Beginner’s Mind
I work with leaders to sync their professional development with their inner development. This approach allows us to function stack the work that career requires with the personal growth that life calls forth. One of the foundational principles I emphasize is beginner’s mind. Beginner’s mind is just what it sounds like–the mind of someone who is encountering and learning something for the first time. From this place, we adopt an attitude of openness and lack of preconceptions and thus are more available and intimate with what’s actually happening.
Several years ago I was visiting Morocco and learned a lesson in beginner's mind that has stayed with me ever since. I was walking around the big open air markets of Marrakesh where the culture of selling is very aggressive. Sellers constantly shout to passerbys about their goods and the deals on offer. In one of these markets, a young man walked right up to me and grabbed my shirt saying, “You buy hash.”
“What?” I said in confusion.
“Hash. Hash. You buy hash,” he said.
Taken aback by the situation, I responded, “No. Let go of my shirt.”
“Fuck you,” he replied.
Reacting unthinkingly to the insult, I said “Fuck you” back.
His eyes widened. He gripped my shirt harder and leaned his face in close as he yelled, “FUCK YOU!”
In that moment, time seemed to slow down. I could see the droplets of splittle leaving his mouth and coming toward me but moving slower and slower. Behind the drops of saliva, I could see the veins bulging in his eyes. In the vast spaciousness of the moment, I was suddenly aware of the sensation of his fist on my chest. I felt its warmth and pressure. I was surprised to find it was a pleasurable sensation. And with that realization, I understood instantly that my mind had created a story that made the encounter a problem. The awe of this new perspective washed over me leaving a deep gratitude in its wake.
By the time his spit made contact, my thankfulness blossomed into a grin. “Thank you,” I said, inwardly bowing to him for the profound lesson.
The expression on his face gradually shifted from fury to confusion. He looked at me quizzically and slowly a smile arrived on his face. “Ahhhhhhh,” he said with a pleased look of recognition. He softened and then released his grip. He took his fist off my shirt and offered it between us for a fist bump. I bumped his fist, then turned around and walked away filled with wonder.
Reflecting on the experience, I’m left pondering how many moments in life we create problems and conflicts with our imaginations and, by doing so, obscure invitations for transformation. As leaders, we encounter challenges every day and we project our past experiences onto them. What if we approached them with a beginner’s mind?
And how do we cultivate a beginner’s mind? We focus our awareness on the immediate experience rather than our stories about them. We relate to our interpretations as just interpretations–and not as truth. Easy to say. Very hard to do. To nurture this capacity, I recommend developing a mindfulness meditation practice. In mindfulness, we habituate our attention to notice sensations and thoughts in the moment so that in we can keep our minds from running off with our stories.
