The streets of Mumbai are chaotic. Cars weave through lanes without warning. Motorcycles and rickshaws pass along the shoulder or wherever is most convenient. Vegetable carts, overburdened bicycles and street dogs dart intermittently across the road. Honking is incessant and bumper-to-bumper traffic jams are frequent. The small lanes become overburdened with the hustle and bustle in an Indian city of 20 million people on the move, sometimes grinding the whole thing to a halt. This is where I learned how to meditate while driving.
Most expats in Mumbai have a hired driver or use taxis and rickshaws. At first, we had a driver to help transport the kids, but I decided to tackle driving our car myself to exert a sense of control and adventure into the crush of urban life. I had driven our car while living in West Africa, and Mumbai was a next step in city driving challenge. It was like advancing to the next level in a video game, earning an extra emoji and rush of achievement adrenalin. Here, however, the consequences of failure are real.
A Slow, Percolating Road Rage
I soon realized that the traffic jams and erratic drivers, especially when running late to a school event, meeting up with friends or, worst of all, catching a flight at the airport, had me white knuckle grasping the steering wheel. It wore on me and I began to curse under my breath when cut off by another driver or blocked by a pedestrian holding up their palm in the classic Indian way as they confidently stride in front of my car. My daughter would remind me to calm down. I’d arrive at my destination tense and irritable. The stress, at best, took away the fun of driving and, at worst, robbed me of using our commute as a refuge from the busy day.
But as my mindfulness practice seeped more deeply into my new daily life, I remembered to bring awareness to my driving habits. I began to notice my tense shoulders, critical thoughts, and hyper-focus on arriving quickly or getting through the next stoplight. With kind attention to my self-imposed suffering, I began to play with my driving as a mindfulness practice. I noticed that Indian drivers use the road as an organic stream of motion: like fish swimming in a school they weave in and out with ease, give way here, dart past there. Rarely do I see road rage or accidents.
New Expectations
When I began to let go of my expectations for how driving should be and how quickly I should arrive, I relaxed and let go. Now I aim my focus at the smooth, miraculous-seeming harmony of vehicles and humans in motion together. It is a delightful tapestry of colorful sights, textured sounds and varied rhythmic movement. My mind lets go of re-hashing my day at work or planning my next project. I use driving time as a practice in present moment awareness. The journey becomes a medley of seeing, hearing, and sensing the pulse of the city streets that I inhabit.
While it might sound absurd at first, mindful driving is much safer. With mind focused on the present, I am aware and ready to respond to obstacles rather than being distracted by wandering mind. It’s also much easier on the nervous system as the body relaxes, breath deepens and the attention is focused on the present experience. Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh guides a meditation with the words “As I breath in, I know I am breathing in; as I breathe out, I know I am breathing out.” With mindful driving it becomes “As I press the gas, I know I am pressing the gas; as I press the brake, I know I am pressing the brake.”
Meditation while Driving
While on a road trip this summer, delivering my daughter from Colorado to Vermont, I popped in an episode of the Ten Percent Happier podcast for my next shift at the wheel. Dan Harris was interviewing Sebene Selassie. When Sebene began to lead a guided meditation, I decided to experiment with following the meditation instructions while driving. This might be a moment to warn against trying this on your own, particularly if driving tired!
But this was early morning and I was wide awake. I followed her guidance to relax the body, breathe into the belly, all while focusing my hands on the wheel and my eyes on the road. The sensations allowed me to stay totally present. I experienced my body driving, my eyes drinking in the full panorama of my vision, feeling fully awake to the moment. This to me seems a lot safer than driving under the influence of a noisy, chattering monkey mind!
