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
900 Comments
I love how you share that abiding by the law is part of honouring the rules that have been set to keep us all safe. That may mean that we need to address the nervous tension that meant we felt the need to race or to put so much into our day that we ended up being late and having to ‘make up time’.
Whenever we are doing something ‘wrong’ there is a tension in our body because we are either worried about getting caught or we are arrogantly smug about the fact that we don’t care about getting caught!! To drive within the speed limit that has been set and considered for the health and safety of the all allows more space in our body and puts less pressure on other people using the roads.
I find it interesting how we can change from driving over the speed limit to simply enjoying the speed limit because of the joy connecting to our body. My driving has completely transformed. I don’t get irritated like I used to when a car in front of me slows down because it has entered a 30 or 40 mph sign. I actually slow down before it does! And I am also aware of the beauty around me and the impact driving with myself has on everything and everyone around me.
Driving our vehicle the way we can – that is, in full connection to the body of the vehicle , driving with such love and care, that is our potential every time we drive off.
There is one less tension to feel when we drive our car according to the law.
I invariably find, if I am in a rush to get somewhere, that there is always a car that will pull out in front of me that is only going about 25mph. So rather than get frustrated or annoyed, when it happens now I have to smile to myself as I clearly know what the message is. And very often the registration plate, or some writing on a van or lorry will have a message for me too!
What a great understanding you came to, that space and stillness is always there inside us, if we allow ourselves to slow
down, connect to and feel it, ‘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.’
I just had an awesome drive of four hours and I am sure it is because I let go of having to be anywhere at any given time and just focused on the present moment. It was interesting when I came across a roadblock and I ventured off route following my nose so to speak. I meandered down some tiny lanes…very beautiful in the autumn colours and met no-one for several miles. I eventually came out at a place that was familiar and actually arrived for my appointment ten minutes ahead of time.
I definitely try to stick to the speed limit and find that if I drive over the speed limit then there is a subtle tension in my body that doesn’t feel great and I know it will leave me feeling more tired when I get home.
I love keeping to the speed limit now .. it mainly started because years ago I got 9 points on my licence in about 2 months for speeding!!!! Yep so a lot more careful now. But what I really hate is road bullying when someone drives up behind you and flashes their lights at you to move so they can go faster, that is when I stay in the lane and do my own thing if they want to go faster they can go round me.
So holding our own space on the road and in any other area of our lives can be seen to be so important.
When we choose to understand rather than react to life there is a whole other level of space and awareness to move through life in
Lovely to read what unfolded when you drove to the speed limit of the area, and let go of the thrill you had previously enjoyed, that I am sure many of us can relate with, ‘To be honest, I think I liked the thrill of it, the rush of it, the feeling I was ‘getting away with it’.
It costs energy to not Obey the speedlimits. It gives a stress to the body as you know the limits are there for safety of all And you go against it.
I love driving with a real awareness of my posture and every movement I make – acceleration, turning corners, stopping and so on. This care also brings attention to the local speed limits. If allowing myself to be pulled out into mental thoughts, I can find myself speeding and having less attention on what is going on around me.
It seems so easy to justify at times why we do not need to follow the general rules and laws in life. But in reality it demonstrates how we as individuals want to be different from others.
I know this feeling of tension in my body when speeding very well. Not that I like speed, not at all but when I am focussed on getting somewhere i just want to get there, or not be late, or just be able get home and well, let’s be honest..shut down from the day. I since have learned to stay present and make my time in the car separate from the point of destination. At times I still get caught in it and speed up but these days the tension in my body more often then not brings me back into the moment.
I am loving driving safe and respectfully, when the push of got to get somewhere is not longer there. I can actually enjoy being in the moment. Lots to learn and observe about life and the way that we drive.
I used to love driving fast and didn’t really take into consideration what impact that had on those around me. I was safe but still liked to hoon around. Over time that has eased of and now I can fully appreciate the respect and care for others in cars, bikes and pedestrians. It feels so much more loving for all when you are being respectful for those around you, even if you are not driving.
Life becomes more simpler and more clearer when we don’t go beyond boundaries that are put there for sane and practical reasons.
I love how when we are open to experimenting how the revelations can pour through. Sometimes I am so surprised at the 180 degree turns that can happen as a result – so worth trying new things or trying things in a new way and then clocking how it makes us feel.
Great observation, experimenting with how we live life, actually refining how we are with our bodies, self care and habits can indeed be transformational, from my experience.
Quite often we speed through life, and not just on the roads. We go into so much drive to get things done, prove this, create that etc… so this blog offers us all much to consider, beyond how we drive on the roads, thank you.
Very interesting to read this blog – I am also finding how much more relaxed I feel when I drive at a pace that is not asking anything of me other than to remain focused on my driving and what is going on around me as I drive. I find when I do this, the speed limit is taken care of very naturally.
We love to focus on the law and following it, or flouting it – both give their own reward. But what would life be like if we concentrated on the universal laws of this world, and made these our guiding principles? We then would not stop speeding to avoid fines but because of brotherhood, connection and energetic integrity demanded it.
