I have always loved to speed. I never drive so fast that I could lose my licence, and never recklessly, but rarely abiding by the law with respect to the speed limit.
I drive powerful cars and I drive safely, but I do like to open up and go fast on an open road. Driving fast like this creates a certain tension in me. I used to pride myself on being able to sense the presence of police cars and would slow down just before coming upon them on the other side of the crest or around the bend. I rarely got caught. To be honest, I think I liked the thrill of it, the rush of it, the feeling I was ‘getting away with it’.
But I have since come to realise that driving in this way creates a narrowness of focus. I am always focussed on the speedo, the sides of the road – looking for likely hiding spots for police cars – and focussed on the other cars, wondering if they are well-camouflaged or unmarked police cars.
I am also always coming up behind slower moving vehicles, so they are always ‘getting in my way’. This leads to impatience, frustration, and sometimes even internal rage.
The other day, I was driving to an appointment. It was a sunny day during school holidays, and I was driving on a highway the police love to patrol. I started off as usual and then thought: “Why not just drive on the speed limit?” So I did.
Driving on the Speed Limit – a Revelation
I drove along at 100 km an hour, instead of 120, and slowed down for road works and built up areas, always travelling within the law and abiding by the speed limits. This created an enormous ease and openness in me and my whole awareness opened up. I was not just focused on the road and on my speed, but was able to be aware of and appreciate my own self, my body and everything around me.
Because I was driving at the same speed as everyone else, the whole road opened up around me. No-one was getting in my way, I had all the space and time in the world, and I was on the road with everyone else, sharing the space with everyone equally.
I felt a great stillness, and a great sense of joy.
What do I mean when I say I felt a great stillness?
I am usually a little racy, on edge, my mind going quickly, jumping forwards and back in time… and all that even though I no longer choose to drink coffee or eat sugar! I sometimes try to fit too much into each moment and so am often running late, rushing to complete tasks and get to the next one.
In this space that I created by driving within the speed limit, just by allowing myself to drive within the road laws, rather than forcing myself to go faster to get somewhere, this raciness fell away and I was left feeling a great stillness and spaciousness within me. And I had the understanding that this sense of stillness and space is always there, living within me, if I allow myself to slow down and feel it.
And then I wondered why I had spent 35 years speeding while driving, depriving myself of this pleasure; the pleasure of abiding by the law. I realised that the law is there, not to annoy me, or to be flouted for the sake of it, but to keep us all as safe as road laws can, no matter what kind of car you have, what the weather conditions are, and how much traffic is on the road.
What part of me thinks I am above or exempt from this law? The part that thinks I am smarter, more alert, have a better car – that the law does not apply to me?
What part of the law says that it is for everyone but me? Abiding by the law comes from the understanding that we are all equal, and that the law is for everyone, equally so; and if we choose to break it, no matter how special we think we are, there will be consequences for us, as there are for everyone else.
This has been an amazing and humbling experience for me, and a great lesson in true equality. And to experience stillness within while in motion is a far greater joy than any cheap thrill (which can become an expensive fine!) that I ever had when speeding. Now, all I have to learn to do is leave enough time to get where I am going, as I drive whilst abiding by the law!
I am forever inspired by the life and work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.
By Anne M, Northern NSW, Australia
Further Reading:
Caught Speeding
Driven to Distraction
859 Comments
I have noticed that in the last week or two when driving on the speed limit I can feel that I am sitting steadily in my body and anything more or less is a marker that things don’t feel right.
When we move at a faster speed than we should we feel the overwhelm of the rush and stimulation – life just whizzes past us and we have no connection to it. But when we move at a speed that respects and moves with the flow, the world around us is more spacious because we are in harmony with it
Driving with respect and care for everyone else on the road is super important and part of having harmony on our streets. We may complain when others seem to cut us off or take a short cut in peak traffic but how often do we also contribute to this when the opportunity arises. Are we all just driving for self instead of for everyone?
Being obedient to the law in the temporal world reveals the call to be obedient to the laws of the Universe and live in harmony with all.
It’s like there is a steadiness that can be lived in every aspect of each day, so whether you are at home, at work, in the park or with your family, whether you are at the supermarket, on the bus, or driving in your car, you remain in the same steady constancy of your movements – with no outer influence or inner desire knocking you off track and making you behave in ways that are contra to this natural presence that you are.
