Before I started studying ki-aikido I was an ... ummm, let's say... aggressive driver. I tended to drive fast, run lights that were only freshly red, share my dissatisfaction with drivers who impeded my progress, etc.
I had a 30-minute drive each way to and from the dojo, and I always seemed to be running late, even though I have a compulsive need to never be late. Needless to say, when I rushed into the dojo, got changed and hurried out on the mat, my blood pressure was always elevated, my heart was always racing and I was always in a very hostile mood.
And then ki class would begin. :-)
As time went by, I noticed that the drive home was always more pleasant than the drive to the dojo. After a period of a few months, I think, I decided to try being calm on my way TO class, so that it wouldn't be such a shock to come in from the street and onto the mat. I started giving myself extra time to get there and I practiced breathing as I waited at each of those stoplights that I would formerly have sped through. I soon realized that I was enjoying ki class even more when I arrived to it already calm.
I then began trying to extend my calmness earlier into the day and to retain it longer and longer after each class. I expanded my calm awareness throughout the day until, eventually, I no longer saw mat time as any different than time off the mat.
Nowadays, I drive the speed limit, slow down to a stop for yellow lights and wave in a smiling, friendly manner to those who drive as I once drove. MBU (mind-body unification) has become part of me in all aspects of my life ... or maybe I'm just growing soft as I amble into middle age. :-)
Keep one point,
Jake Jacobe