States of Wonder!
Mindfulness
3. Adopting a beginners mind
Imagine being a kid again.
Imagine seeing things for the first time. Being filled to the brim with curiosity and adventure!
Imagine you forgot that you thought you knew.
I used to live with a person who given a moment, could turn any mundane object into a fascinating toy.
Often we’d be sitting at the table, there could be anything on the table, a bottle cap, a ring, a fork.
My house mate would just begin to play with it, as if it didn’t already have a predetermined use or maybe despite what we ‘thought’ it to be, it had some other way to amuse us if only we would discover it.
It is like this in meditation also.
Each moment is unique and holds a multitude of unique possibilities.
If only we would open our mind to it.
Often we allow our belief that we ‘know’ prevent us from seeing things as they really are.
What would happen if we allowed ourselves to ‘forget’ what we think we know.
It is important to remember this every time we practice.
This way we can be free of expectation and allow us to be receptive to new possibilities.
Bringing with us a beginners mind reminds us that every moment is unique. No two moments can ever be the same. As long as we are aware, we might actually notice the amazingness of each and every moment as it comes.
“Are you able to see the sky, the stars, the trees and the water and the stones, and really see them as they are right now with an uncluttered mind? Or are you actually only seeing them through the veil of your own thoughts and opinions?”
– Full Catastrophe Living – Jon Kabat-Zinn
Next time you’re out an about. Try looking at your world without your conditioned thoughts. Try seeing a person you know as if for the first time.
How would that feel?
See the world as through the eyes of a curious and adventurous child. What a miracle it all is!
The Solstice Space 