Beginner's Mind
Approaching magickal practice with an open mind is possibly one of the most important prerequisites to success. Keeping a Beginner's Mind is more difficult. There are no experts in magick, it's just that some people have been doing it for longer than others.
When we run into people who are speaking (or writing) authoritatively about some aspect of magick, it's easier to nod wisely rather than saying, "What the hell are you on about?" Or, "Could you explain this in more detail?" Ask people questions, be naïve, seek clarification and don't hesitate to put your own point of view across. This sounds rather obvious, but fear of asking questions and voicing one's own opinions due to the idea that "Well I'm a beginner, so I don't have anything to contribute," does tend to hold people back. In my experience, beginners often come up with the most novel and interesting ideas for magickal techniques or their application precisely because they have not yet assimilated other people's fixed notions of what you can and cannot do magickally. Another issue which is related to "Beginner's Mind" is that we are often reluctant to acknowledge what we do know, and the value of our own experience, particularly in respect to what is written in some book or other, or when we encounter those who've been doing magick for much longer. We all have things we can offer each other. excerpted from “Condensed Chaos” by Phil Hine.
