Spiritually, "beginning" happens when we first start new growth -- new levels of awareness and willingness to receive goods and truths from the Lord, and use them. In the Word, "beginning" doesn't just mean the beginning of something in time. In the inner sense, it means the initial phase of a spiritual state.

In Genesis 14:23, this signifies the lowest and most insignificant falsity. (Arcana Coelestia 1748)

In Joshua 2:18, 21, this signifies the truth of the literal sense of the Word. (Apocalypse Explained 1042[6])