Self-inquiry October 11, 2023

Self-inquiry

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

With KECC staff

Esquimalt Gorge Park Pavilion

 

A total of seven people were present for this late afternoon meeting of inquirers interested in exploring J. Krishnamurti’s perspectives on self-inquiry and the way individuals can investigate the nature of their own psychological and “spiritual’ make-up. As K himself said, an effective application of self observation can bring about a state of freedom and fulfilment in the individual which can express itself in his or her daily life. Some of those present were fairly new to Krishnamurti’s approach to self-knowledge but had penetrating questions and insights, thus bringing a freshness and creativity to the inquiry which made it very interesting and challenging in a somewhat profound way.

Originally the expectation had been that the session would be facilitated by James Waite. The time of day, however, made it difficult for James to drive home on the Malahat highway and James was replaced by Ralph and David in the basically leaderless gathering. The situation was acknowledged at the beginning, there were brief introductions by participants, then the floor was opened to anyone with a burning question who would like to share it with the group. When one group member mentioned Krishnamurti’s emphasis on “choiceless awareness” in exploring one’s consciousness, a second person asked if one could in fact make a distinction between the two things. This led to some pertinent observations about the two concepts, their meanings, and the subtleties of unfolding their deepest significance. How we go about such an investigation was explored. The dissolution of concepts and of thought in the face of direct seeing made for interesting dialogue.

A participant read a passage from a K book entitled Freedom, which opened up a discussion of the nature of space and of the concrete images that fill the space as the centre we call ”me”. The functioning of this “I” thought was commented upon, along with a further reading from the Krishnamurti book, and the dialogue unfolded in a way both pleasant and revealing. It was an enjoyable sharing and inquiry into the nature of the mind and beyond.

 

DB