Interview with Carles Ruiz-Feltrer
CARLES RUIZ-FELTRER is president of the association ConPlenaConciencia and mindfullnes teacher and has participated in the pioneering project CONDUCE CON MENTE to bring the world of mindfullnes to driving with the aim of saving lives.
We have interviewed him to learn more about how this technique can help to avoid traffic accidents.
What can mindfulness contribute to society?
If I had to answer this question in a synthetic way, I would say that the practice of mindfulness can contribute, as highlighted by scientific research, I would highlight the benefits in three areas:
1) Health. It is one of the pillars of well-being, helping to regulate emotions and manage stress in a healthy way. This has a direct relationship with the development of resilience, another of the pillars of well-being. Understanding resilience as the ability of a group or a person to cope, to overcome adversity, even leaving strengthened or transformed.
2) Work. The practice of mindfulness increases attention and concentration acting in a very direct way in:
- The improvement of efficiency and greater awareness in decision making.
- The reduction of errors that, in some cases, can lead to accidents.
3) Social relationships. The continued practice of mindfulness has shown a positive effect on the reduction of aggressiveness coupled with an increase in the ability to connect with oneself and others. By strengthening the capacity for empathy, for example, we can better manage our communication – intra and interpersonal – as well as the management of conflicts that may arise in our daily lives.
Going into the field of mobility, what benefits do you think it brings?
When we move, whether driving a vehicle, as passengers or on foot, we are constantly interacting with the three areas referred to in the previous section. Thus, the practice of mindfulness will allow us:
– Improve attention and avoid distractions that we know are at the origin of too high a percentage of accidents.
– This improvement of attention also results in greater efficiency in our response to an unforeseen situation. What we would colloquially say improves our reflexes.
– Of course, the regulation of emotions and the proper management of stress generated in certain situations – such as traffic jams or in the face of inappropriate maneuvers by other drivers – will allow us to avoid physical, emotional and mental wear and tear.
– avoid physical, emotional and mental exhaustion
– avoid angry and automatic reactions that may pose an added risk to the situation.
If we go to a specific example, what would you say to a person who is taking his driving license, what benefits can he find in mindfulness, taking into account that it is a time of insecurity, fear, in which the person faces many new stimuli at the same time?
In the area of theoretical preparation. The improvement of concentration, as an expression of focused attention will allow you to:
(a) Assimilate better the theoretical parts in the process of obtaining the driving license.
- b) Manage the fear and anxiety that may appear at the time of the exam.
In the practice section, open attention will allow you to maintain a conscious attention in order to:
(a) not getting trapped in the physical and mental block that certain emotions such as fear can produce.
- b) be present and avoid the risks of driving on “autopilot”. One of the consequences of which are distractions.
The CONDUCE CON MENTE course offers the opportunity to gradually introduce the practice of mindfulness from the first session. Being able to apply it not only to the driving of vehicles but also to the “driving” of one’s own life.