I tend to drive too fast but what I have realised recently is how selfish this is. I love coming back to your blog because it confirms to me what I innately know and how being responsible on the road is a reflection of how uncaring I can be.
‘ I realised that the law is there, not to annoy me, or to be flouted for the sake of it, but to keep us all as safe as road laws can, no matter what kind of car you have, what the weather conditions are, and how much traffic is on the road.’ I attended a speed awareness course this year and it really opened my eyes as to why the set speeds are in place and the negative effect of a little bit faster can do in our stopping time, life or death in an accident.
Though I don’t like to be without a car I know driving in lots of traffic is a real lesson in being with others in the world. How we express ourselves in how we drive and are with other drivers is a very revealing or exposing microcosm of how we are with ourselves and others in life. This why I can find it very challenging when traffic is heavy – I can’t just do as I please! Even this, it’ll be so much better with less traffic and people getting in my way, is very exposing of an inequality in my attitude towards others. The same irritation and impatience I have with myself comes out internally and sometimes in how I drive. Toned down greatly from when I used to live where there were few cars out of season but still unresolved and very uncomfortable to feel.
I am not crazy all of the time because for much of it I enjoy just being with others, even stuck in traffic and being altogether knowing how I am has a huge effect on the frustration factor in others. So, writing this, I realise there is more to go, and a real telling of the part of me that’s wanting to race (in my car that’s not even a real option!) that actually no, life isn’t just about me, it’s about us all working together to journey together. I can drop the resentment that I’m not the only one on the road and appreciate each reflection another brings me and also what I reflect back. Though I have recently felt a little edgy or annoyed when driving, I also know what a great opportunity to let go of this urge to dominate, and allow myself to feel what’s fuelling this because I know there is a hurt beneath it all.
Reading the blog I’m conscious of how you drop into the flow, and then everything is at ease… space opens up and all that effort and tension drops away. While I’m not mastered in this (as I still have a habit of being late or trying to pack too much in) I quite clearly know the difference and enjoy that feeling enormously .
Driving is an area of my life I know I need to bring much more commitment to. I’ve had a few people crash into me and not enjoyed the experience but rather than write driving off as something I hate I need to look at all the opportunities it brings. And I do a fair bit of driving during the day so lots of opportunities like this morning’s commute to work. I could feel an ease driving – not so much of the competition to get to work as less traffic during summer holidays. But I noticed my need to be ahead of the queue, just one place, and in the rush to be ahead I lose myself. So on the drive home I didn’t get worked up about which lane would travel the fastest and get through the lights. I stayed in lane and didn’t jump them to stay ahead despite knowing the points to swap queues. What’s coming up to observe isn’t that pretty but it needs to be unpicked as it reflects other parts of my life on a bigger scale. What if I made my journeys ones of discovery – discovering more about what’s me and what is there that is to be let go of so there’s more room for me? So more competition on the roads and raciness, irritation when there’s traffic. This is about all of us using the roads with understanding and care of each other.
Living in a city like London, it is very important not to get caught up in the energy of other drivers as there is so much craziness going on, just recently I have observed that everyone seems to want to drive in the fast lane and about two inches from the car in front. For the first time in my life I have relegated myself to the slow lane because a huge nose to tail is waiting to happen at any second. The thing I have noticed though is that my journeys aren’t actually taking that much longer.
It is tricky in cities or when you are in traffic jam on a 6 hours drive for example. On the one hand I really like going with the flow, so changing lanes is not bad in general for me, but whenever it is connected in arriving faster and being stressed out of that, than it becomes nervous and frustrated. Interesting your observation about the length of your journeys. It certainly feels much more spacious when you arrive, as you did not connect to a goal, but a flow.
So by speeding we narrow our focus, filter people out, and everything gets more dense. Instead of the lightness which comes with space, where we stay in touch with people around us. Doesn’t that also happen in work? Or any doing where we narrow focus our attention on one point, for example a computer?
I recognise his attitude from my past too. Being rebellion and thinking it was my freedom. The opposite is true. Now I live more and more from my stillness I live to obey those traffic rules as an honoring to me snd all others to keep us safe.
When I drive in tension it does feel pretty horrible and this is when I tend to speed up. When I allow time and space for a journey there is an ease and a quality when I stick too the speed limit. I can feel my body open up and it feels great.
