2940: The Beauty of Adopting a Beginner’s Mind by Cylon George of Spiritual Living For Busy People on How to Not Be Afraid to Start Something New

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[00:01:01] This is optimal living daily episode

[00:01:04] 2940 the beauty of adopting a beginner's mind by still on George of spiritual living for busy people calm

[00:01:12] And I'm just a molecule host and narrator back today with an article from still on George

[00:01:17] So let's get right to it as we optimize your life

[00:01:20] The beauty of adopting a beginner's mind by still on George of spiritual living for busy people calm

[00:01:33] I've always wanted to play that shallow for the longest time. It remained a wish

[00:01:39] That changed a few weeks ago when I finally decided to follow through

[00:01:43] I went online and bought one on the cheap and then signed up for lessons online

[00:01:48] I think the reason why I hesitated all these years was that I was afraid of the idea of being a beginner

[00:01:55] And even though I was already a musician

[00:01:58] Learning a new instrument as an adult felt almost as daunting as learning a new language in our culture

[00:02:05] We tend to dismiss the experiences of beginners

[00:02:08] Maybe except for babies. We don't want to be seen or identified as beginners on the other hand

[00:02:15] We implicitly trust experts and spend much of our lives seeking to be seen as experts ourselves

[00:02:21] But in Zen Buddhism, there's something known as beginner's mind or don't know mind

[00:02:26] This is the perspective of bringing a sense of openness and curiosity to everything we do and everyone we meet

[00:02:33] Even in situations where we think we are knowledgeable

[00:02:36] I've known of this concept for a number of years now

[00:02:39] But it gained a more practical significance as I ventured into the world of stringed instruments

[00:02:45] looking stupid

[00:02:47] When my cello arrived I unpacked it and installed the bridge the unvarnished wooden section which supports the strings and

[00:02:54] Transfers their vibrations to the body of the instrument

[00:02:57] Once the bridge was in place. I excitedly pulled out the bow and began moving it across the strings

[00:03:04] Nothing

[00:03:05] I tried again

[00:03:06] No sound a

[00:03:08] Quick YouTube search provided the answer

[00:03:11] I needed to apply rosin a form of resin that covers the hairs of the bow with powdery

[00:03:17] Slightly sticky substances that allow the bow hairs to grab the strings and cause them to vibrate

[00:03:23] Boy, did I feel stupid. How did I not know this basic fact?

[00:03:28] Even after applying the rosin it took a couple tries to finally get a sound. Well, I was finally in business

[00:03:35] But not yet

[00:03:37] It turns out that producing sounds acceptable to the human ear on any stringed instrument

[00:03:42] Requires good bowing technique which takes many years to master

[00:03:47] To produce a pleasing sound you need to control the weight of the bow on the strings

[00:03:51] The speed of the bow and the position of the bow all need to be combined perfectly and

[00:03:57] Constantly monitored and don't get me started with the left hand

[00:04:00] It needs to become familiar with a fretless fingerboard so that the right pitches can be produced on demand

[00:04:06] It requires amazing muscle memory and impeccable ear to make sure you stay in tune

[00:04:12] It's the reason why most beginning string players are intolerable to listen to

[00:04:17] So in short, I was not quite yet in business

[00:04:21] Might have so much to learn

[00:04:23] The benefit

[00:04:24] It's not easy to become a beginner again

[00:04:27] But in my short time of being a beginner I've begun to notice and experience this primary benefit

[00:04:34] You begin to slow down and pay attention

[00:04:37] One of the hallmarks of becoming an expert is speed a virtuoso violinist can dazzle the eye and boggle the mind by playing

[00:04:45] impossibly fast while making it look easy a

[00:04:49] Mathwiz can perform complex mental calculations in seconds an

[00:04:52] Expert historian can recall every detail of complicated historical events in real time without the help of a textbook or the internet

[00:05:01] Speed impresses us, but we can also miss out on a lot when we just focus on speed

[00:05:07] Becoming a beginner again forced me to slow down so I could pay attention to the position of my body

[00:05:13] My hands and on the sound I was producing on the cello

[00:05:17] It forced me to pay more attention when playing the piano an instrument

[00:05:21] I thought I was already familiar with

[00:05:23] Allowed me to be more patient when teaching my own children the piano since I'm now better able to identify with their experience as beginners

[00:05:32] Turns out that slowing down and paying attention does wonders for human connection, too

[00:05:38] Stay curious

[00:05:40] The easiest way to adopt a beginner's mind

[00:05:42] Stay curious learn a musical instrument learn a new language

[00:05:47] Listen to your loved one as if you were meeting them for the first time

[00:05:51] Leave your assumptions at the door talk less be humble and open your heart

[00:05:57] It's true

[00:05:58] You won't dazzle the masses as a beginner, but you'll be constantly dazzled by the world around you

[00:06:03] You become like a little child who sees beauty and wonder in everything

[00:06:09] And every one you just listen to the post titled the beauty of adopting a beginner's mind

[00:06:18] By so long George of spiritual living for busy people dot-com

[00:06:23] They get a sill on

[00:06:25] Funny and really interesting point you made there in the beginning talking about how we tend to dismiss the experiences of beginners

[00:06:33] Except for babies and how true is that we tend to celebrate a baby's first words a baby's first steps

[00:06:41] Even a child's first day of school often with pictures or video or both

[00:06:47] But then as life goes on we forget to stop and celebrate important moments

[00:06:51] The first time we play a note on an instrument or the first sentence we speak in a new language

[00:06:57] I think those are just as big of a deal. So it's interesting that we kind of play those down

[00:07:03] But anyway speaking of playing the timing of this article was perfect for me

[00:07:08] Because I recently started playing the drums again and just like Ceylon started an online course

[00:07:14] I'm going through these same sort of feelings as him starting from the beginning

[00:07:18] Even though I do have a decent amount of experience with the drums and having that beginner's mind does help

[00:07:25] Even how I was holding the drumsticks or how my feet were placed on the pedals back when I first started

[00:07:31] Probably wasn't the best. So coming back to this beginner's mind helps

[00:07:35] My two realize there's so much left to learn

[00:07:38] If you enjoy this topic, there's a book called Zen mind beginners mind that you might want to check out

[00:07:44] It's a short read something at a read in school a while back you might enjoy that one

[00:07:49] But that should do it for today have a great rest of your day, and I'll catch you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits