My spiritual transformation began nearly 30 years ago when I explored Buddhism…and as we shed the excesses of the early part of this first decade of the 21st century, it is a perfect place to return to for the new year. This is the first of an 8-part series designed to help you find the “zen” of the new year 2010.

Zen in the traditional sense is the “teaching that contemplation of one’s essential nature to the exclusion of all else is the only way of achieving pure enlightenment.” For our purposes though, I am referring to the detachment from thinking that everything must lead somewhere, that all is about achievement and forward movement – because that Western mindset has us living in the future rather than the present. Our task, to be fully evolving and effective entrepreneurs, is to be fully present in this moment…uncluttered by the past or the future.

My guide for this journey is the classic, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki (pick up a copy if you want to follow along).

Beginner’s Mind
“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.” – Shunryu Suzuki

Consider all the things you have learned just this year…in the past 5 years…and in your life. You have accumulated a lot of knowledge…but how much of that knowledge do you use to block new experiences because you “know” that already?

Knowing and applying the knowledge in our daily lives are two different things. Zen – and purposeful business – begin with emptying our minds: “If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.” Ibid.

Think back to when you were a beginner at something – whether riding a bike, driving a car, or starting your business. Remember how hungry you were for new ideas? How open you were to possibilities? What if you approached your current business or life challenges with that same hunger and openness…what could you open to that you have been overlooking because you “know” that option or approach already?

“In the beginner’s mind there is no though, ‘I have attained something.’” Suzuki writes. “When we have no thought of achievement, no thought of self, we are true beginners.” That feels very strange to the Western mind…yet it is the secret to truly enjoying the moment.

Researchers have found that when we multi-task, we are only 40 percent as effective as when we focus on just one thing at a time. In the beginner’s mind, we do just that.

Finally, consider the spontaneity of a child as he plays. Is he thinking about what’s for lunch, or what he did yesterday, or whether he’ll get his allowance tomorrow? And yet as adults, Dr. Deepak Chopra tells us that 90 percent of the thoughts we think today are the same as the thoughts we thought yesterday. Why drag those problems, concerns and thoughts into the present moment?

In Buddhism there is the concept of satori, a sudden awakening. You can actually drop your personal history right now – as Wayne Dyer recommends in Your Sacred Self. What would that feel like – just to BE fully here and now?

I invite you to practice that this week, and post your comments below as to how it is going and what a difference it makes!

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