Having a running commentary whilst driving

Somebody mentioned this and it reminded me of something we used to do in Gestalt, saying “At this moment I’m aware of…..” It was very useful in staying Present. I also remembered the research I did a long time ago with the British School of Motoring into the effect of stress and personality, correlated with passing or failing the driving test. It seemed that those people in my study who were introverted and predisposed to stress, and who were more careful and tended to try hard to get things right, were more likely to fail the test. I proposed that was because they became too stressed under examination and their performance in driving under test conditions was badly affected so they were failed. Whereas those who were extrovert and less prone to stress (usually young men) were more likely to pass the test because they just got on and performed. In conclusion I proposed that we should construct a different kind of driving test to enable the stressed people to perform more to their ability because the young men who were being passed were the ones who were having all the accidents soon after passing their test - they took greater risks and were more aggressive. In retrospect, I guess one thing I might have been saying, was that the introverts were Mindful, but in a self-conscious and self-protective way – so not properly Aware, and the others were Mindful just sufficiently for the self-promoting purpose of impressing the examiner and passing the test. Maybe this says that when we think about being Mindful for a ‘purpose’ we are not really being Mindful, or turning to face the reality of ‘What is’ – otherwise known as being ‘Choicelessly Aware”. The introverts were really focused on the fear of failing, in a self-protective way, and the extroverts were really focused on achieving success in a self-promoting way – both concerned primarily with the SELF. Anyway, to my way of thinking, safer driving equates to more Mindful driving, whatever the circumstances, and there are so many internal and external ways in which we can be distracted from really being present to what is actually happening as each moment unfolds when we drive. I like what Thich Nhat Hanh says we should do when getting into our car - Just sit there and before we even start up, breathe and say….”My car goes fast, I go fast!” A brilliant reminder!! And noticing all those missed and lost moments when we forget to be Mindful and then waking up to what has happened or could have happened, and the commentary and judging of the mind. Scary at times isn’t it? All this driving is a wonderful opportunity for remembering the Mindful Awareness which is available to all of us in everyday life.