Context

I love this exercise.

I can’t quite tell if this exercise is an analogue to Slow Down Your Perception Of Time or a percursor to it, however they’re both different approaches to the same concept of awareness.

Usually you’ll end up using both in conjunction, but it’s arguably easier to learn them as separate, unique skills.

All awareness exercises essentially come down to finding different ways to break down you perception of who you are.

And this is a very important practice because our perception of who we are, isn’t actually who we are.

It is merely an identity we carry to help us navigate through life.

And when we don’t realise this, or aren’t consciously aware of this label that we prescribe to ourselves on a daily basis, then we can become ransom to this persona.

By learning to understand this identity, we provide ourselves with the opportunity to be able to directly control how we operate, without relying on the expectations of this persona.

What this exercise attempts to do is help you better disassociate yourself from this persona.

The end goal isn’t necessarily to completely dissolve this persona.

(Not that there’s anything wrong with dissolving it. It’s simply impractical for most people, including myself)

However to have the capacity to be able to dissolve it at will, as well keep on top of it when it may be beginning to get out of hand is a wonderful skill to have.

Essentially, what this exercise teaches you is to learn to let go from a physical perspective in the sense of stopping your mind altogether.

I think you’ll have fun with this one.

Instructions

This exercise generally only works while you’re doing something.

You could be studying. You could be walking down the street in an attempt to get somewhere. Definitely don’t do it mid-conversation.

However during that activity, what you want to do is turn off your mind completely.

Like, just shut it off.

It can help to pretend as if you’re a robot that’s just had it’s power supply cut off.

One thing to keep in mind is that it’s an exercice that’s largely conceptual and based on feeling.

So really play around with the character and explore this idea of what it means to shut down like a robot on it’s last legs.

What does shutting down entail? Are there any steps towards shutting down, or is it an instantaneous action?

What does it feel like to be shut down? Can you feel at all once you’ve shut down?

When you’ve shut down do you feel relaxed or tense? Is this a reflection on your own ability to relax at will?

Play with it and see where it takes you.

…and obviously don’t do this while crossing a road.