Before starting the car,
I know where I am going.
The car and I are one.
If the car goes fast, I go fast.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Zen
master and poet
The average American spends 50 minutes a day getting to
and from work. If you commute by car, you're probably all too familiar with
many of the downsides of driving: being stuck in rush hour traffic, dealing
with incompetent or inconsiderate drivers, and the possibility of an accident,
among others. It's easy to feel stressed out, anxious, even enraged behind the
wheel.
The stress of driving is made even worse by distracted
drivers—which, if we're honest, is all of us at some point. It could be our
phone, the baby in the back seat, our dog, the food wrapper we're trying to
open, or even just the thoughts in our heads. Every day as I walk home from
work I see the effects of distracted driving: stopping short just in time,
being slow to start at a green light, failing to notice stop lights or
pedestrians.
Practicing mindful driving can be a powerful antidote to
these driving-related problems. As with any activity, being mindful while
driving means first focusing attention on what we're doing right now.
There are many experiences that can anchor our attention
in the present when we drive, such as:
* noticing what we see in front of us
* feeling the movement of the car
* being aware of physical sensations, like the feel of
the steering wheel in our hands
* sensing the movements, we make to pilot our car
* hearing the sound of the road and the wind
Present-focused attention in mindful driving is coupled
with an attitude of nonjudgmental openness to the experience, just as it is.
This openness while driving includes practicing acceptance of the things we
can't control, like the volume of traffic, whether we make a green light, the
actions of other drivers, and so forth.
You will be surprised, but if you try, you might find out,
that acceptance when driving can be extremely helpful, when you remember to
practice it. We often add so much stress to our drive by fighting things we
can't change. For example, there are countless times we are silently (or aloud)
cursing a stop light for turning red, or another car for "getting in my
way." When we deliberately let go of the need for everything to work out
exactly our way, much of the stress and anger we experience can dissolve.
Acceptance, while driving, doesn't have to mean liking or
condoning something. We don't have to convince ourselves that other drivers
don't make mistakes (as do we), or that we don't care what time we get home, or
anything else. All it means is that we don't add unnecessary resistance to what
is.
Mindful Driving
The idea with mindful driving is that you really have to
tune in and focus on—driving. That’s it. But it’s not as easy or common as it
might sound to pay complete attention while you’re behind the wheel. How many
times have you arrived at a destination, but didn’t really remember the drive
there? We get lost in thought, in music, in phone conversations (over blue
tooth, I hope,) and all of a sudden, we are there! Or we are lost … either way,
we realize our mind was not present while we were driving.
Next time you head out on your morning commute or take
off on a road trip, see if you can tune into all the details from behind the
wheel.
Mindful Driving Practice:
·
Get in your car, but before you put your key to
the ignition, sit for one full minute with your eyes closed. Tune into your
breath and your internal space, noticing how you feel and setting the intention
for a mindful car ride.
·
Start your car, turn off your music, silence
your phone, and ease into a state of complete attentiveness.
·
Keep your focus on the road and observe the
sounds you hear as you drive, the people, buildings, and landscapes you pass …
notice the wind on your face if your window is down, the temperature, the whole
experience of driving. Even if you’ve taken that route 100 times before, you’ll
notice something new when you set the intention of driving mindfully.
·
Slow down. As an experiment, try driving at or
just below the speed limit. Most of us tend to want to push the speed limit,
driving just a little faster than allowed. Driving just a fraction under the
speed limit can take away a lot of tension. Shift over into the slower lane if
necessary.
·
Wish other drivers well — Think, “May you be
well, may you be happy” as other drivers pass you. Try it out loud too. Use it
when cars cut you off. You’ll be amazed how much this helps. If you see
ambulance passing by, or you hear the siren, when you see the minor crash
victims on the side of the road, or you see the police vehicles in action, send
mental “good luck” wish to those, who might be affected by the accident.
·
Each time you notice that your attention has
shifted away from driving to other thoughts or sensations, gently bring it back
to the car, and continue to observe, listen, and feel as you drive.
·
Become aware of any emotions or urges that
surface as you drive—notice how you respond to that someone who cut you off;
notice if you find yourself speeding up at a yellow light; notice if you want
to reach for your phone at a red light. Try to remain in observation mode and
resist any temptation to act. Just focus on the experience of driving.
·
Notice three things you can see (visual). Notice
three things you can hear (auditory). Notice three things you can feel
(tactile). Simply notice, without judgment or analysis. Repeat as necessary.
