Meditation Practice Either University Of Phoenix
Link to the podcast available here: https://aldertreemindfulness.
Be sure that your responses are adequately thorough and detailed. Some of the answers may just be fill-in the blank while others clearly require more detail and full sentences. It might be helpful to take notes while listening to the podcast in order to appropriately answer the questions below. Keep in mind that the questions are asked in order of the podcast’s progression, making it easier to identify the answer.
Most of the answers to the questions below come directly from the podcast. There are a few questions which are considered “Personal Reflection” questions( make gender neutral and basic) and are thus indicated as such in parentheses to avoid any confusion.
Questions
1.To start off with, when you hear the term “beginner’s mind” what do you think of? What does it mean to have a “beginner’s mind” and is it something that we should try to cultivate? Please elaborate. (Personal Reflection)
2.What is the quote that the speaker shares by Viktor Frankl?
3.According to the speaker, how does this quote “beautifully sum up the art of mindfulness”?
4.The speaker shares an anecdote about beginner’s mind with driving his car for the first time in a while. What was that experience like for him? What sorts of words does he use to describe this experience?
5.Describe the last time you can remember having a beginner’s mind in which you experienced something new or as if it were new and what that experience felt like. (Personal Reflection)
6.“Beginner’s mind is a beautiful and delicious state when we’re…” (Fill in the “…”)
7.According to the speaker, when do we all “start off with a beginner’s mind”?
8.According to the speaker, how do children naturally have a beginner’s mind?
9.According to the speaker, do we fully lose our beginner’s mind as adults?
10.According to the podcast, what happens to us as adults with regards to losing some of the beginner’s mind?
11.What happens “the moment something becomes quite familiar to us”?
12.The speaker mentions that significance of staying in the present moment with regards to cultivating a “beginner’s mind.” From your own experiences with mindfulness and this topic, what is the relationship between staying present and cultivating a beginner’s mind?
13.According to the speaker, how can routine activities, such as washing the dishes, become a “joyful experience” when we cultivate a beginner’s mind?
14.According to the speaker, how can practitioners of mindfulness or meditation lose their beginner’s mind (or their “sense of innocence”)?
15.Have you struggled with expectations in your own meditation practice—either within specific meditation sessions or for meditation in general? Please elaborate. (Personal Reflection)
16.What is the “intention” that the speaker sets for himself at the beginning of his meditation sessions as it relates to cultivating a beginner’s mind?
17.What might be the benefit of setting an intention similar to the one set forth by the speaker when beginning each of your meditation sessions? (Personal Reflection)
18.The speaker states that we need to drop the “I know this” attitude because it can “hinder our natural ability to be ______.” (Fill in the blank)
19.The speaker continues, “curiosity is the start of _____.” (Fill in the blank)
20.From this previous question, what do you see is the relationship between curiosity and creativity? How does cultivating curiosity lead to creativity? (Personal Reflection)
21.What suggestions does the speaker provide on how to begin to cultivate a beginner’s mind?
22.With a beginner’s mind we start to “realize that every breath we take is a ____ ________.” (Fill in the blanks)
23.The speaker asserts that a “beginner’s mind is our natural state.” According to the speaker, what happens to that “natural state” over the course of our lives?
24.From your own experiences and understanding of mindfulness, as well as from what you have heard thus far in the podcast, how does mindfulness meditation help us get in touch with our beginner’s mind?
25.Now, participate in the guided meditation at the end of the podcast and use the space below to jot down your experience with this meditation. (Personal Reflection)