Tips for Driving Mindfully
When we practice mindfulness, we can more deeply enjoy our driving time.
Notice your attitudes.
What energy are you driving with? Is it hurried, angry, competitive, or insecure?
We can reduce our tension when we refocus our energy to be calm and focused.
What energy are you driving with? Is it hurried, angry, competitive, or insecure?
We can reduce our tension when we refocus our energy to be calm and focused.
Be kind and positive to other drivers.
Practice patience by saying, “May you be happy.” when someone is frustrating you on the road. If you have passengers in your car, be kind to them.
If you take public transportation, extend loving kindness to your fellow passengers for the duration for the trip.
Practice patience by saying, “May you be happy.” when someone is frustrating you on the road. If you have passengers in your car, be kind to them.
If you take public transportation, extend loving kindness to your fellow passengers for the duration for the trip.
Breathe deeply at stops.
Use red lights and stop signs to take deep, restorative breaths.
This can be both calming and energizing, especially if you extend your breaths.
Use red lights and stop signs to take deep, restorative breaths.
This can be both calming and energizing, especially if you extend your breaths.
Occasionally drive in silence.
Turn off the music, podcast, or usual choice of noise and fill your awareness with mindfulness of what’s around you. The absence of sound may feel strange at first, but just experiment with what you feel and observe.
Sometimes driving in silence can help us feel more peaceful and calm.
Turn off the music, podcast, or usual choice of noise and fill your awareness with mindfulness of what’s around you. The absence of sound may feel strange at first, but just experiment with what you feel and observe.
Sometimes driving in silence can help us feel more peaceful and calm.
Slow down.
Don’t hold up traffic, but consciously slow down when looking, turning, going through neighborhoods, etc. Today I saw a bird waddling on the side of the road, and when I drove closer she had a whole gaggle of floofy yellow babies with her!
Going slow can help us avoid accidents and injuries that could have lasting and traumatic repercussions.
Don’t hold up traffic, but consciously slow down when looking, turning, going through neighborhoods, etc. Today I saw a bird waddling on the side of the road, and when I drove closer she had a whole gaggle of floofy yellow babies with her!
Going slow can help us avoid accidents and injuries that could have lasting and traumatic repercussions.
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Deepen Your Understanding: When we drive mindfully, we improve our concentration, strengthen our patience, enhance our sense of wellbeing, and connect more deeply to the world around us. We can invite mindfulness into our other daily activities to extend our practice, improve our mood, and make daily tasks more enjoyable.
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