Exploring Beginners' Mind With A Guided Forest Walk

Welcome to our guided meditation on Beginner's Mind.

This is helpful for anyone setting a new intention,

Setting goals or starting something new.

This is a meditation about the joys of not being an expert.

So let's take some time to get comfortable.

Find a quiet space.

This is a space that you know you can be in without interruption to make the most of the time that you've given yourself today.

As you settle into your space,

Allow yourself to start feeling into your body.

Take a moment to recognize this gift that you're giving yourself by carving out this time to nourish and take care of yourself through your meditation practice.

As you start to feel into your body,

Take a few moments to shake out any residual energy that's sitting in your body.

Give your hands a shake,

Turn your head from side to side,

Roll your shoulders and now settle in to a quiet pose.

You may be seated or you may prefer to stand with your eyes lowered.

Now start to focus on your breath.

This is your time to explore,

To gently let go of expectations and to invite a sense of curiosity into your heart.

Today we're going to be walking through the forest.

We'll be exploring an imaginary trail that lets us experience it through the lens of a beginner's mind.

Beginner's mind is a mindfulness practice that allows us to see things with new eyes and experience life as a beginner.

So take a few relaxing breaths in and out.

Enjoy the sense of this breath cleansing and nourishing and clarifying the senses in your body.

As you continue to breathe,

Think about the idea of beginner's mind being an invitation to drop our expectations and preconceived ideas about something that we may be thinking of.

It's the opportunity to experience life as a child,

To see things with an open mind,

With fresh eyes,

To really just be a beginner.

It's also about remembering how much we have at our fingertips at any given time.

It's a reminder that we all have our own unique energy,

Our own unique wisdom and we are supported by a generous universe in all of our endeavours.

With another couple of deep breaths in and out,

You allow your awareness to shift.

You find yourself standing at the edge of our imaginary forest.

It's a beautiful forest and before you a trail opens up gently into the trees and nearby you see a gurgling stream.

The trail is following the stream's path.

The dappled light shimmers around you and the soil of the walking path is soft under your feet.

Even though you know this forest,

This particular path is unfamiliar to you and you recall that you have arrived here wanting to explore this trail for the very first time.

You hear birdsong in the air around you.

You feel a gentle breeze and you feel pleased that you have taken the first steps to exploring a new path.

You are a beginner on this path and you celebrate this.

You have no expectations of where the trail will take you.

You don't know what you'll see and you're open to the adventure.

Being a beginner today is a choice,

It's an attitude and it's an opportunity.

You are choosing to be open to the experience of being on the path without expectations.

You realise that there is no right or wrong way to walk the path.

You don't need to walk this path in the same way that you've walked other paths.

You set out to enjoy yourself and for a time you simply enjoy walking,

Being in nature and finding your way.

Developing Beginner's Mind is about freeing ourselves from any expectation of what should happen next.

It can be liberating and also help unlock the potential of any situation we find ourselves in,

Simply by being open,

Curious and playful.

So today,

After a time of walking along the path,

You slow down and then you stop completely.

The stream is calling you.

You make your way down to the water and you take off your shoes.

Your toes curl with the delight of feeling the sandy streams edge.

With your shoes in hand,

You wade slowly into the cool water,

Allowing your body to absorb the energy of the fresh stream.

Standing there you realise that the stream is very shallow.

You could,

If you wanted to,

Place one foot in front of the other and walk upwards,

Following the trail,

Staying in the stream,

Feeling the cool water around your ankles.

You start doing exactly this,

Taking one step at a time,

Walking up the stream,

Feeling delighted with the splash of water around your legs.

You feel a childlike sense of playfulness as you splash and kick and enjoy the water.

Everything about this moment is unique and joyful.

As you feel the smooth pebbles under your feet,

You realise the destination of the trail doesn't matter.

What matters is being on the path,

Any which way you feel like it.

You're free to walk on the path and you're free to wade in the stream and you can go as fast or as slow as you like.

You realise that there is nowhere you need to be.

All that you need to do is to be present,

To feel the joy of new experiences and to celebrate the moment.

As you continue wading and splashing,

Making your way up the stream,

You feel a sense of joy that you have given yourself this moment to feel nourished in nature.

After a few more moments of wading,

You suddenly notice that on the other side of the stream there is another walking path and you decide to explore it.

After all,

Why not?

No one said you could only walk on one side of the path.

You step across the pebbles and make your way to this new path that you've seen.

On the grassy edge of the stream,

You take a moment to put your shoes back on and then you step onto the new path.

These affirmations arise in your mind as you enjoy the adventure of exploring a new path.

I am free to be a beginner.

I celebrate my ability to start fresh every day.

I'm supported in my quest to see things with fresh eyes.

I feel new pathways opening up before me.

This new path intrigues you.

It curves and bends,

Offering different windows into nature with every step.

Small blends open up on the far side of the path,

Allowing you to see glades of forest flowers,

Overgrown tree stumps covered with lichen and vines draping over trees.

Everywhere you look there is colour and richness.

Everywhere you look,

Nature has something different to show you.

Sounds change as well.

You can hear different birds and bees are buzzing gently as they seek out pollen from the flowers.

You decide to pause at a particularly interesting part of the path.

The adventurer in you is taking hold and with that comes a new energy all of its own.

You feel a heightened sense of awareness taking hold.

Every sound is sharp,

Every colour is luminous and you feel beautifully alive.

As you explore,

You realise that you have a backpack on your shoulders that was not there before.

Taking the pack off,

You open it to find a bottle of drinking water,

A sketch pad and a pencil case full of pencils.

It is a reminder that we are often carrying more tools than we realise.

That we already have many of the resources we might need in new moments of discovery.

You realise that while you are new on this path and are today a beginner,

You bring with you many ways that you can meet this moment and make it your own.

You have many talents,

Passions and interests that you will bring with you on the journey and this makes the journey uniquely yours.

You decide to make use of your sketch pad and pencils.

You sit down and start to sketch.

You draw lines,

Shapes and marks.

You know that they don't need to look like anything at all.

You are simply doing this to heighten your awareness and your enjoyment in this very moment.

You delight in being the forest with this time to take in so many details in nature.

After a time of sketching and doodling,

You decide to pack your tools away and begin to walk again.

It's time to return and so you make your way back in the direction that you came from.

The path delivers you safely back at the point where you cross the stream and removing your shoes you step once more to the cool flowing water.

As you cross the stream you take a moment to think about the morning's walk,

This unexpected pleasure of playing in the stream,

The discovery of a new path on the other side of the stream and the experience of feeling supported by nature as you go,

Feeling a backpack appear on your shoulders,

Carrying all the tools you needed to make the walk uniquely yours,

Allowing you to sketch and take in the natural beauty of waterflowers.

Even though you had no idea of what your walk in nature would offer you today,

You realize you are richer for the journey,

Not knowing what lay ahead allowed you to be open to so many new experiences.

You consider how you can apply the concept of Beginner's Mind to so many aspects of life.

It requires only the act of turning up,

Of being present and being open to where the journey will take you.

As your walk in the forest comes to an end,

Return your awareness to your breath.

Take some more nourishing,

Gentle,

Slow breaths and allow yourself to arrive fully back in your body.

Give yourself a few moments to integrate your experience and your new understanding of Beginner's Mind.

Start to slowly move your feet,

Your hands,

Give your shoulders a gentle roll.

When you are ready,

Prepare to return to your day.