Big Mind: A Zen approach to unsticking the wheel

Holy Isle

[Stardate 667.44]

I have recently come back from a week long stay on Holy Isle where I enjoyed doing some volunteer work and relaxing in an amazing place. Holy Isle is an island off the coast of Scotland run by the Buddhist community.

Whilst there I was invited to participate in a course called Big Mind. Having nothing else planned other than long walks I thought sure why not! It turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made.

Big Mind is a technique developed by a western Zen Master to unstick the mind to allow more fluid mental shifts. Using the simple techniques taught it is possible to explore different aspects of yourself and shift in perspective with ease. I am still blown away by the power and depth of the simple methods.

For many of the various mental states the course facilitator assisted us into I experienced visceral sensations. I felt movement within the body in the form of restrictions, spaciousness, tightness and ease as different mental states were explored. Sometimes there was a sense of great openness & energy and other times wound-up tightness.

By staying present with these sensations I experienced feelings of release and opening. At other times more conceptual realisations would pop into my head - such as reality and fantasy being the same thing and it is only the self that splits them. I know it sounds a bit la-la but I experienced with absolute clarity that this is true! Not exactly randomised control trial material but am I bothered?

My experience over the 4 days was profound and my sense is I have been introduced to a simple and powerful personal development tool.

Isn't this what osteopathy is about? Easing restrictions and bringing the awareness of the body to areas that need attention to facilitate release. In a sense I see awareness techniques such as Big Mind as osteopathy for the mind.

Here is an introductory video to Big Mind by its originator - Genpo Merzel Roshi,a western Zen Monk/Master. There are more videos on youtube which go into more detail on the method.

Introduction to Big Mind by Genpo Roshi