Self-inquiry with Ralph Tiller and David Bruneau, October 31, 2024

Self-inquiry, October 31, 2024  

with Ralph Tiller and David Bruneau 

At Esquimalt Park Pavilion 

Victoria, BC 

 

Five participants were in attendance for this Thursday afternoon meeting at the lovely new pavilion in Esquimalt Gorge Park. The meeting was  sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada. The facilitator asked if any participants had a burning question they would like to explore with the group and one person shared that he would like to examine the issue of pain, both physical and psychological. Other group members offered input to the discussion which branched out to include the pain triggered by the many changes that we all undergo as life is experienced. We talked about chronic pain, the grief of losing vitality, the fragility of life, and what could happen when we accept that pain is a part of our lives, with old age for example. 

We took up the question of what can be done to be with our pain or suffering so that life is not made constantly unbearable – or at least it can be less so. Krishnamurti and others have given many helpful clues as to being present with our problems which we could well benefit from. We looked at the issue of naming our experience vs. not naming it and allowing the sensations, thoughts, and feelings to unfold in our awareness. Participants have found that this approach is particularly helpful when it comes to emotional pain and discomfort. They spoke of the effects of going towards our pain or “leaning into it”. Krishnamurti spoke about “total attention” to all that we think and feel and this seems to be a very useful “strategy” or non-strategy. 

The quality of the dialogue produced an atmosphere of lightness and enjoyment of the interactions and communication. 

 

DB