It’s spring and, naturally, our minds turn to the new; the little green shoots bravely poking out from the barely thawed ground. Nature, as she often does, shows us the way.
Our theme in today’s Sanctuary Sunday class was Emergence. It seems an appropriate homage to this time of year.
How can we practice with a sense of freshness and newness, even if we are feeling dull? Even if we are feeling that practice (or life) has become routine and rote? We can practice Beginner’s Mind. This is, essentially, a willingness to look at everything with a fresh eye. As if we were newborn. What if you had never drawn a breath? How amazing to feel the rush of life into your lungs. What if you had never run cool water into a cup and taken a sip? You see? It’s all incredible. If we only let it in and let it be so.
We can practice Beginner’s Mind on our mats in this way:
Sit. Close your eyes. Now draw in your breath and really sense this breath. Just this one. See the breath as if it were the first breath ever drawn. Let the miracle of this One Breath infuse your lungs, your cells, your heart. And then, on the release, notice how the exhale is different from the inhale. How the exhale brings a different sense of expansion – outward. Perhaps as you allow your perception to rest within each breath, you will notice that there is a tiny gap at the end of the exhale and at the top of the inhale. Maybe not. Who knows? Only you. In any case, that might be another insight. Practice in this way for your next few sits. See what arises.
Beginner’s Mind is also quite useful to bring in when you are considering change. For example, you might say, well I love the taste of this or that. Or I love being with so and so. But. If you come at a routine situation with pure Beginner’s Mind, you may notice that there are things that aren’t so wonderful that you have just “lived with.” Perhaps it is time to reexamine them. OR maybe there are things that are routine that you really don’t much like (say, doing the dishes). Try bringing Beginner’s Mind to those activities. Feel with your body – let the full experience in. You might find real pleasure in something you once busied yourself through.
Everything is fodder for Beginner’s Mind. The wonder is how your heart and mind can open with just this “simple” practice.
“In the Beginner’s Mind, there are many possibilities. In the expert’s, there are few.”
Shunryu Suzuki