Beginner's Mind
Article by 430AMLab Editors
“The beginner’s mind is the mind of compassion. When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless.”— Shunryu Suzuki
A beginner's guide to meditation written by a beginner.
WHY MEDITATE?
Meditation is a powerful tool that facilitates a change in the relationship one has with one's own thoughts and emotions.
In this article, I would like to focus our attention mainly on the practice as I have personally experienced it - which is as a beginner - with the hope that sharing my experience will aid and encourage other beginners on their path.
An abundance of literature and resources exist on and about meditation and other mindfulness practices that can be accessed with very little effort these days. After all, the practice has almost certainly been around for many thousands of years and has infused human civilizations for as long as they have existed.
In a more contemporary sense, some may be interested in seemingly non-spiritual reasons to meditate. I do not believe this can be overstated in the time we live - when the advent of "thinking" technology - that will be smarter than us - challenges our conceptions of: "What does it mean to be human and engage with society in a modern context? " and "How do we navigate the human/human and human/tech landscapes."
Yuval Noah Harari - a modern-day philosopher and important social commentator summed up meditation or knowing oneself - like this:
" Now you have all these corporations and governments that, as we speak, they are trying to hack you. And if they reach a point, and they are very close to the point, when they know you, better than you know yourself they will be able to basically sell you anything they want, whether it's a product or politician. And that's very dangerous. "
WHAT IS MEDITATION - REALLY?
The way I like to think about meditation is as a daily discipline - in which we confront our thoughts with the aim to observe them with directed awareness, objective detachment, and non-judgment.
Personally, I have a simple aim in this daily confrontation which is the dissolution of self ( destruction of my ego ) in an effort to better understand the reality of the present moment / LIFE. “The beginner’s mind is the mind of compassion. When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless.”— Shunryu Suzuki.
If you make it through this guide with the intention to understand, I promise things will become clearer for you. Hopefully, with this clarity - we can apply compassion and wisdom to our present circumstances. The funny thing is ... I am a better person even in my daily attempt at this - regardless of my success or failure on any given day.
“If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything, it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few. ” — Shunryu Suzuki
HOW TO MEDITATE
I have been meditating for more than 3 years now. Over that time, I have gradually and consistently increased the duration, frequency, and effectiveness of my sessions.
In meditation terms, 3 years is really no time at all. However, I have come to understand that to be a beginner is not necessarily an unpleasant status to obtain.
In some circles, a meditative session is referred to as “sitting” and repeated meditative sessions over time called a “practice”. For example, someone may ask you " Did you sit today?" or "How is your practice going? "
I have found that these terms "sitting and practice" are not without deliberate meaning. The stillness of intentionally sitting ( with posture ) forces one's attention away from the distraction of the physical and onto the distractions of the mind where the real work of meditation can begin.
I have come to describe my experience in this way - "Meditation is an act of destruction."
Let me explain. At the heart of every meditation are thoughts. Specifically my thoughts. In order to begin the process of better understanding myself, I must first separate the concept of "me" from my thoughts.