Meditative Self-Inquiry with Cynthia Overweg, September 28, 2025

With cooler weather and only intermittent sunshine, we met for the first time in several years in the exquisite living room of the main house. This was a delight for everyone and a first for most of us. We began the meeting with a few minutes of silence. Afterward, several participants mentioned that the beauty of the main house living room, along with its distinctive architectural design conveyed a sense of tranquility. There were 10 people present.

Because this was a new and beautiful meeting space for us, it prompted an exploration of the way a room, a building or an outdoor space affects us, whether we’re aware of it or not. Several participants wondered if there is a relationship between the physical space we inhabit and our inner sense of ourselves. One participant drew a parallel between the spaciousness of inner silence and the quietude of the main house living room or similar places that seem to support self-inquiry and silent gatherings.

There was mutual agreement that we are usually unaware of the variety of spaces we enter and exit everyday of our lives; that we give virtually no attention to how a space affects us inwardly, from entering a noisy restaurant, a public building or various rooms in our own home. It’s as if we’re sleep-walking through life. This brought up Krishnamurti’s emphasis on the “flame of attention,” and that we lose our attention constantly, until we notice our inattention.

We then read from The Book of Life about the possibility of listening with total attention, which points to a mind that sees and listens without the filter of thought. One participant mentioned that when we first sat together in silence in this new space, it seemed as though the room itself was listening. The group resonated with this observation. A question was asked about whether or not meeting regularly in the living room of the main house would alter our perception of its quiet grandeur. Does familiarity foster inattention? We left this question for further exploration and ended the meeting with silence and listening.

By Cynthia Overweg