Fresh Start
I am supposedly and expert at many things. Name it – yoga, dance, theatre, philosophy…I have an extensive education – two doctorates up my sleeve. I have literally “wormed” through tons of esoteric and performance related books. I’ve authored manuals and dozens of articles in the field of endeavor. I’m still driven by an insatiable thirst of refreshing my knowledge every single day. But the more I long to improve my expertise, the more I fail gloriously. I am at a point, similar to Socrates, when the only thing I know is that I don’t know. Having made this confession at the dawn of the New Year, I feel relieved. I am just sick of being an expert. That’s why yesterday, finally at the age of 40 I decided to learn how to ride a bicycle. Yes, I know it’s the oddest thing to do. Who learns to ride a bike at 40? But believe me it is so rewarding to be a beginner again.
Cycling might be an autonomic instinct for most, but for me it was a delightful exercise in radical balance. You really have to combine balance, pedaling, steering and riding in a straight line simultaneously. I noticed that the more controlling and focused I’d get, the more overwhelmed I’d feel. Once I loosened the grip, I let the bicycle ride me. The challenge is to stay in command, but also out of control. And in the power of paradox you tap the beginner’s mind. It’s a Zen state of mind. I love being a beginner again, I love integrating impossible instructions. I love falling and then starting anew. I love to approach all activities with that sense of blankness and possibility.
I have been fascinated with the paradoxical wisdom of Zen for many years. It is so appealing to so many people because it is not a set of beliefs, but a simple practice of mindfulness that can transform our life.
Throughout the years my Zen practice has taught me to take things one step at a time, to allow myself to be fully present with whatever I do. Whether I brush my teeth, go grocery shopping, or practice yoga I like to empty my mind not to dwell on external issues. We tend to think in sequences. While we eat we are already glued to the T.V. catching up with the latest news, thinking about the bills we need to pay and the stuff that we should do. As we do the laundry we are on the phone or texting, and when we finally go to bed our minds are racing. We are an efficiency machine, and our multitasking urges us to zip through life, leaving us devoid of experience.
The same thing happens when we learn something new. We’re always looking towards what we’ll know or be able to do in the future, instead of focusing on the next step right now. I’m definitely guilty of that. Once we have embarked on the journey we should not be too preoccupied with the final outcome. In a way we are the destination, and we have already arrived.
If we go back to when we were toddlers we’d probably have some faint memories of falling, and wobbling and then plopping down on our bottom again. And we never got tired of getting up and then falling back down. It is with this determination and without the notion of obvious success that we should approach everyday situations. During my most recent bicycle riding lesson I remembered to celebrate falling down as well as getting up – it is part of the journey.
But perhaps the most relevant of all Zen principles to life is how to tap our “Don’t know “mind. In martial arts, a “don’t know” mind is the wisdom of the warrior. It focuses on questions, not answers. It takes away the pressure of prejudging a situation. When faced with a big opponent or a big challenge, we might assume that we will lose out. And when faced with an opponent who seems smaller or weaker, or a challenge that seems surmountable, we might assume that we will be on top. In both scenarios our judgment might be wrong. Don’t know means keeping an open mind and responding according to circumstances, not according to how we assume things will be. A don’t know mind discards all fear of failure and leaves room for intuition.
Take a moment of emptiness before the New Year starts and let go of all “shoulds” from your resolutions’ list. Keep an open mind how to apply your experience to each new circumstance. Let go of being an expert. What you know belongs to the past. Whereas this moment now is new, and offers its unique challenges. Use the spirit of enquiry without getting stuck in preconceived ideas, and listen to others with an open mind. Then you’ll notice how even ordinary things begin to shine.
Yogea Mudra, Breathing and Meditation: Fresh Start
This Yogea practice integrates breathing and mudra to induce a lucid state of mind, open to new possibilities. A creative visualization slowly guides you into suspending the mental fluctuations and experiencing things as they are – in their naked state. Once tapped this state of blankness creates space for new ventures in your life. The meditation sums up all the main principles of Zen aesthetic and helps access fullness through simplicity while experiencing the extraordinary in the ordinary.
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