Life Coaching with No Mind

What is “No Mind”? And how does it relate to life coaching??

I’m taking a chance here. 

I’m taking the chance that you are drawn to being a life coach because your focus is on “life.”  If you believe that personal transformation is the highest expression of consciousness, continue reading. 

If, however, your focus is on “coaching,” skip this series of articles.  You already have a definition of life coaching, know exactly what you are doing, and how you are doing it . . . Chances are there is nothing here for you.

This series of articles is for those who live on the edge and are open to the unknown.  This series is for those open to expanding awareness beyond definitions, technique, and being in control.  This series is for those who choose LIFE as his or her primary expression, and all that life entails.  This series is about being ALIVE . . . and being open to sharing that aliveness with others!!  Here’s the thing…

“No Mind” is a purest expression of life.  Here.  Now.  No time.  No pretense.  It is the vital essence of BEING.  Animals live it.  Rocks, trees and the clouds live it. All of life, in fact, lives ‘no mind’ except for human beings.  We are the only creatures both blessed and cursed with this thing called a “higher brain,” or ability to think, reason, and plan.  While this gives us a powerful ability to do things like design bridges and speculate about the Big Bang, it does nothing to connect us to life and the world we live in. 

Mind can only separate, never connect.  Mind divides, never unifies. Consequently, thinking humans can only feel the separation, anxiety, fear and loneliness that comes from our mental divide. Humans are the only creatures that truly suffer and bring suffering to the rest of creation.

A wise person once said “The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.” And so it is. For those who harness the power of the mind in support of life and love, the mind can be a tremendous help. Other than that, it is a disaster . . always seeking power and control. 

You are reading this article.  You are probably also thinking at the same time, “this article is great” . . . or “this article sucks!”  Either way, you are creating a separation – a barrier – between your essential nature and life itself.  And you do this all day long.  Then at night, your mind gets to run amok and unwind all the “stuff” you accumulated during the days, weeks and months.  We call this dreaming.  There are very few moments, in fact – perhaps between the states of waking and sleeping – that No Mind occurs.  There are only maybe flashing moments of pure awareness . . . a taste of something beyond thought… beyond belief.  These are the moments of pure aliveness!

“No Mind” is a term first used in Zen.  In Zen, the idea you can “do” something or “think” your way to enlightenment is absurd.  Its a paradox . . . like “trying to relax.”  It doesn’t happen that way. 

But what does No Mind have to do with life coaching?   Actually, everything . . . so long as your focus remains more on “life” and less on “coaching.”  In the next article, I will relate my own story and how the search for this No Mind captured my imagination . . . then my heart.