The raciness does fall away when we stick to the speed limit and the arms and shoulders don’t tense up. There comes a sense of joy in driving and an opportunity to spend time with yourself in what is often a time short ideas world we live in.
I love the title of your blog Anne for I enjoy driving within the speed limit and have found when the speedometer creeps up over the speed limit I seem to have an inner anxiety gauge that kicks in too making driving less relaxed and a little edgy.
Having learnt my lesson from doing a speed awareness course I have slowed down my driving and interestingly noticed how fast the majority of us do drive, even in very slow limited areas. I’ve also noticed the energy people are driving in, the force and impatience, quite often under-taking me even though I’m doing the set speed limit.. and sometimes blasting their horn. How much my awareness of driving has changed from slowing down. I’m not perfect and still start to put my foot down and can feel why I am doing this… ‘ ah there I go’ and so now can just stop it.
Anne, I have really enjoyed coming back to this article, I can really relate to this; ‘Driving fast like this creates a certain tension in me.’ I have been noticing how if I drive faster than the speed limit that I feel tense, I’m wondering if I will be caught, it feels dangerous and irresponsible and I don’t feel completly in control of the car, more and more I am respecting the speed limit and simply allowing enough time to get places without having to rush, this feels so different and I love arriving places not feel rushed and ahead of myself.
This is a great blog Anne! There would be many who like the thrill of speed and the risky cat and mouse game of where are the Police hiding etc. I love the fact that what you found when you focused on abiding by the speed limit was an inner peace and respect and sense of equality with all drivers on the road and harmony for your inner being.
Love the honesty you share Anne. And it is this kind of honesty that brings the truth to us of how the choices we are making feel in our bodies. Abiding by the law of our bodies is what allows us to live with far greater openness, guided by a universal truth that represents us all, as such allowing us to embrace the greater harmony we are born to live together.
I find taking note of the speed limits , and taking regard for road works, or regard for other driver and road users make the journey feel very short and a pleasure to drive.
Sitting with my daughter as she learnt to drive was a bit of a revelation to me – she is paying so much more attention to the speed limits etc as we are driving. Sobering and a bit of a wake up call.
What part of us thinks that it is okay to get away with things that potentially are very harming for us? This is worth pondering on.
The one that needs reward, excitement, seemingly power and does not want to be in any surrendered state. It truly is a rebel, that sneaks in any little hole to be existent.
‘In this space that I created by driving within the speed limit, just by allowing myself to drive within the road laws, rather than forcing myself to go faster to get somewhere, this raciness fell away and I was left feeling a great stillness and spaciousness within me.’ When we apply this ‘allowing’ to any situation we are allowing ourselves simply to be with ourselves in the present moment doing what we are doing. As you share Anne there is something very lovely that can then happen as being with ourselves in this way we are left feeling the stillness within.
You can feel the wind in your hair when someone speeds past you on the road, and it can actually be quite frightening as a pedestrian to be near this particularly with kids around or lots of people. It’s undeniable that the way we drive creates ripples and can affect everyone we drive past.
Absolutely, it is frightening, when you get passed by someone that speeds. You can feel the hardness and separation and non care towards everybody else. What is it that you are communicating through every move you make.
Speeding and being impatient to get from A to B has been the way I drive for a long time. But recently I have been choosing to deliberately allow myself more time for my journey so that I do not have to rush. When I notice myself tense up, or be impatient with other drivers, I have been remembering how unnecessary and harming such behaviour is, and I have found various ways of supporting myself to return to my normal breathing and movements.
The surprising thing for me was the observation that when I am in my natural flow, I tend to instinctively slow down to the required speed without needing to look at the speed limit signs! This has prompted the realisation that they are not random. They tend to support a natural flow that is well worth observing.
This reminds me of those busy rush hour moments when you might be stuck in traffic and feeling like you will be so late for something you did not think you would be so late for. The trouble is in these moments nearly everyone is thinking the same thing so instead of simply accepting the situation as it is, we are all making it about ourselves and our situation instead of realising that we are all facing and needing support with the same thing! Mayhem and chaos is inevitable with this way of being.
“I had all the space and time in the world, and I was on the road with everyone else, sharing the space with everyone equally.” This is an excellent case study for the benefits of being in rhythm with the order of all around us.
