Another Fine Retreat at the Krishnamurti Centre

I returned to Swanwick this past weekend to attend the “Approaches to Meditation” spiritual retreat facilitated by Dr. Hillary Rodrigues. I didn’t expect to return to the centre for a retreat quite so soon, but a new friend related how powerful his retreats have been for her, and so I decided it would likely be worth my while to attend. I’m glad to report that Dr. Rodrigues is indeed an amazing facilitator, as well as an impressive individual, and the retreat was truly a formative experience for me. The content revolved almost entirely around discussion and dialogue concerning various meditation techniques, with a focus on inquiring into the usefulness of these techniques in the context of the goal of “pivotal spiritual transformation”. Some of the themes were the various techniques, gradual versus instantaneous awakening, insight versus understanding, mindfulness and choiceless awareness. This retreat was of immense value to me due to the quality of the dialogue and Dr. Rodrigues’ skillful facilitating style, but also due to the quality of the participants. Each and every one of them had something very valuable to offer to the group, and the time spent getting to know them in the casual time between and after each day’s dialogues was truly inspiring and life affirming for me. At times I truly felt as if I was taking part in an enlightened philosophers’ club. It was truly validating for me on a deep personal level, to be in such fine company and to feel like I belonged. In a strange way, I felt like I had found my home (a feeling I took with me). The value of connecting with people who share the same passion for inquiry and philosophical exploration cannot be understated for me, personally. It’s so important that we surround ourselves with likeminded, and likehearted, people; otherwise, it’s easy to forget that we do indeed belong somewhere, that we’re not alone on this journey. I decided to stay for an extra night after the retreat had ended. On Sunday night, one of the participants, who I felt a deep connection with, had handed me a copy of Hillary’s book, “Insight and Religious Mind: ‪An Analysis of Krishnamurti’s Thought”. On Monday morning, I woke up with a diagram from that book floating in my mind. Sometimes the simplest distillations can lead to the greatest epiphanies. We had enjoyed perfect weather over the course of the weekend, and it was another beautiful morning. I poured myself a cup of coffee, and proceeded to go outside with Hillary’s book in hand. I was delighted to see him sitting on the steps, with the sun pouring down and the ocean shimmering in the distance. I had a wonderful conversation with him. Ralph and David eventually wandered up from the ocean, and one of them jokingly asked if I had moved in, as it was obvious I was quite comfortable. We all sat around a table on the patio there, and enjoyed more relaxed and enlightening conversation. It was a beautiful way to end a beautiful weekend. I’d like to thank Dr. Hillary Rodrigues for leading such a fine retreat, and all the amazing participants for making it the truly special experience that it was for me.