When we were having problems with the app's timer, and the bell was just ringing over and over again, she thought that was the way I had designed the timer, and preferred the sound of the ringing bell over just sitting in silence.
I told her that we were working on an update that would fix the timer so the bell didn't ring over and over, and she was disappointed. I explained that I was trying to promote meditating in silence, since listening to anything keeps the mind on the surface of consciousness. She told me she couldn't do it, that sitting in silence was too difficult and suggested I design an app for beginners.
Her comment was instructive because it reminded me of the Zen Buddhist concept of 'the beginner's mind'. As one Zen master has written, "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." Over the course of the last five weeks, I sought to emphasize this point with the people who came to my classes.
In the context of meditation, this means that when you sit down to meditate, you do not reflect on past experiences with meditation, since this creates a sense of expectation. If you have an amazing meditation session one day and expect to have the same kind of experience the next day, chances are pretty good that you will be disappointed and frustrated.
To get the most out of meditating in silence, you need to approach each session as though you are doing it for the very first time. Without expectation, you cannot be disappointed.
