A New Mind and Heart: Living and Dying
A New Mind and Heart: Living and Dying
With Cynthia Overweg (Online)
December 18, 2021
This was the last installment of the year in Cynthia’s series of presentations called “A New Mind and Heart”. This session was entitled “Living and Dying” and was attended by eighteen people in total. Cynthia attended through the Zoom online platform, as did everyone else. She began her presentation by stating that living and dying are in fact not two separate things. The “me” or “self” must die or disappear for love and life to be fully manifest. “Freedom from the known is death, which is truly living” (K). Krishnamurti’s teachings to that effect may seem complicated but can be very simple. And they seem to be particularly relevant at this point in our present global challenges.
K asks us what can bring about a complete harmony of the intellect and the heart, given that we are heavily conditioned in so many ways and our thought-belief patterns cause enormous division and suffering in the world. Clear seeing, he says, is the ending of the “me”. This “seeing” is not part of the conditioned mind but, rather, acts upon our conditioning to empty the conditioned contents of our consciousness.
As usual, Cynthia interspersed her talk with periods of silent watching and listening, adding beautiful pictures and relaxing music to the experience. She asked profound questions about what stands in our way and how fear resists the coming to an end of the self which seeks continuity. She brought in some nuggets of wisdom from other traditions; for example, a writing found in a Greek monastery and a saying by Ramana Maharshi about the great importance of self-realization. And her presentations always include numerous expressions of Krishnamurti’s words and their relevance to the topic being investigated. A central point in that context is K’s suggestion that we observe the operation of our own minds without any condemnation or justification.
A good half hour to forty minutes was left for questions and responses from the participants. Issues of ending divisive thinking by seeing in the moment, letting go of attachment, the desire for continuity of thought and self-identity, the inadequacy of words, repression of the feminine, and the loss of sensitivity and emotional balance were discussed and some significant insights were shared. In concluding remarks, Cynthia emphasized the central importance of understanding ourselves that is so central to Krishnamurti’s message.
