I have been writing about the 9 Attitudinal Foundations of Mindfulness and how we can apply these principles to our lives. They can also be applied to your formal meditation practice.

Why practice Mindfulness Meditation? In my first article in this series, I mentioned all of the benefits of practicing mindfulness meditation. And overall, the value I find in practicing a formal meditation regularly is that it strengthens my ability to be more present in all aspects of my life. This allows me to experience more fulfillment, ease, greater health and more resiliency towards stress and life challenges; including a stronger capacity for compassion, generosity, patience and kindness towards myself and others.

While you are exploring the 9 Attitudes also notice what sensations you might notice in your body. For instance, when I notice I am judging someone or something I notice that my belly and chest is tight, my breathing is shallow, my jaw is tight, and my shoulders start to rise upwards. I will experience similar sensations when I am Impatient or when I am acting as if I am the “expert” or think I already “know” everything there is to know about something or someone.

Then notice what happens in your body when you can soften your stance and open to exploring being Patient………………….Not Knowing…………………..Beginners Mind………………….and when you simply notice you are Judging, without judging yourself for judging, does something in you soften a bit?

BEGINNERS MIND

• Too often we let our thinking and our beliefs about what we ‘know’ stop us from seeing things as they really are.
• Cultivating a mind that is willing to see everything as if for the first time.
• Being receptive to new possibilities…………not getting stuck in being the expert.
• Each moment is unique and contains novelty and new possibilities.

By: Jon Kabbat-Zinn – taken from “Full Catastrophe Living.”

Out of all of the 9 attitudes, Beginners Mind is the most powerful one for me. When I can truly step into experiences, bringing with me an attitude of Beginners Mind, then my whole world opens up into magical surprises!

I try to be alert to the danger of “knowing” when doing something repetitive that I have done before and think I know “who they are, how they will behave, how it is or what will happen.”  This could be meeting up with an old friend or colleague, going shopping or to my yoga class or the gym, cleaning the house or feeding the cat.

Anything you do or people you spend time with regularly will give you an opportunity to see if you are arriving on auto pilot – going through the motions because you think you already know them or the activity so well that you fall asleep to the unknown possibility of something new arising.

I have been pleasantly surprised almost on a daily basis when playing with Beginners Mind. This practice reveals how we can sometimes live in such a tight, constricted and narrow box like existence. When Icatch myself “knowing” what is going to happen – there is a felt sense of energy constriction in my body, I am not breathing fully, and there is a sense of being closed. But when I show up “not knowing” then everything unfolds as if for the first time with fresh aliveness. And I find myself delighted by things I missed or overlooked when experiencing life through the lens of “knowing.”

This thinking we already “know” something or someone also pertains to being the “expert.” I have missed a lot of my life by showing up as the “expert” and not allowing a different point of view or possibility into my awareness. I have found the “expert” in me closes off and blocks anyone that wants to engage in a different way of seeing or doing things. The “expert” is really good at living in their world and “knowing” how life or someone else is. I have experienced this in my life as being like a protective armor where if I show up “not knowing” that might make me seem weak or vulnerable.

And then “seeing everything as if for the first time” brings me a feeling of expansion full of delight, wonder and awe. I practice this first thing in the morning when I walk downstairs to make my coffee in the morning. I begin to notice the awesome painting of 3 horses galloping through the water on the wall in my living room, my beautiful teal colored sofa with the maroon throw, the plant on the table along with Steve’s Djembe and Dumbek. I walk into the kitchen and see the 2 framed photos of Spirit the celebrity horse at Return to Freedom, and the cobalt blue, gold and maroon Middle Eastern fabric wall hanging along with the framed photos of the baby tigers…………….the light coming in through the sliding glass door and the plants in front of the fireplace. All of this beauty is seen every morning as if for the first time! How often do you walk through your home seeing everything?

I play a game with myself, which is that every time I transition from one activity to another, it is like a meditation bell going off reminding me to become present and connected to what I am doing. Getting up from the dinner table to walk into the living room – “wake up pay attention” – feel my feet on the floor, notice my breathing, what am I aware of seeing or hearing in my environment? And I try to remember to do this throughout the day; brushing my teeth, feeling the sensation of the toothbrush as it moves over my gums, the taste of my homemade toothpaste, the sound it makes………………………. 

I highly recommend this little game to expand your experience of what it feels like to be present in the moment and connected to whatever you are doing. Noticing sensations in your body, sounds, tastes, smells and what you can see.

Play with Beginners Mind this week and let me know what you experience.