I learned to solve Rubik's Cube back during the height of the puzzle's popularity (though I couldn't solve it now if my life depended on it). The solution involves performing a set series of moves. Those moves, if performed in the correct sequence, will restore the Cube regardless of its original condition. There's no "starting point" and there's no need to look at the Cube once you've memorized the sequence of moves. All you need to know is left from right, up from down, clockwise from counterclockwise, and how to count to at least three.