Lição 1
Seeing Through The Eyes Of A Child
In this first session, we experience what it is like to see through the eyes of a child. So firstly, we return to the start, exploring the origins and meaning of “Beginner’s mind” and the intentions we hold when we embody this mindset and attitude in daily life. I will then share some of my encounters with beginner's mind, in present time, and early life.
You will also learn ways to engage your beginner's mind right now - by recalling poignant experiences and asking yourself some compelling questions. We will end by setting our intention, our goal, to reunite with our beginner's mind.
Lição 2
A Window Made Of Chocolate
Today, we'll explore how beginner’s mind can really fuel your imagination and creativity. How it can ignite sparks of curiosity throughout our daily lives, helping us see greater possibility in ordinary things and really enhancing our appreciation for the extraordinary moments.
We’ll share a mindful practice, which you can do any time in daily life and which doesn’t require you to change your routine. And by considering some of the many other ways we can apply this practice, we open ourselves up to greater possibilities and moments of awareness. Move one step closer to reuniting you, with your beginner's mind.
Lição 3
It's A Walk In The Park
How often do we wake up and 'really' notice the morning? What everyday things or routines pass us by, and with them, opportunities for greater connection, presence, and wonder? Today, we’ll share some of the many opportunities to cultivate your beginner’s mind in daily life.
We'll consider the things we encounter upon waking up and how ‘seeing them as if for the first time’ can change our perception and experience. We’ll take a walk in a park and share the possibilities, abundantly available when we step outside. And we’ll share a short visualizing practice to help discover something new or old, for the very first time.
Lição 4
The Menu Is Not The Meal
This simple, yet powerful concept will help deepen our present moment experience, of new or old things - engaging fully with our direct real-life experience, rather than through a lens or indirectly. Once we have explored its meaning, we will apply it to different aspects of our life, sharing a four-course meal in which we all might find nourishment. It will help us to see the things we might take for granted, our judgments and assumptions, and the things we might easily miss. And by engaging more with our direct experience, we will discover a more wonderful connection, more vitality in the mundane, and more opportunity and meaning in the choices we make.
Lição 5
Giving Your Expert Mind A Rest
Being the eternal expert is tiring and self-defeating. And not just because we can't always be the expert. But because we are biased as humans, and we lose out on learning opportunities.
Today, we will seek one of the most reliable sources of inspiration for beginner’s mind - others! Those we share this planet with - our families, friends, colleagues, and pets. We’ll discuss a reason why ‘+only ever considering our own knowledge and expertise can be limiting. Then together, we’ll do a short mindful breathing practice, to make us more open and receptive, working on three new ways to develop your beginner’s mind.
Lição 6
Starstruck By Your Beginner's Mind
Some moments in our lives truly stand out. They leave us mesmerized, spellbound, with a deep sense of connection to the world. They may already have happened, or have yet to arrive. But they happen.
Today, I will share a few stories of connection with my beginner’s mind and how these began at an adventurous and memorable point in my early adult life. And how one moment, in particular, left a powerful and lasting impression, which I revisit to this very day.
We'll end by sharing two places of cosmic connection universally available to us all. I hope you enjoy discovering them too.
Lição 7
Seeing Possibility In Crashing Waves Of Misfortune
Life’s difficult or challenging moments can sometimes leave us feeling like the world is against us. Moments we wish to forget, to erase from our memories. We rarely view these as opportunities for personal growth.
And with no shortage of difficulties in life, it is easy to become overwhelmed by crashing waves of misfortune. So, instead of going under, together, we will explore a new way of appreciating these moments. We will change the narrative and view them as a part of our learning, rich with potential and possibility. We’ll mindfully pause to create space for difficulty and end by reflecting on how we can view them with an open-minded and curious perspective.
Lição 8
A Trip Down Your Memory Lane
Sometimes, we feel fresh out of ideas, bored, or lost for inspiration. Low on energy and motivation. Happiness and joy - a distant memory. So today, we will once again walk in our childhood shoes, recalling how we genuinely delighted, in new and old experiences. How we could relive those very same experiences again and again, with as much energy, vigor, and enthusiasm each time. Recalling our resilience, our boundless creativity, and imagination, our rarely 'seeking something else to make it better' attitudes until we were run off our feet, ready to sleep, wake, and start again.
We'll also suggest three ways you can awaken your inner child.
Lição 9
Rewiring Your Beginner's Mind
Many of us may feel like life and learning 'goes downhill' after a certain age. But why is this?
Today, we will explore why we have been conditioned to feel this way and why our beginner’s mind and brain can stimulate a healthy and enquiring capacity for lifelong learning and development. We'll share more examples of the ‘expert mind’ at play, and how certain biases and prevailing beliefs we hold can make us close-minded.
But we can change this. We'll prove it by finishing with a simple breathing practice, to simultaneously reduce stress and increase our capacity for attention. Changing your beginner's mind (and brain), one breath at a time.
Lição 10
Reunited With Your Beginner's Mind
From beginning to end, I sincerely hope you have enjoyed this journey. We have shared a lot! So, in our final session, we will summarize many of the teachings and reflections shared throughout the course. We'll also pose some questions alongside, to help you can consider how they may integrate into your daily life and work.
We will then share 10 ways you can practically reconnect with your beginner’s mind anytime, so it becomes a habit you don’t have to think about, making it a mindset you wake up with. An attitude and behavior you embody. Reunited with your beginner's mind.