Another Beautiful Retreat at Swanwick

Last weekend, I had the pleasure and privilege of attending my third retreat at the Swanwick Centre. It was facilitated with skill and wisdom by KFA trustee Mark Lee, retired physician Asha Lee and psychiatrist and psychotherapist Josip Pasic. “Quieting the Monkey Mind” was an exploration into the nature of thought and mind, inspired by Krishnamurti’s teachings on the subject. The event was very well attended, and the participants all contributed their own wisdom and insight, making the retreat a very rich experience. It was also a joy to relax in the swimming pool, with the majestic view of the ocean and the stunning surroundings. Blessed with gorgeous weather, we spent much of the retreat sitting outside and engaging in a relaxed but challenging dialogue inspired by a number of recorded talks given by K, which we watched over the course of the weekend. Together we inquired into such matters as the function and limitations of thought, the relationship between thought and intelligence, the root of fear, and the nature of intelligence itself. We also discussed K’s statement that “the observer is the observed”, which we delved into from the analogous viewpoint that “the thinker is the thought”. K’s assertion that the thinker and thinking are a unitary process really blows my mind. As I understand it, thought occurs after perception, and then gives rise to the entity we then perceive as the thinker. There is only actually thought occurring within the field of awareness. This also makes sense to me, in the sense that we cannot be an object in the field of our own awareness (we cannot exist outside of ourselves). Rather, we are awareness itself. If we can begin to see “our selves” differently, there lies the potential to live from a more intelligent and flowing place, more in tune with this experience as it is unfolding in the present. Never before have I been so impressed with the caliber of discussions as I have at the retreats held at Swanwick. K spoke with such amazing intelligence and clarity. The people who are drawn to his teachings seem to be individuals of great intelligence and integrity, and it has been a true pleasure to sit and dialogue with all of them, facilitators and participants alike.