The Zen of Driving

" Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother."

 Khalil Gibran  

As I may have mentioned before, I have been engaged in an online course in Mindfulness.

Mindfulness is :the psychological process of bringing one's attention to experiences occurring in the present moment, which can be developed through the practice of meditation and other training. Wikipedia

The phrase "other training" resonates with me. Some people meditate, some do yoga, others tai chi.

For me it's driving, in particular bus driving.

There are many similarities between meditation and driving my bus.

When I meditate, the first thing I do to prepare for that Journey is to make sure I am in a comfortable position.

Check.

Once I have found that comfortable position, I make sure that I am sitting upright and in an erect position,shoulders loose and head squarely centered and facing forward.

Check.

Then before beginning my Journey,I take a deep cleansing breath,a turn of my head first left then right then left again and then and only then do I begin my meditation. Check and check again!

This is exactly the same beginning to both my meditative state and my bus driving state.

As I wend my way down the drive from the parking lot to the road, I bring my attention to all that is occurring in the present moment. 

Are there other cars on the road?

Are there pedestrians to watch out for?

How is my vehicle running?

What are the weather conditions?

I take notice of traffic lights, road hazards,construction zones and other vehicles on my route.

As I settle in to the mundane part of the trip,my mind eventually starts to wander, much as it might during meditation. In mindfulness based meditation, the object is not to block out these thoughts.

One learns to accept and greet these thoughts as they pass through our consciousness,acknowledging them without getting caught up in them.

In meditation, when the mind wanders off too far, we learn to refocus, usually by returning that focus to our breath, until the mind calms again and we then can continue on our way.

The same happens as I drive. 

Each stop I make, or intersection that I cross brings me back to focus.focus on the task at hand, the drive.

Once that focus is re-established, invariably my mind will begin to wander off again. 

Meditation is not about zoning out. 

It is all about being acutely aware.

So it is with my driving.  

Maybe on my CDL ,right next to my name should be the title Zen Master Bus Driver!

OhhhhhM!