Monday, March 31, 2008


Last week, I was in the Dominican Republic getting some well deserved R&R with my boyfriend Glenn. I had also recently watched Oprah’s webcast with Ekhart Tolle about his book “A new Earth: Awakening to your Life’s Purpose”. In this webcast, Ekhart (we’re on a first name basisJ), talked about not labeling things or people. He said that when we label things, we limit our ability to see beyond that label and doesn't allow us to see it with an open mind.

The label can take the form of an adjective like “stupid, slow, selfish...” Labels can also take the form of a race, a culture or simply the name for the object like “rose, car, man, woman, officer, army…”. When we label people and things, we can only see them within the constraints of what we believe belong to that object. Notice your own reactions to the word “clergyman” or “prostitute” or “baby”. Each word brings up for us the beliefs about that word like “all men are….” “all babies are….”. You get to fill in the blank, because each of us has a different belief about what men are like, babies are like and all objects in our world. These beliefs limit us from truly seeing who or what is in front of our eyes.

Next to my room in the Dominican, I saw some magnificent orchids. In as much as I remembered not to label the orchid as “an orchid”, I automatically did label it. Since I do not have a visual in my head of what an orchid should be, I could look at the flower with wonder and curiosity. It allowed me to be in the moment, truly marveling at what I was looking it. I was able to look at the orchid with a beginner’s mind. This lead to feeling peaceful yet alive at the same time. Something so simple, yet so connecting.

I am taking on doing more of the ‘not labeling’ and looking at something as though it was the first time I was seeing it and truly exploring it with my eyes, my mind and my being. What are you willing to explore with a beginner’s mind?

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