Buddhism On The Bike

I first learned of Mindfulness when I visited Chenrezig about a year or so ago. A remarkable woman by the name of Renate Olgivy gave a full weekend course on Taming The Wild Mind. Attending this course was a very worthwhile way to spend a weekend. 

Basically, very basically, being Mindful is all about focusing entirely and intently on what you're doing. For those with a busy, busy, busy mind like mine, mindfulness is a great way to relax. Instead of emptying the mind, as is a popular form of meditation, you guide it towards other things. It's quite powerful and can be applied in many ways.

I found myself riding home impatiently. I was upset with myself for not having taken my car and just wanted to get home as quickly as possible. A truck went past and I was annoyed at the fumes, my helmet was uncomfortable, the squeakiness of my bike was EXTREMELY ANNOYING (worthy of shouty caps!)  and I could bang on and on but you get the picture right? I was basically hunting for things to be annoyed about.

I'm currently reading The Dalai Lama's Cat among many other books. But this is the book I'm most focused on. It has a passage about scientists discovering that people are happiest when they are most focused on the task at hand. Even if the task is unpleasant people will enjoy it more if they focus on it entirely.

So in an attempt to escape my ever darkening mood I decided to try and ride my deadly-treadly mindfully. I'd sat on a floor and practiced mindfulness, I'd lay in bed practicing mindfulness, I've practiced in my office and while driving. But I had never tried it on a bike where one has to be watching a lot of things in order to stay safe while moving forward at a rapid pace! I'm not a free thinker though I wish I was. I'm not a grand creator, I love to be lead and fed instructions but I decided that this time, I'd have to teach myself rather than endure the rest of my ride in bitchy, whiney, self-created misery.

My first thought was safety, how to relax and be safe? Could it be done? Sure! I decided to focus first on what I could hear. Instantly I heard my (noisy) bike. I broke down the sounds and focused on each one separately, then together, then focused on the noise of the cars, then on the cars and my bike together. What else could I hear? The wind in my ears.

Then I focused on 'what can I see?'. Instantly colours became clearer, things were more defined. I could see tiny cracks between the stones in front of me, and dust on the cars. I saw birds in the sky ahead, and buildings I'd not noticed before. The trees were even more beautiful...

After a few minutes I realised I was feeling joyous. I had relaxed completely and was totally having a great time instead of feeling all pissy and annoyed as I had been not five minutes before.

I returned my focus from the happiness to the ride. What could I feel? The pedals under my feet, the seat under my hoohaa, the wind on my face, the resistance of air against my chest, the sun on my face. the feeling of my helmet strap under my chin, my clothes moving around my body, my glasses resting on my snozz.

Then, 'Can I go faster?'. I found that I could. 'Can I sustain this pace?'

Yes I probably could.

'Can I go faster and sustain that pace?'

Probably not.

I found my groove and stayed there.

It was lovely...