Self-inquiry, September 10, 2023
Self-inquiry with James Waite
Sunday, September 10, 2023
Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada
Metchosin, BC
Five people were in attendance at this Sunday afternoon meeting at the Swanwick Road location. It was a slightly windy day but the fairly mild temperature allowed us to sit outdoors on the lawn and enjoy the surrounding beauties of nature: the ocean, the mountains, the trees, and the bird songs.
James, as the facilitator of the event, chose to begin with a quote from J. Krishnamurti which he shared with the group. “Life is not a thing you learn from somebody. Life is something you listen to moment to moment without accumulating experience..”
James added that K is thus saying that Life is always fresh and new. He invited us all to share how we understand K’s words and how we apply them in our own lives. This stimulated some discussion of “self-remembering”, a concept or practice recommended by spiritual teachers Gurjief and Ouspensky. Some participants expressed their understanding that self-remembering seemed to be very much like the “choiceless awareness” or silent “self-observation” that K often spoke of and which was his form of “meditation”. Krishnamurti’s description of how he had at one point seen visions of Buddha – and earlier of Krishna – was mentioned, along with the disappearance of the images as soon as K became aware that it was his own mind that was projecting them. The duality of self and other was seen to be an illusion that could not survive the clear awareness of inquiry.
Aspects of awareness and the “process” of learning arose in the group inquiry and were investigated, along with the importance of being willing to “let go” of the patterns of thinking that keep the mind identified with its sense of separateness. Listening to the “inner voice” was said to be important, and living without attachment to thought’s concepts of reality. Change and development can happen, it was said, when one is not attached to the ideas about self to which thinking gives importance.
The subject of commitment was introduced. Is commitment personal or non-personal and what is the difference between commitment and ambition, which could be an expression of “ego”? One group member gave interesting practical examples from his own struggle to understand the different movements of commitment and ambition in his own life. It was deemed necessary to find a good balance between the two and also to take care of ourselves physically and emotionally in a sensitive manner. There were a number of insightful points made and the afternoon seemed to be found valuable to those who attended.
DB
