"Don't Know" Mind

Today a yoga student was struggling with a seated twist. Actually she'd given up and was sitting there when I went over to give her an alternative pose. Before I could make the suggestion, she uttered, "I can't do it." I went ahead and told her I had another option in mind, but it was clear she'd assumed I was going to try to get her to do the pose I'd originally instructed. Her mind was made up the second she saw me walking over.

I've been thinking about this a lot and reflecting on something I did in my personal life today that was similar. I made an assumption about what someone was thinking that wasn't accurate. I caused myself some unnecessary suffering in the process, and I was humbled in recognizing myself in my student, which happens often in my teaching. (I learn so much and am often reminded of the saying, "We teach that which we most need to learn." Yes, indeed.)

The concept of don't-know mind, which my student and I both needed today, comes from Buddhism, and the idea is fairly simple: Quiet the mind in order to open the mind. In practice, it's more challenging than it sounds, and in life it can feel nearly impossible. With some practice, however, the benefits can be enormous.

To me, don't-know mind--also called beginner's mind--is about getting out of your own way. We all have preconceptions about the world around us and the people in it based on our life experiences, and let's face it, we're all quite limited by the boundaries of our lives, regardless of who we are and where we've been. Considering that, imagine how limited our thinking must be, how closed off we are to life's possibilities.

In order to cultivate don't-know mind, we have to first become aware of our "knowing mind". In other words, we have to learn to catch ourselves assuming, expecting, judging, anticipating, etc.--we have to learn to notice our mental activity, and once we notice it, then it starts to dissipate. That's when the mind can begin to settle down and open up.

Needless to say, this is a process. Mindfulness practice isn't something one can do once or twice or 100 times and be done. You never arrive, so to speak, and that's ok. It's the journey as they say. And if you practice, you might suffer a little less. That's worth it, right?