A New Year: The Invitation to Begin Again
Each new year offers us a chance to begin again. At the very least, it invites us to celebrate the closing of one chapter and the opening of another. More deeply, it can be held as a call to release old ways of being and renew our lives by consciously choosing how we wish to move forward.
Reflecting upon what is most important to me, I make the choice to renew my spiritual commitment and vows of practice at the start of each year.
When I committed my life to the spiritual tradition Kriya Yoga I took to heart the principles that define this path. Experiencing the radical nature of those vows, I soon realized how often I would need to turn around, make a course correction, and begin again. This practice of starting over became part of my daily—and sometimes moment-to-moment—commitment to awakening and staying aligned with these values.
To walk my spiritual path with integrity and engagement, I need to cultivate beginner’s mind every day. This mindset allows me to approach each day with fresh eyes, untainted by the assumptions and habits of the ego. Each New Year, I reconnect with this mindset, embracing the opportunity it presents.
Beginner's Mind is a concept from the Zen meditation tradition, discussed in Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. He explains,
“The practice of Zen mind is beginner’s mind. The innocence of the first inquiry, ‘What am I?’ is needed throughout Zen practice. The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all possibilities. It’s the kind of mind that can see things as they are and, in a flash, realize the original nature of everything.”
For me, cultivating beginner's mind involves making peace with failures, missteps, disappointments, and attachments. I can seek and accept the insights gained through so-called failures. There are always insights to be gained. I've heard what I'm describing compared to archery. We pull the bow, aim, release, and sometimes miss the mark. As we see where our aim didn't match the outcome, we can realign our sight and pull the bow again.
Another way to engage beginner's mind is passionate self-inquiry by examining thoughts and actions and regularly pausing to ask the essential question: Who and what am I? This type of ongoing, in-flowing exploration draws me forward on the spiritual journey.
My teacher, Yogacharya O’Brian often tells us that to experience or establish a new paradigm or habit, we must be willing to have or not have the desires we hold. What I took from this was: I must surrender attachment to the ego’s desires and embrace the divine reality before me. That reality being the unfolding of the highest good, which is the fruit of grace, transcending my limited beliefs and attachments.
Yoga philosophy, and my own direct experience, teaches me that I am an individualized expression of Supreme Reality, already whole, lacking nothing, and carried forward by the flow of grace. Yet, due to the compounding of ego’s influence, becoming established in this knowledge is challenging. But my teacher, in her infinite compassion, offers a divine entry point: willingness.
“In between discovering the truth of our being and actualizing it, there is a courageous leap we must take. That leap is willingness. Willingness bridges the gap between what we say we want, what we are open to receive, and the growth that is required to make it happen. If we were truly ready to receive our heart’s desire, we would already have it. To be ready, we must grow. We must expand our consciousness. This is the way of unbounded spirit.” ~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian
The concepts of ego desires and surrender may sound abstract for those new to yoga philosophy, but the essential point is this: there is a part of us that believes in lack and limitation, and keeps us trapped in patterns of desire. This self-interested aspect mirrors its own beliefs, never experiencing sufficiency. We can rename this aspect identity, if that's easier to relate to. It exists in contrast to the higher self, where conscious awareness, wholeness, and innate joy reside. This is often referred to as the true self.
Truly there is only one Self, the higher Self. Ego is a kind of false self, meant to serve the higher Self by guiding us through the embodied experience. But too often, ego overtakes our awareness, pulling us into its illusions of separation and limitation. Without regularly clearing the "cache" of the mind through meditation, ego can take control.
As we prepare to step across the threshold of a new year, we can commit to clearing the cache of the mind, as well as that of emotions, and body. Practice Beginner’s Mind. Reclaim the higher Self as the master of ego and start anew.
I invite you to
Make a vow that reflects your highest goal (s).
Inquire within - begin or refresh a meditaton practice.
Let go of the idea of failure and embrace your ability to choose a new direction.
Create conditions for success. You know what you need. Give that to yourself as a New Year’s gift. And if you don’t know what you need, be willing to find out through contemplation and self-reflection.
Where to begin?
All this talk has been to invite you to come to your spiritual practice with renewed commitment, deepened curiosity, an eagerness to expand and above all, to let go of expectations and past experiences.
In this new year, I’m putting beginner's mind at the center of my contemplative practice. If you want to cultivate beginner’s mind practice with me this year, I’ll be leading regular inner exploration through contemplative practices including meditation. We’ll explore the inner life to embrace, with clear mind, the outer life - our everyday life. Follow me and join my mailing list at the bottom of this article.
If you are interested in learning more about the path of Kriya Yoga through direct experience of the teachings, join me online for the Kriya Yoga Meditation Retreat with my guru, Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian. You can begin the journey by making a commitment to your spiritual unfoldment at the New Year Satsang and Ritual, also offered online. These programs are offered to support our practice and the liberation of consciousness in this lifetime!
I wish for you a graceful entry into the new year. May your practice be anchored in awareness of your true nature and your relationships be supportive of your worthy goals.
May we sit together in the silence soon. I’ll see you on the cushion in 2026.
