Meditation and driving?

The topic at the AA meeting was the value of meditation and how it helped us spiritually and practically, improving every aspect of our daily activities. Several AAs noted that a meditation period in the morning made us better drivers; if we took the time to meditate, we could face the fools surrounding us on the roads with equanimity and grace.

And we all laughed at the AA brother, who suggested, “if all these comments about being better drivers if we meditate are true, maybe we should meditate while driving.”

When the laughter died, he continued, “for a long time, I tried to empty my mind when meditating. One day, I heard a lady on a podcast saying that meditation was not emptying her mind but intentionally choosing what would fill her mind. Her meditation practice was to be mindful and aware, deciding what to focus on, and choosing what to think. This made much more sense and changed my meditation practice. Now, in my morning meditation sits, I am practicing a critical skill: choosing what to think about.

“Back to driving. I was driving one day. As I drove, I recalled my morning meditation sit. I remembered the clarity of thought and focus I had achieved while meditating. I remembered that I had chosen to think about my breathing, which brought my mind to quiet joy.

“I thought, I could bring the same clarity and focus to driving, not by thinking about my breathing, but by thinking about my driving; I chose to think about my driving. I stopped looking at the people on the sidewalk, the signs in the stores and other eye-catching things that distracted my driving. My phone rang, and I declined the call. I was choosing to think about driving. I was choosing what to think about and focus upon. I was practicing meditative driving.”

He concluded his outstanding share, “thanks, I pass.”

What a great message. His story gave me a greater sense of purpose in my meditation practice and improved my driving.