Start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.
I wake early this morning, with these words running through my mind. They are the opening lines to the song Do Re Mi (Doe A Deer) from the movie ‘The Sound of Music’. Yes, Julie Andrews singing me awake.
Then I think about knowing things, and not knowing things, and beginner’s mind, and how much I prefer to Know (yes, capital K). So much for going back to sleep at this point. My mind is awake and already playing. I decide to let my mind play, and see what shows up.
The Zen Buddhist Master Shunryu Suzuki taught beginner’s mind. The book ‘Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind’ is a collection of his talks. I have read it a few times. Some of it I understand. Some of it baffles me. Every time I read it, the parts that I understand and the parts that baffle me change. I am a different person each time I read this book, years passing between one reading and the next. The part that always sticks with me, and that I always understand, is beginner’s mind.
Beginner’s mind is essential for me. It is where I am when I create my drawings and when I write these words you are reading. I cannot be a creator without it.
When I am in beginner’s mind, I am present, aware of my body, my thoughts, my feelings, my environment. I am HERE. My mind is open, receptive, allowing of whatever comes. I find it interesting that I can be like this when I am creating, because this is not my usual way of being.
