In this week’s Pause™ cast we discuss the quality of living with a Beginner’s Mind.  We rarely experience things as they are. Everything that we see and feel is colored by our thoughts, memories, beliefs and expectations. We are always expecting, when we could be accepting. The way to get past this barrier is to cultivate the kavanah (intention) of chiddush. The practice of chiddush is developing the ability to see things without preconceived interpretations: to know that one does not know and to appreciate what is, rather than what might be. For the Jewish spiritual seeker, this mindset forms the basis of cultivating Jewish Mindfulness-- yishuv hada’at.   This moment is always new and it’s one we've never been in before and yet we bring so many of our own ideas and expectations to every moment that we can't actually allow ourselves for the most part to see things as if for the first time. With each breath, then, in each moment, we can wake up to the truth of our lives and change how we react, how we engage with the world. We are not trapped in our habitual reactions but instead we can be born again into a new sense of who we are.  What a gift it would be to bring this awareness and quality of mind to our own lives and the lives of our loved ones. We finish with one of my favorite Chassidic Stories.  You are gonna really enjoy this one!