Autopilot Mode

An autopilot is a mechanical, electrical, or hydraulic system used to guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being...
In the early days of transport aircraft, aircraft required the continuous attention of a pilot in order to fly in a safe manner. This created very high demands on crew attention and high fatigue...
The software reads the aircraft's current position, and controls a flight control system to guide the aircraft....
from Wikipedia

My definition : Using programmed steps and routine to carry out a task.
I think the idea of autopilot can be extended to so many other areas.

Within human pun ada autopilot. And it's much much more intelligent. Allah's creation.

On a road travelled often, sometimes I find that I drive in 'autopilot' mode. I'm not consciously thinking of my destination. I'm just driving, automatically, and safely if I might add. Tahu tahu aje.. dah nak sampai.
If there is a need to change route, I must set to 'manual. If you find me too relaxed and quiet, better check if my autopilot mode is on, else, we end up using my programmed route.. :p

This is not the only area, where I have my autopilot mode on. Sometimes I set myself to autopilot mode. You know all the passwords you have to remember, personal mail, work mail, banking password, work OS login, home computer login, singpass login.. .and the list goes on and on.... When I can't seem to remember a password that I use regularly, consciously, I just stop thinking, and set to autopilot (i.e. let the fingers do the walking)...and then 'ta-da!' Got it.

Subhanallah.

BUT, there is one area where 'autopilot' is bad for me - that is during prayers. Have you ever sometimes in prayer, tengah diri, reciting some ayat, then saying ' Ameen'.. and then suddenly realise like.. 'eh, dah habis baca Al-Fatihah!?' Now that is really an area where I must NOT let my autopilot work! During prayers, I must stay alert, to ensure that my autopilot is not automatically turned on. I find that understanding what I'm reciting and reminding myself that I'm actually communicating with The Creator, helps. It's a constant effort. InsyaAllah.