Ep. 24: Beginner's Mind - Practicing Enlightenment Meditation

"Beginner’s Mind" is a phrase used in Zen to point to that state of innocent simplicity that exists before our discriminating mind parses the indivisible One into the ten thousand things. In Christian terminology we might call it living in the paradise of the Garden of Eden before our fall from grace.

Conceptually, it can seem difficult to understand and impossible to realize. But intuitively understood by the True Self it is effortless, joyful and simple.

In this half hour guided meditation we attune to that simplicity and joy. We return to our beginner’s mind. We remember what it is like to live in our natural grace.

Simply by utilizing the tool of the breath — that fundamental ever-present movement of life — we see that grace is always here. We recognize that each and every moment is an invitation to peace. We start to experience how each moment is an opportunity to let go of our restless ego and participate in the miracle of awakened being.

This meditation brings the perplexing concept of enlightenment into something practical and experiential, as we attune to the liberated awareness that is always and already present. This is in stark contrast to the spiritual seeker’s often natural instinct of turning enlightenment into a future goal. Which, as the awakened teacher Byron Katie points out so beautifully, is both misguided and impossible:

“People think that they need to get 'enlightened' in order to be free, and nobody knows what enlightenment is. Yes, it’s in the sacred texts, and yes, this guru or that lama says he has attained it, but that’s just a concept; it’s the story of a past. The truth is that there’s no such thing as enlightenment. No one is permanently enlightened; that would be the story of a future. There’s only enlightenment in the moment. Do you believe a stressful thought? Then you’re confused. Do you realize that the thought isn’t true? Then you’re enlightened to it. It’s as simple as that. And then the next thought comes, and maybe you’re enlightened to it as well, and maybe not.”

This accessible and expansive half hour guided meditation inhabits Katie’s essential teaching, and shows the way to embody meditation as a practical commitment. Make the investment to sit for 30 minutes, and reap the tremendous benefits that come from awakening from the mind’s dream into the pure awareness of being.