Meditative Self-Inquiry with Oda Lindner, April 9, 2026

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This was our first meeting of 2026 in Victoria, facilitated by Oda Lindner, our guest facilitator for this month.  It started with a presentation by Oda that explored meditation as a gentle shift from doing to being and contrasting thought-based meditations with Bodymeditation, feeling your senses instead of being in your head.

Oda brought up Mr. Duffy from James Joyce, who “lived a short distance from his body.” This time, Oda spoke about how Bodymeditation came to her. She mentioned Tibetan slow-movement yoga and progressive relaxation techniques. Participants were then guided through a sequence of slow movements done seated, where the body became a way to anchor attention and quiet the mind.

There were reflections on practices like Tai Chi and Vipassana, yet here the emphasis was on freedom and exploration, nothing to improve, only a deepening sensitivity to what is.

Oda read a paragraph from Meditations by J. Krishnamurti (Part 4), which begins with:

“Meditation is one of the most extraordinary things, and if you do not know what it is you are like the blind man in a world of bright colour, shadows and moving light…it is inexhaustible.”

Meditation revealed itself not as something we do, but something that unfolds in full attention, where striving fades and thought loosens its grip. “I am not separated from what I am doing” was one of the reflections. The distinction between human being and human doing was mentioned, “a being that has a certain kind of knowing”.

There was also an exploration of the relationship between thought and awareness.

Thought tends to divide, label, and fragment, while awareness has a unifying quality and can bring a sense of wholeness and love.

The session ended with a shared observation: when there is full attention, there can be a sense of connection and love, without effort. “When I give full attention, labels fall away.” In such moments, there is no separation between the observer and what is observed, only a quiet, benevolent presence. “What separates us is our thoughts.”

 

  • Anastasia Shtamina