which we withdraw into ourselves and consciously master at that moment the emotional and instinctual pressures rise from the depths of our instinctual human nature. This is the end of living on autopilot. In mastering the way from living on autopilot to conscious living, we will then only recall with a bitter smile how the ruthless autopilot, controlled by instincts, emotions and feelings, drove us into unhappy – and mostly unwanted – relationships. Living consciously or on autopilot is actually a question of whether we want to be the cause of our experiences or their consequence. A person lives for most of his life in the consequence of his experiences, and it is only with a conscious life that he becomes their cause, and thereby finds the miraculous spring from which to draw wisdom. See Attentiveness archetype.