Ask Yentl

Mental Yentl the Meditation Matchmaker Answers your Questions about Meditation

Dear Yentl,
     I'm taking a meditation class and have asked my partner to join me. Several times in fact, but he refuses. He travels a lot with his job, and he claims that driving on the open highway at night puts his mind in a trance-like state, and he says this is the only meditation he needs. I say that's not meditation. What do you say? — Rowena

Dear Rowena,
     Driving at night can put a person in a semi-hypnotic state, owing to the effect of the painted broken lines on eyesight; with speed, repetition and position being conditioning factors.
     Also, for many people, driving for extended periods of time offers them the creative solitude they need, and there are similarities between creative solitude and meditation. Both are conducive to relaxation and pleasure, which open the door to fresh insight and sometimes revelation.
     In defining meditation, however, we must draw the line somewhere: otherwise, meditation would include everything from hang gliding to playing Mah Jong! While meditation methods around the world differ in form, they have several things in common. They all involve coming to some kind of "sacred space," then focusing the mind, the heart and/or other interior energies so as to evoke a specific state of consciousness toward some spiritual goal.
     So I agree that driving is not meditation. — Yentl


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