I consider the different aircraft types I fly from time to time, and my competence of flying them. I feel at one with (not "in" - "with") my C 150, after 28 years and 3000+ hours of owning it. My unconscious brain flies that plane most of the time - my conscious brain watches and listens for traffic, and monitors conditions, as those are always new.
Other types I fly require me to interact with the aircraft (usually look at the ball as a minimum) to assure that I'm flying it the way I would like to. I'm not completely at one with those aircraft - yet. Though I can be a passenger in that type, and witness "art" in flying, so I know that pilot is at one with it - it
can be done!
I think about the other things I do, during which I'm at one with what I'm doing... walking would be a good example. Happily, simple walking no longer challenges me. I just look, and I go. My body acts as a whole, with one purpose, and it just happens. Unconscious competence. If I'm walking on an uneven, or uncertain surface, that could reduce the effort to conscious competence, as I choose my footing, or compensate for ground which I suddenly determine to be soft. My whole body will still act to achieve the result, but I'll have to give it some thought.
So, back to flying, and the theme here, I opine that the best outcome in flying will result from the body being, as much as possible, at one with the aircraft first. Hands
and feet working together, with seat of the pants and other senses, to simply accomplish good aircraft handling as the priority. That does not mean that you can ignore traffic, and monitoring the condition of the aircraft, they are always important.
But it does mean that you're keeping attuned to the aircraft's action relative to your mind's expectations. Make your expectations very high for precision of maneuvering, and position in space, and check back to see if you've continued to maintain that. Did your feet keep the ball in the middle, based on seat of the pants feedback, or, are you looking at the ball, to find it a ball and a half out? Is the plane tracking the extended centerline on final, or is the wind blowing you all over? Can your hands feel the changes in pitch control force, as you approach the stall in the flare, such that just the right amount of back pressure is applied to assure a gentle touchdown? Open your mind to sensing these cues, and having your body respond unconsciously to compensate for them.
The pilots I admire, have achieved unconscious competence (
Four stages of competence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) in the aircraft they fly. They are at one with the plane. That takes care of the "aviate" part, then they assure "navigate" and "communicate" by more conscious effort.