Beautifully said Thank you Joseph Barker. Driving can be a time when we become more centred and with ourselves rather than the checkout it so often is.
Recently I was driving at just over the speed limit of 30 miles per hour and what I clocked first was how it didn’t feel great in my body which got me to clock my speed and slow down. It felt so amazing to be with myself as I was driving that I took myself by surprise coming for someone that has been what you might call a boy racer for years.
I have got to say I am actually really starting to enjoy driving slow and not over the speed limit, there is a certain rush in the body and anxiousness that goes with driving too quickly event if it is only a few miles over.
How we are on the road is how we are with people in general even if we cover it up by niceness to people from who we want something.
So speeding and the love it, is basically a form of expressing one’s individuality.
‘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.’ I know this so well, blaming other slower drivers for making ME late, when the truth was or is I should say that I love to be late, I enjoy the tension and thrill of racing against time too, to see if I can arrive exactly on time, or just a few minutes late so I would get incredibly impatient with those who were abiding by the law. This all changed relatively recently when I decided to test myself and just see if I could complete a long journey sticking to the speed limit. I didn’t succeed and my speed did waver but not much and the difference I felt in my body when I arrived home was so significant that I have started to adopt driving at the speed limit most of the time.
It took me a while to get used to a more gentle way of driving in keeping with my other choices, it seems that driving fast becomes quite an intense habit that can take quite a bit to let go of, this alone was for me every reason to do so, and to free myself to choosing in every moment not by my past patterns.
There is a beauty in driving on the speed limit and I find it opens up the body and allows for no tension. I get the same feeling with being early for appointments, or when I catch the train or plane. It stops the nervous anxiousness.
I have recently been asked to have a little black box fitted into my car so that the insurance company can monitor how I drive – it was nearly a thousand pound cheeper that way so I said yes. At first I was a little nervous but now I am more then ok with something monitoring me, it means I need to be more present and more in my body whilst driving which can never be a bad thing.
It is so true Anne and such a beautiful point to explore, that in our stillness there is an incredible spaciousness to appreciate, confirm and be in awe of along with the magic of how it feels to magnify this quality through our movements.
I used to love driving fast trying to get to my destination as fast as possible, and see if I can beat the traffic, but I have noticed lately if I try it now it makes my body feel racy and on edge. I can now feel the speed that my body is comfortable with and if I go over this I soon drop back. There is a definite flow when driving, an order that people drive to, and if we go over this, it can not only cause chaos in our bodies but it disturbs the natural flow that is all around us.
These feels like a beautiful example of divine obedience and living to a natural flow and order in life.
Yes agreed – a great reflection of how our bodies are already divinely geared to be at one and in rhythm with the order of the universe. It is only we that have applied the brakes or seek to race ahead so as to indulge in the self-created identification of the illusion of being in control.
The way we drive our cars is a great reflection as to how we are within our own bodies. To feel steady, sure of ourselves, present and stillness guarantees a journey of joy and beauty.
There is so much to be said when we turn the ignition on. Does this give us a marker of how our body is feeling at the start or end of the day?
That’s true because I’ve noticed if I’m not steady it reflects in the way I drive and the confidence I have while out on the road.
I have definitely settled down with my driving habits over recent years and the more present I am with myself the more relaxed I seem to be with it. There are also different feelings to note on different journeys about when to take it really easy and when to get on with it, and I feel that it can all be constellated right down to the exact moment I arrive and who I meet or where I can park, if I really let myself feel into it.
A couple of years ago I went back to New Zealand and one of the first things I noticed was that everybody drives at the speed limit of 100km/h as it is so easy to get caught and loose your licence, at first I found this frustrating because it seemed so slow as it is about 60mph and in England the open road speed limit is 70mph and you really can drive a lot faster than that most of the time. After a while though when you do get in the flow I noticed how much nicer it was when everyone is going the same speed and there wasn’t those darting in and out causing tension and aggravation.
It’s my experience too that – “this sense of stillness and space is always there, living within me, if I allow myself to slow down and feel it.” And that applies in all areas of life, if I allow myself to connect with and come back to it.
Yes, there is a quality that is always there for us, waiting for us to ‘get in sync’ with it so to speak. When we do not keep our foot on the break and do not speed ahead we are exactly where we need to be and the body is left to be in one with the Universe.
When I am running late for an appointment or work that is when I tend to want to speed to make up the time I have wasted by not giving myself space to get there before time. When I drive like this or are a passenger in a car running late then my whole body feels like it is pushed forward and every little obstacle or slow driving causes irritation. When I give myself space to get to where I am going in plenty of time it sets up my whole day to run the same way.
Yes I agree Aimee. It’s well worth giving ourselves that extra time on a journey so that we create space from the outset. There is an allowing in this that makes everything more harmonious somehow.
I appreciate the spaciousness you felt when abiding by the law and driving in the speed limit – my experience is that I can tie myself into knots so I don’t speed, the exact opposite of spaciousness. I too used to speed, whenever and wherever and there is obviously a different lesson for me to learn here.