We are a society that knows everything. We know the news every minute of the day. We know technology like we've never known technology before. We know how to change a tire, how to fix our washing machine when it breaks. We know everything there is to know about our computer, our iPhone, our iPads.We know who to call when we need help. We know where we want to go when it's time for a vacation. We know so much!
This all knowing attitude is certainly useful; however, this makes admiting to "not knowing" challenging. Developing a "don't know" mind is a benefit from meditation practice. We learn to be okay in the present. And, in the present moment we don't know the future - we only know the here and now. This is very different from all the knowing we experience during the day.
What is the experience of not knowing like? It goes something along the lines of this: I don't know how I feel. I don't know why he's angry at me. I don't know if I'll pass the exam, but I'll try. I don't know if this person that I'm dating is the person that I'll marry, but we are dating, that's what I know. I don't know where I'll be 10 years from now. I don't know what they were saying about me behind my back and I don't need to know. I don't know if this friend is right and my other friend is wrong. I don't know that there's only one way of seeing things. I don't know as much about that subject as I thought I did - this new information is useful.
A "don't know" mind is open to possibilities, is open to receiving information. Just think of the opposite: I already know what you think so I don't need to listen. I know everything there is to know about you already. I know what you'll say. I know what you're thinking. I know you're too uptight for me to love you. I know that I can't so I'm giving up.
Remember the movie, Good Will Hunting? Will had a know it all mind. He was a genius! But, when it came to the stuff of life - he couldn't apply knowing a math equation to knowing how to love a woman.
We don't know everything. When we admit to not knowing, we open ourselves up to learning and experiencing more than if we admit to knowing...
