"Beginners Mind" is talked about a lot in Buddhism and Yoga Traditions. But how can we translate this perspective into our dancing? Most people feel very awkward and even vulnerable when beginning something new and that is normal. But often people want to hurry as fast as they can to get past being a beginner so that they can not look foolish anymore and to therefore feel more comfortable and confident. We want to "Master" something or become an expert. Nothing wrong with that either. But what people fail to realize is the power in the process and that the process should never be pushed past to achieve a self congratulatory label of "Master". To do so leads to ego and a closed mind which is not open to growth and possibilities. A true Masters Mind aims to embody Beginners Mind always and completely because discovery and growth is the goal. Once a person embodies Beginners Mind they discover just how deep the rabbit hole goes and that it indeed goes on forever. This leads to a better quality of experience. The person is no longer rushing and wanting to be somewhere other than where they are. Indeed yogis and people who meditate must start from exactly where they are and so must dancers. Being here now from exactly where you are coming from is a great power which puts you in the position to make use of all of your strengths. It allows you the ability to gently see and accept your weaknesses so that you may encourage and strengthen your weaknesses into strengths
There is much magic in being a Beginner. Even if it's something you have done for years and years you can cultivate Beginners Mind. It cultivates and infuses your practice with fresh energy to motivate you to continue. A curious mind never tires of finding what is around the corner to discover. In this way we study and practice for the sake of it. For our own growth and for the growth of others rather than a self involved form of practice to out do and crush the competition. If we practice in this way Dance becomes Yoga. A supreme experience of union within. Whether a person has spiritual beliefs or not this way of thinking and practicing leads to a solid and committed practice which means that we have achieved success. We often do not continue with anything if it does not serve our deepest interests for the long term. Practicing Yoga, Meditation, Weights or Belly Dance for only competition or only to lose weight will usually cause burn out. To avoid burn out the practice must feed something deep inside and all of us need our curiosities to be fed. We all need that feeling of discovery and magic because when we have that, then all of the world lights up and looks different. The world becomes not so much of a dreary place and that is how the power of the Beginners mind works. Without it a practice will likely be difficult to grow for it to thrive.
When we begin if we have already made our minds up about something we are closed to growth and to discovery. If we need so much to be an expert we push past the foundation of beginning which is where all of the substance of any practice lives. We might never actually know what anything is including ourselves if we do not cultivate Beginners Mind to be open to new ways of thinking, seeing, feeling and perceiving.
With Beginners Mind we also get to do something that we need very much. We need to have the ability to take an honest look at ourselves to see our imperfections and be ok with it. To be so ok with it that we aren't happy covering it up. The Beginners Mind takes risks and puts it all out there for people to see. It cultivates an almost fearless quality. We know that we may have trouble with something but we know from experience that what we couldn't do before grew into something more. We know that we can do it from experience because even if what we are doing is new in a lot of ways it is no different. It's the same process and all we have to do is invest our time, energy and concentration to see our growth manifest.
We tend to think that we want certainty, solidity and safety. We are human and of course we want and need these things. But we also need the opposite in order to thrive. We need to not know sometimes and to wonder what's next. It may feel a little terrifying to not know where or what you'll be doing a year from now even if you make a plan but at the same time it's exciting! What will tomorrow bring? Or next year? Who knows what great things, places and practices I could discover!
Sometimes as we age or as we develop years of experience with something the way we perceive the world and our lives becomes muted and dry of energy. In some ways we embrace a kind of perception that feels depressing though we call it a symptom of ageing and nothing being new anymore. It's true but this only means that we need to remember the kind of sight we had as a child or teen-ager. When we were the ultimate beginner in everything! The kind of sight that endlessly wonders and is curious because they know they have so much to discover. A person can live one hundred years and still be capable of being in awe of something they never discovered before but only if they look. To continue in what we do and to be able to commit ourselves to it we can find may ways to keep it fresh even as our practices become more and more seasoned. We deeply need to have possibilities. When our possibilities run dry often we lose our sense of hope.
A person with Beginners Mind honors the Beginner in everyone and loves to see people learn something new and to "begin" because it's magic! It clears away notions of status, celebrity and one up man ship. All that matters is the dance for the sake of dancing. The art for arts sake. It can be easy to let extra pesky intentions get mixed up in our reasons for doing something. But it's up to us to question them and to filter them out for quality practice, quality community, and quality life.
The Beginners Mind in me honors the Beginners Mind in you!
