There is a zen story about a professor of Eastern religions.
He went to visit a zen master. After talking for some time about his views on Buddhism, the professor asked the master to give him a teaching.
As the monk had already talked with the professor, he set out to give him an appropriate teaching.
Calling for tea, he waited until it had been brought and then slowly poured for the professor.
As the level in the cup rose his visitor became more and more agitated, the master kept on pouring, even after the cup had started to overflow.
“Stop, stop! There is no room for any more tea.”
“I do not see what I can teach you,” responded the zen master, “for when a mind is full there is no room for anything new.”
The point being that the professor was so full of his knowledge of Buddhism, that there was no room left in his mind to hear anything else.
This is where the Minimalist Mind comes to the fore.
As we grow and develop, our minds become filled with the things we are taught. Mostly, we learn by a process of osmosis, knowledge seeping into our minds from the world around us.
We develop a sense of; “how we do things around here.” AKA our local culture. We learn how to be a human being, in our family, in our town, in our part of the world.
We carry a heavy burden of misinformation, and an even heavier burden of “fact”, much of which is wrong
The Minimalist Mind is one that questions everything, challenges everything.
Our beliefs.
What we have been told.
Everything.
The Minimalist Mind takes nothing at face value. Instead, it challenges the way we see and interpret our world. The result is that the mind with which we engage the world is uncluttered and clear.
This means that we can become active participants in the story of our own lives and worlds.
“Know thyself,” was the advice of the Delphic oracle.
The Minimalist Mind is the result when we mindfully examine our mental life, coming to an understanding of ourselves.
This gives us the freedom to live lightly in our world and to remain fully engaged in our lives
Sandy
The Minimalist Mind 