Basically what you say here is that speeding, creates a narrow focus, where it is only about you not getting caught, and excludes other people. They are not in your world. Is this speeding not a metaphor for life, where we speed through live excluding people?
Hilarious! So some people get through life by deliberately creating tension and reciness, and call that joy. While when this raciness would not be there, they would experience Joy and stillness on a parmanent basis. It is the world upside down.
The other week i got a speeding fine. First one ever. It made me stop and realise the consequences of my actions and also the momentum by which I have been living. And then I considered – they call it a speed limit. ie the maximum speed you can go in that area. So some people might drive to a lesser speed but that is totally OK as long as they are not above the speed limit. I used to get frustrated by slow drivers, but stopping and considering this has made me look at them in a whole new way and it also asks me to leave more space between getting places.
I have had a few bumps and scratches this year and instead of being hard on myself I have looked deeper into why I was not present or the root cause of what caused me to hurt my car, this way I develop my driving, my awareness and myself acceptance for myself.
Always great to look at what happens to your car in relationship to yourself. If you view everything what happens in life as a point of evolution, than you can be grateful of what happens instead of being hard on yourself.
The way we drive on the road is the way that we drive ourselves through life, it is a great reflection for us.
Ahh this is a great reminder Elizabeth. And just as I was reflecting on how familiar everything Anne described about the speedy driving was.
Whilst driving today I really noticed the more I am in my body the more solid, present and steady my driving is. Reading this part of me wondered is it an age thing? Meaning now I am older I drive slower (ha ha) but on reflection know this has nothing to do with my age more how much I love me and take my time instead of rushing, including being more present in my body. However, I still do slightly react when cars go way faster than everyone else and the speed limit … need to let go of this one and let them be with that for themselves!
I still occasionally have that feeling of wanting to fly in my car but it doesn’t last too long these days because it creates a vibration in my body and I can feel I am no longer in flow with everything around me, the traffic lights change, a bird flies close to me, I get all kinds of messages to slow me down and be in rhythm with the Universe again.
‘I had the understanding that this sense of stillness and space is always there, living within me, if I allow myself to slow down and feel it.’ I have recently purchased a new car and am having this beautiful experience too Anne, as I too tended to want to’ fly’ when I was driving!
Driving is a great way to check in with yourself about how you are with the flow of life. Do you allow what is there to be – whether it is a slow driver or road works? Do you have trust in timing or are you racing the clock? Have you set a schedule you must meet and then you drive with a need to control and for it all to be as you expected? How we drive can be quite exposing.
I am intrigued by the point you make Anne about the way speeding produces a narrow view. I get how this all consuming intensity produces a false sense of simplicity – like everything has fallen away – it’s just you and the road. This might be enjoyable on a level but is it really true? What would life be like if we constantly marvelled at and enjoyed everything that was around us, not just this zoomed in view? It seems to me we are much more likely to abuse and harm when we think life lives in separate parts. But we are not in isolated lanes at all but part of one big convoy. Your words makes me reflect on the different ways I go for this narrow intensity in my life today.
There is a lot to consider when we are driving and it is all too easy to check out, think ahead for what one needs to do for the day, or reflecting the day that was. Both examples are about not being with yourself when driving. I know that I have not always stayed present when driving. I do use this as a tool to see how with myself I actually am, ie. if i am checking out, if I am wanting to always talk to someone on the phone, just not enjoying being with me, it is very telling that I have lost my connection.
What you share here is what I learned to see during the presentation of Serge Benhayon where he talks about the fact that it is all on life. It does not work if we are social And caring at work or at home for example but in the car we live the other way around. The quality we bring at the worst place is what we bring everywhere just we cover it up then with an act.
In truth it is to bring and live a loving quality whereever no matter where we are.
Love this blog Anne, and I can totally relate. If I drive with the thrill of speed – sure, there’s the trill of the speed but at the same time there’s a tension and there’s no one else but me and the fantasies of my mind jerked up by the adrenalin. I am completely and utterly disconnected.
But if I drive in adherence to the speed limit, I’m driving in adherence to everyone and everything around me, my body open and receipting, and instead of a thrill there is the stillness you describe, and the joy of claiming space on the road along with everybody else equally. It wins over the adrenaline rush hands down.