Allowing a Better World for Our Children
Beginner’s Mind
"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them.” Albert Einstein
I teach Mindfulness to adults. My niece teaches Mindfulness to children. Our experiences are extremely different. While the children love the practices and ask for more, the adults are quick to quit when asked to “find beginner’s mind”. Beginner’s mind is the opposite of expert’s mind. It involves becoming aware of our preconceived stereotypes, prejudices, and opinions.
I understand that as we age, the baggage that we all carry can be difficult to unload. We don’t even notice that we are carrying heavy loads that are weighing us down because that heavy load provides a sense of “normal” for us. And as anyone who has studied Psychology 101 knows, that sense of “normal”, even with all its discomforts, is familiar, and familiar feels “safe”. Change, then, even when it would greatly lighten the load of baggage, feels “unsafe” because it is not familiar.
When I explain to the adults that Mindfulness is about awareness (and that includes awareness of all kinds of feelings), so that it is totally normal to feel some anxiety when acknowledging uncomfortable feelings, but that is part of the process of healing; the majority of adults never return to class.
