Inspiration

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What is the Beginner’s Mind?

The beginner is blissfully unaware of the pitfalls of this form or that; and so their mind does not stop and they move in a natural way. Unfortunately this beginner’s mind slips from our grasp no matter how much we try to hold on to it and may take years of diligent practice achieve, and for many it is never achieved again.

This could be why many people flitter from one thing to another; at first enthralled by their own extraordinary ability and then blaming one teacher after another for its loss.

When one practices discipline and moves from the beginner’s territory to immovable wisdom, one makes a return and falls back to the level of the beginner. -Takuan Soho

When you study an art, be it martial or otherwise, you are taught diverse ways to move and act; how to hold the sword, racket, bat, or paint brush, and where to put your mind and therefore it stops in many places. Then when you move you are extraordinarily discomforted. After many months and years of training and practice one’s posture or the clinical manner of holding this or that do not weigh heavily on your mind and the mind no longer stops and becomes as it was at the beginning; when you knew nothing and had yet to be taught.

The beginning therefore is the same as the end and is also known as the state of No-Thought-No-Mind. More on that on another day.

Again, we can speak with reference to your own martial art. As the beginner knows nothing about either his body posture or the positioning of his sword, neither does his mind stop anywhere within him. If a man strikes at him with the sword, he simply meets the attack without anything in mind. -Takuan Soho

The mind does not stop he simply meets the attack without anything in mind

“B” is for the Beginner’s Mind

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Blogging from A to Z…it’s coming…April 2012

What to expect in April:

Profiles of people who inspire me or I admire

Reviews of books, films, music,…blogs (leave a comment if you would like to feature!)

…and opinion pieces based on a eclectic selection of topics that I find engrossing or alarming

See you on Sunday the first of April

A Fettered Mind

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Voice in song lyrics

Augie March’s song Farmer’s Son came up on shuffle on my iPhone today and was reminded how cleverly they infuse their lyrics with voice. Even some of the words they use, there are so few used in a song they all have to be good, e.g. Shirk. It is one of the singles taken from their  Watch me disappear album.

I’ve always enjoyed music from artists who tell stories in their songs; Billy Bragg, Paul Dempsey, Paul Kelly, Tim Friedman, Bjork, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Killers, Lisa Mitchell, Peter Gabriel… where do I stop!

AlbumCover - website

For more information on the band Augie March see  www.augiemarch.com.au

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How long is now?

 

Once again I’m drawn to the question of “How long is now?”

Now is a moment, each of them stacked in my memory; their weight affects me either as an anchor – holding me stable, or others with a kinetic energy that keeps me moving towards a goal or destiny.

Each moment of intersection between time and place that passes is gone forever and only exists because we have our memory.

Without memory there is only now.

What about some lesser animals that live predominately by instinct. They would have less put away – just enough to help them survive until the next breeding cycle, or long enough to nurture their offspring to maturity or independence – never looking further forward than their next meal; their next breath; their next heartbeat; their next thought.

Watching simple creatures like this would be f-ing boring so imagine its excitement when it discovers creatures who plan, and learn, and care about their role in the place they inhabit? It would try to help them, let them know it is here, that it exists.