Beginner’s Mind: A New Opportunity Present in Every Moment

By Chaya Silberstein

Whether you’re new to Quantum-Touch or energy healing in general, a beginner’s mind is a key element. This is true for most things in life, to approach it as a child might with starry-eyed wonder, but especially when it comes to healing work. If you approach each person and situation with the infinite gaze of The Universe*, already half the work is done for you. No longer reliant on knowing the answer, you can relax into the unknown and allow the breath to breathe you. You become part of the flow, instead of trying to control it. You empty yourself of ego, story, and drama and allow the sensations to guide you. Rather than try to pour your energy into another, you allow yourself to be filled by the infinite cup of Qi (life force energy) constantly flowing through you. From this place, it is easy to give.

The Star Card

One of my favorite cards in the Rider Tarot Deck is the Star card. A woman is pictured with two pitchers of water. One she pours into a river, creating its abundant flow, and the other she pours into the ground, causing trees and vegetation to grow. Behind her is bright golden star, a reminder that no matter how much she gives, she is never depleted because she is constantly lit up and refueled by the stars. She is fully in her power of giving and receiving. Life force energy freely flows through her and nourishes all she touches.

When working with a client, or in any situation where I’m in a place to give, I remind myself of this card and I’m instantly rejuvenated and empowered. I don’t hold back, because I know there are infinite stores of energy just waiting to be tapped into and utilized. This is very freeing as well because not only do I then give abundantly, but I also don’t hold onto anything because holding on only impedes the flow.

Open Hands Vs. Closed Hands

A friend recently demonstrated this concept for me. You close your hands and all you have is whatever is either inside them or what you’re holding onto, but if you open your hands without trying to reach or grasp, then everything flows freely and you become part of the flow.

And how astounding the flow is! When you’re not calculating and trying to figure out each step of the way, wonderful occurrences begin to happen. It’s not that you don’t plan or even have a goal in mind. When doing an energy healing session, the client always requests what they want me to work on, so that becomes the area of focus, but the trick is to not push or try to create change, but rather allow it to happen. Change then often happens faster and often in surprising ways.

Language of a Cup

I find it fascinating that in Yiddish, the word for head is Kop, pronounced like cup! So literally, empty your cup, is empty your head of extraneous thoughts. It’s not that we don’t think, but we open ourselves to open-ended thoughts coming from the Divine flow, rather than limited thoughts, that often come from Maya, illusion. Often suffering is experienced because we get caught in the story around the obstacle, but if we allow ourselves to feel the sensations instead of going into the drama, the obstacle begins to melt away.

A Fun Exercise

Just for fun, you can try the following exercise. Pretend you’re a cup and experience the sensations of your thoughts and feelings filling you up. It might be worry around your job, finances, relationships. It can also be positive emotions like elation over that promotion, excitement over an upcoming vacation, or feelings of so much love you can barely contain it.

Place the cup, maybe now a pot, over a low flame in the center of your being, usually lower dantian, a few inches below your navel. Allow the heat to warm your pot, until it begins to boil and all the contents of your pot begins to gently rise as it turns to steam and evaporates out of the top of your head. Go gently and slowly and lower the temperature if it feels too quick and intense. The key is to remain with the sensations that naturally occur. As you allow your pot to empty, you may experience greater openness and even greater fullness within. Let it change. There is nothing to hold on to. You may find, the more you let go, the more you actually experience.

The Empty Cup Scenario

Many of you have probably heard this story in one form or another, but it’s one of my favorites, so it’s worth repeating here. A pundit came to visit a great Zen master and within seconds of arrival, began badgering the master with questions of how to achieve a state of Zen. The master looked at the pundit and said, “Would you like some tea?” The pundit couldn’t resist this gracious hospitality and readily accepted.

The master went into another room and a few minutes later returned with a teapot full of boiling water and a set of teacups on a tray. He set it down on a table and began to pour hot water into one of the cups. The pundit watched expectantly, eager to continue his conversation with the master, but something unexpected happened. When the water reached the top of the cup, the master did not stop at his task but kept pouring, until the water began to overflow. “Master!” The pundit cried, “The cup is full, yet you keep pouring!”

The master gently set the teapot down on the now very wet table and said to his guest, “Yes. Just like this teacup, your mind is already full; there is no room for anything else. To continue this conversation, first you must empty your cup.”

A Poem

I will conclude with Verse 48 from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by Stephen Mitchell:

In the pursuit of knowledge,
every day something is added.
In the practice of the Tao,
every day something is dropped.

Less and less do you need to force things,
until you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.

True mastery can be gained
by letting things go their own way.
It can’t be gained by interfering.

--

* “Universe” can easily be replaced with God, The Divine, The Tao, The Unnamable or any other term, you’re comfortable using.

Chaya Silberstein

Quantum-Touch Certified Practitioner
Contributing Writer

Click Here to View Her Profile

Chaya loves doing energy healing sessions and is very grateful she gets to work with people from all over the world. She has been involved with Quantum-Touch for over eight years and has worked closely with its Founder, Richard Gordon.