Beginner's Mind

There is a Zen saying about the secret to success in any new endeavor is to have a "beginner's mind". To approach new tasks completely open to new information and without preconceived notions based upon past experience. Even though I have been knitting off and on since childhood I frequently find that having a "beginner's mind" when approaching a pattern (either new or one that I have made before)pays off in less unraveling and mistakes. It is a humbling process and yet freeing at the same time.

I am attempting to use this process as I dive into learning how to write. Last night I attended the first in a series of five classes given by a local author on developing character and narrative. There are 10 people in the class, many of them accomplished and published writers.... I was delighted to discover that I didn't feel intimidated by their collective proficiencies. When the time came for us to read what we had written in class I felt eager and exhilarated. And the result was exciting. The teacher, Veronica, had read a poem and a paragraph as a prompt. The theme of the chosen pieces was "what can not be spoken". We were given 10 minutes to write. I wrote about an interaction between spouses demonstrating underlying conflict and tension while they are sitting watching TV. My brief piece was met with enthusiasm and accolades. Initially I just thought that they were being "nice" until I observed that their reaction was not universal to all the other readings.

So this leads me to wonder what would it be like to live your life with "beginner's mind"; to approach each day as completely new - devoid of judgments, beliefs or generalizations from previous days' experiences. I still want to remember all that I have learned (it would be exhausting to have to relearn everything and demoralizing - like recovering from a severe stroke) but free from the sometimes paralyzing effect of preconceived expectations. So instead of assuming that there'll be alot of traffic on the way to work, that my boss will treat me as she/he always has, that my kids won't complete their chores and that there will be alot of bills in the mail I would have the freedom to choose differently. Beliefs are not right or wrong; they are simply attitudes, opinions, and experiences that we hold to be true for ourselves. I could choose to believe that I'll never have enough money to pay my bills, never lose that 50#'s, get a job that I like, create a loving romantic relationship, and so on. Or I could choose to believe that I have more than enough money to pay my bills, I will release the excess weight and keep it off, and that my ideal romantic partner is just around the corner.

A friend of mine once said "what's the difference between denial and an affirmation?"
Good question.... I choose to believe that what we focus on increases - whether positive or negative. If I focus on poor health, bills, relationship disappointments than I am sure to attract more of the same. If I instead focus on what I would like to have more of in my life the universe conspires to produce that
as well.