It's often said that the mind is a problem-solving device,
And even if there are no problems to solve,
The mind will create them.
Our mind has evolved to protect us in a chaotic and uncertain world.
It wants to know because knowing gives a sense of security.
Except there is much we cannot know,
Far more than we can know.
And thinking we know something,
Thinking we really understand,
Keeps us from investigating and learning further.
A mind that knows is stagnant,
Contracted,
And fixed.
Is this don't-know mind,
This mind of unknowing,
That is most flexible,
Most alive,
And most able to learn,
Grow,
And understand our ever-changing selves and the world?
It is fresh,
Creative,
And expansive.
It has limitless potential.
Let's see if we can practice this mindset and rest in the unknowing.
Get comfortable,
And with your inhale,
Feel your body gently expanding,
Your spine lengthening,
Your chest opening,
And on the exhale,
Relax.
Notice if you're holding any tension,
And see if you can soften it with each breath.
We can start by exploring what it's like to know.
You know your name.
You know where you are right now.
You know where you're from and what's happened in your past.
Feel that knowing,
That certainty.
And now,
What is it like to shift into the unknowing,
To acknowledge the uncertainty of your future?
Notice how not knowing has more of an expansive quality of mind,
A more expansive quality of being.
Not knowing may also have a quality of discomfort.
There may be a bit of anxiety or disorientation in not fixating on anything in specific.
That's okay.
With practice,
We become more comfortable in not knowing.
It just takes time and patience.
See if you can meet this moment with this quality of unknowing,
Not knowing what thoughts or feelings may arise,
Being curious about this moment,
And being totally open to the limitless possibilities of experience.
It can be difficult to stay in the unknowing.
Our mind wants to latch onto ideas and memories.
Anytime you catch yourself holding onto a thought,
Just gently let it go.
Don't push it away.
Don't reject it.
Just stop holding on and tune into a more expansive state of awareness.
Just resting in this unknowing.
Anytime you catch yourself distracted,
Thinking,
Or fixated,
Come back to this unknowing,
This curious exploration of this moment.
Experiencing as best you can in this expansive quality of being,
Can you meet this moment anew?
Feel every breath,
Every sensation as if for the first time.
Try not to attach any meaning to what you're experiencing.
Just allow yourself to have the experience directly without interpretation,
Without association.
Experience each moment fully as if for the first time.
Embrace each moment for what it is without trying to change it.
Thoughts inevitably arise,
But can you get these glimpses of what it's like in between the thoughts?
As we begin to give up this habit of needing to know,
We can slowly begin to know our experience in a completely different way.
Can you simply rest in the mystery of the moment and just catching yourself anytime you're fixated on an idea,
On any experience at all,
And see if you can unfixate,
Let go,
And pay attention to the larger field of awareness?
Simply breathing,
Feel your awareness,
Your mind expansive,
Not holding onto anything,
Not fixating on anything,
But just open,
Free.
Our mind aids us in survival by trying to understand our place in the world and solve our problems.
This can be helpful at times,
But so much is beyond our understanding.
Learning to rest in this unknowing and open to our experience without needing to analyze it can bring about a whole new way of being and a more expansive quality of experience.
Thank you for your practice.
