How to Train a Wild Elephant_ And Other Adventures in Mindfulness - Jan Chozen Bays [58]
Final Words: Anxiety is the subtle and pervasive destroyer of our happiness. It depends upon thoughts of past and future. It cannot exist in the present.
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Mindful Driving
The Exercise: Bring mindful attention to driving. Notice all the body movements, car movements, sounds, habit patterns, and thoughts involved in driving. (If you do not drive a car, you can bring attention to riding a bike or being a passenger in a car, bus, or train.)
REMINDING YOURSELF
Place a note on your steering wheel or dashboard. It’s best to remove the note before you start driving, so as not to create a visual distraction, and to replace the note before you get out of the car so that it will be there to remind you next time you drive.
DISCOVERIES
People find that this exercise opens up beginner’s mind, helping them to step back from driving on autopilot and supporting them in noticing all the subtle movements of driving. We can start this mindfulness exercise right after we get into the car. Feel the pressure of the seat on your thighs, buttocks, and back. Feel your feet resting on the floor. Feel the pressure of the metal key as you turn the ignition on. Feel the vibrations that tell you that the car is running and hasn’t stalled. Notice how the hands grip the steering wheel. Top, sides, bottom rim? One hand or two? What emotions arise while driving? For example, people commonly report that when they are cut off by other drivers, they experience bursts of anger that destroy their mental serenity.
I like to pay attention to the feeling of the road, extending my awareness down through the tires into the pavement, as if the car body is my body and the tires are my feet. I pay attention to the bumps and vibrations as the car moves from driveway to street, street to highway. I listen to the sounds of driving, the engine sound, the wind sounds, the tire sounds.
I once drove the Japanese Zen master Harada Roshi from Washington to Oregon. As we crossed the state line, he seemed half asleep, but he immediately remarked on the change in road texture and sound. I was impressed by his continuous level of awareness and vowed to further develop my own.
When we practice mindful driving, we notice that each person has an individual style of driving. Some people drive slowly and timidly, making their passengers impatient, while others accelerate through yellow lights and make their passengers sick on sharp turns. Some drivers look at scenery, eat, and make phone calls while driving, others keep their eyes locked on the road, ready for any contingency.
Mindful driving calls for relaxed, alert awareness. When practicing mindful driving, I envision moving forward in what we call in Zen “one straight line.” This means that no matter how many curves there are, no matter how many times you have to come to a complete stop and start up again, no matter how many detours you have to negotiate, you remain aware of your destination and steady in your purpose.
DEEPER LESSONS
Because modern people spend so much time in vehicles, this exercise helps answer the question “When can I find time to practice mindfulness?” Being mindful in a vehicle can provide many minutes of extra practice each day and help us to arrive at our destination feeling refreshed. Like all mindfulness practices, mindful driving includes body, mind, and heart.
The fundamental question underlying all of these mindfulness tasks is this: “Are you willing to change?” Mindful driving involves being willing to change our driving habits. Normally we are only willing to change when life isn’t working for us, if we are suffering. For example, we might become willing to drive no faster than the speed limit once we get an expensive speeding ticket. Mindfulness practice asks us to change ourselves for a different reason—out of curiosity, because change could lead us to greater freedom and happiness.
I was in a car as a passenger once while a Zen student