Mastering the Art of Pause: How "Traffic Control" Clears Mental Clutter and Restores Inner Peace

Running a global organisation with serenity and intention

I first came across “Traffic control” over twenty years ago when I was learning Raja Yoga Meditation with the Brahma Kumaris at their beautiful Global Retreat Centre in Oxford UK.

It’s an incredibly serene place where so much is done quietly and yet super efficiently without stress and what appears to be minimal effort.

I am not a Brahma Kumari myself and I do want to briefly honour their incredible journey and global impact before I talk about traffic control itself.

The Brahma Kumaris: From humble beginnings to the global stage

Theirs is an amazing story of how a small group of ordinary women from the poorest class in India, with zero education, came together and ended up creating an organisation that spans the globe.

Very brief history:

The Brahma Kumaris (“Daughters of Brahma”) was founded in 1937 by a businessman Dada Lekhraj Kripalani after a series of deep visions.

Between 1937 and 1938, he formed a Managing Committee of eight young women and surrendered all his property and assets to a Trust to be administered by them. 

At the time this was totally unheard of ie women being in charge of anything like this and they faced stiff opposition.

The young women that he put to the forefront went on to become beacons of love, peace and wisdom.

Under their leadership the Brahma Kumaris grew to a million members with over 8000 centres in 115 countries.

I was fortunate to meet Dadi Janki (the lady in the middle) a couple of times. She was funny, energetic (at 80+), wise, had a look in her eyes that said “I don’t take BS” and yet she was still so so humble and ordinary.

Dadi walked her talk as a leader always - she was an incredible role model for the power of spirit, love and acceptance.

The art of the Pause - Traffic Control

Whilst Raja Yoga meditation plays a huge role in their lives, the BK’s are very practical in acknowledging what else has them be at their best during the day as they run their global organisation.

They keep themselves working at a high level throughout the day by using what they call “Traffic Control.”

They understood the power of pausing at regular intervals, of coming off automatic and in setting an intention for the next (1 hour) block of time.

Traffic Control - A simple method to stay mentally clear and peaceful

Structure:

1. Every hour you stop for 1 minute (top of the hour tends to work best).

2. Every half hour you stop for 30 seconds.

This way you come off automatic pilot ie being run by your mental programming/conditioning.

You withdraw your attention from the pull of the external world for a super short amount of time.

You then return/re-engage with the external world purposefully and with intention.

Traffic Control Process:

Same for both:

• Pause - become aware of your breathing

• Turn inward and notice where your mind and body are at.

• Just for 1 minute (or 30 seconds) breathe, let it all be.

• After the 1 minute pause, set an intention for how best you want to be for the following hour.

• Repeat.

If your inner world is busy, it’s best not to fight it as that only tends to make it worse.

It’s better to breathe and let it settle eg if someone hurls a rock into a pond it creates large ripples right? But do you jump into the pond and try to smooth them down?

Of course you don’t, you know if you just leave them be they’ll dissipate of their own accord. Your inner world is the same.

Sometimes I also stand up and move. If I find my mind is super noisy I may go make a cup of tea by way of pausing.

NB It is totally possible to do this whilst being in a meeting or if you’re in conversation with someone. You just turn some of your attention inward and do the same process. They will never know.

Aids to remind yourself to pause:

The BKs, wonderfully, pipe soft music through the speakers in all the rooms of their buildings worldwide which is super cool.

When I started, I used a timer which “gonged” very gently and it alerted me to pause and go within.

Over time traffic control becomes an incredibly supportive habit.

Some of the benefits I’ve experienced from using traffic control:

• These super short breaks keep me from going into machine like churn mode.

• I get to regularly reset, refocus which means I work in a more peaceful, effective and dynamic way.

• It certainly reduces the risk of stress because the regular pausing prevents any build up of emotional tension ie I catch it early vs trying to self-regulate when the horse has already bolted.

• I’m more balanced emotionally and I am much less likely to be reactive. Which means I don’t waste time and energy rectifying mistakes or misunderstandings.

• The pauses act as energy boosters. Instead of getting drained being continuously on it hour after hour, I get mini recharges throughout my day.

• It makes me more mindful and intentional about how I think, act and engage with others or my work in any given moment.

• With these regular moments of inner quiet and reflection, I’m also more connected to my inner wisdom which gives me ideas, insights and answers to things my mind doesn’t have an answer for. I’m clearer, smarter and more calm.

• Bottomline is - I have way more fun, I get to enjoy my day vs being swamped by it and from a business perspective it makes a huge difference in terms of the level at which I can operate consistently.

A no-brainer really!!

My invitation to you….

What if next week you were to experiment with traffic control for yourself?

Just take one day at a time - notice what happens - and then at the end of that day you get to choose whether you’ll do it again the next day etc (this approach is more likely to succeed than trying to do it for the whole week).

Have fun and explore……see what happens.

Do let me know in the comments what you experience.