Have you ever been driving somewhere and then suddenly can’t remember the last few kilometres?  You snap out of a daze and realise you weren’t really focused on the road or the cars around you. I have done this before and discovered that I am not alone in this. Research suggests that what you experience is highway hypnosis.

Psychologists noticed the phenomenon all the way back in the early 1900s. A paper entitled “Sleeping with the Eyes Open”, theorized that people in monotonous situations often tended to enter a sleep-like state without closing their eyes. One major example that was given, is long, boring drives. In any situation, ‘sleeping with your eyes open’ can be potentially disastrous, because it leaves you less alert and functioning on autopilot.

It is not just in a physical sense that this phenomenon can occur, it can also manifest spiritually. We can look like a Christian, talk like a Christian and act like a Christian, but we are really just on autopilot, spiritually asleep with our eyes open going through the motions.

So, if research suggests that monotonous tasks cause this sleep-like state, then we need to ensure that we keep our Christian faith vibrant, and focused on God.

Have a good week,

Chaplain Phil