·
Notice if you are speeding, and ask yourself
“why am I in a hurry?” It’s always best to leave yourself a few extra minutes
to get to your destination so you don’t feel the need to speed. Slow down.
·
When stopped in traffic or at a red light,
crease your mouth into a half smile. It doesn’t have to be a huge, toothy grin.
Think of the Mona Lisa. Try it even if you don’t feel like smiling. One more
exercise which is recommended while you stop at the red light – perform 5 Kegel
exercises. You can extend this practice to the situations when you stop in
traffic or at the stop sign.
·
When you arrive, turn your car off and take
another minute of silence before dashing off into your day.
This type of mindfulness practice can not only lower your
stress levels on the commute, but also help you become more focused and present
when you’ve arrived at your destination.
Posture and The
Body
The practice of meditating while driving begins, as with
most forms of meditation, with finding an appropriate posture. As usual, this specifically means cultivating
a straight spine and a settled body.
At the outset, it is helpful to put our car seat’s back
rest as straight upright as our car physically allows us to. I also put a small pillow between the
seatback and my lumbar/lower back, so as to facilitate a spinal orientation as
upright as the one that I take in a meditation hall.
Driving a car is, of course, a dynamic activity that
requires motion and activity – we must move our bodies in order to turn the
steering wheel, pump the gas and brake pedals, swivel our necks to check
mirrors, and so forth. Nonetheless, it
is helpful, when meditating while driving, to relax the body as much as
possible, to fidget as little as possible, and to do one’s best to move the
minimum that is necessary. Putting a car
in cruise control, where possible, is ideal for developing physical settling
when meditating.
Driving Zen Meditation Technique
How to start? The
following is the popular and simple Zen meditation technique that can be easily
done while in transit. The warning
applies to those trying this meditation while driving: Please DO NOT practice
this meditation if it distracts you in any way from your driving.
Zen Meditation
techniques all have their roots in mindfulness or being in the moment. This meditation tip is no different and is
also designed to help you come into the “here and now” as much as
possible. Below is a step by step guide
of how to practice this meditation. It
is given assuming you are driving, but can easily be extrapolated to other
modes of transportation.
·
Start the meditation by taking 5 long deep slow
breaths. This will relax you.
·
Now, bring your attention to your breathing and
just observe its flow without manipulating it in any way. Meditate on its
physical characteristic as closely as you can. Feeling it’s temperature,
texture, depth etc. Continue this meditation for 1-5
mins. This will settle your mind down.
·
Now begins the heart of this meditation.
Begin to watch the scenery go by as you drive with an unfocused, holistic
gaze. In other words, let your vision relax, incorporate the periphery
and without any point of focus just observe the world as you journey through
it. Just observe the trees, sky, clouds, houses, cars as they pass
by. Just be empty within and allow the world to pass through you.
That’s it.
·
To add another component to this meditation
technique, whenever you come to a stop return your attention to your breath and
then when moving, meditate once more on the scenery.
·
If at any time driving requires your focused
attention please stop the meditation and pay attention to your driving.
Other Techniques
Besides Zen Meditation and General Mindfulness
Techniques, presented earlier, there are several other meditation techniques
that may work well in conjunction with driving a car:
1. One is to practice a simple form of breath meditation
– we divide our attention between the actions of driving on the one hand, and
being aware of the feeling of breathing in the pit of our bellies on the
other. When you do this, try to see how
high you can count your breaths without spacing out and missing one. This technique, like belly-breath watching in
general, is especially useful for helping to tranquilize and focus a scattered
mind.
2. A second technique is to repeatedly vocalize a phrase,
either speaking out loud, or just internally and mentally. This phrase can either be a traditional
religious mantra like “Om Mane Padme Hum”, or, as I do more often, a
Western-style affirmation. The repeated
vocalization of the mantra can help us to be more focused and aware of what we
are doing, as well as cultivating a deeper experience of whatever meaning the
phrase has.
3. A third technique is to practice “Metta“, or
loving-kindness, meditation. In this
practice, we generate a warm, expansive feeling in our heart, and we repeatedly
vocalize “May you be well, may you be happy”, sending waves of positive
vibrations out to other people in their vehicles, as well as any other people
and beings that we can see or sense.
4. A final technique, and one that is compatible with all
the others listed, is to simply slow down and take time. We can take a moment to breathe deeply and
get present before turning on the engine, or after arriving at our destination
and before we get out of the car. When
we stop at a traffic light, we can take a deep mindful breath, fully and
languidly letting go on the exhalation.
When in motion, we can take our foot off the gas and slow down our
speed.
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