There’s a state you can enter where your body and mind relax in a particular way, letting you tune into a kind of background “operating system.”

You’re no longer controlling, planning or worrying.

You’re listening.

You’re reacting.

It’s not a place of no thought.

It’s a place where thought has been organized and lessened in a particular way.

Think of it like this:

When you’re using Microsoft Word or Excel or Powerpoint or any App, you aren’t aware of the operating system. It’s in the background.

You see: words, numbers, menus, data.

But when you can “close the tabs on your browser” and turn off the apps, and call up System Manager, you have the chance to experience the operating system through a particular interface.

In human experience in this state, tension, overthinking, and worry fade, and you feel confident, spontaneous, and able to respond naturally rather than forcing or controlling outcomes. 

It’s the place where patterns in your body and mind can shift, letting new experiences or ways of acting emerge.

That’s why performers, healers, athletes, artists and others have often been interested in this state.

Stories, myths, and practices, from Zen In the Art of Archery to “the zone” in sports, from Sufi spinning to the Sabbath, point to this state. 

They show that some things can only be accomplished by being aligned with it, not by trying harder.

It’s not magical; it’s just your system operating with less interference, allowing subtle guidance to surface. 

Among other things, trying to control each moment blocks it. 

To find this state there are things you can do impact the quality of your awareness and how well your mind and body are aligned.

Those we have in common as humans.

Yet, how we conjure the circumstances that allow us to willingly enter into that experience depends on our individual circumstances and approach.

To practice this state you must experience it again and again.

The same way you lift weights repeatedly to get enough “stimulus” to change muscles.