Part of a six-day series led by JC Tefft entitled “Investigating Truth.”
Sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada
Day Three: February 2, 2025
8 Attendees Present

Using Krishnamurti’s teachings as a guide, we asked and investigated the question: “Is There a Process We All Go Through?”

“Self-knowledge is a PROCESS – not an end in itself. And to truly know oneself, one must be AWARE of oneself in action – in relationship. You discover the truth of yourself, not in isolation – not in withdrawal, but in relationship – to society, to your husband or wife, to your brother, to your fellow man. It is to discover how you react in every situation; what is your response? … And this requires an extraordinary alertness of mind and keenness of perception [in every situation].”

“We only learn about ourselves when there is no attachment to the past as knowledge – when [that which is perceived is not translated] in terms of the known…. I only learn about myself moment to moment…. Learning is never accumulative. It is a [constant] movement of ‘knowing’ that has no beginning and no end.”

“You must become AWARE of the PROCESS of attachment to – and dependence on [the content of Mind]. [And you must] then … PERCEIVE the significance of the conflict of opposites [that is projected of mind]. [And – as you become more] deeply AWARE [of this ongoing PROCESS occurring within you, you might then come to understand] … the full meaning … of dependency on [and attachment to – the content of mind].”
~ J. Krishnamurti ~

Referencing Krishnamurti’s teachings throughout, JC shared testimony and insight into the nature of the process that we all go through as the Truth of ‘What Is’ is unveiled from within. Attendees were encouraged to share insights of their own as well.

Primary references for Krishnamurti quotations came from ‘The Book of Life’ and ‘Krishnamurti to Himself: His Last Journal’

JC Tefft

Part of a six-day series led by JC Tefft entitled “Investigating Truth.”
Sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada
Day Two: January 19, 2025
12 Attendees Present

Using Krishnamurti’s teachings as a guide, we asked and investigated the question: “What is True Meditation?”

“Meditation has nothing to do with achieving a result. Nor is it a matter of breathing in a particular way, or looking at your nose, or awakening the power to perform certain tricks…. Meditation is not something apart from life. When you are driving a car or sitting [in a waiting room], or visiting with others who are chatting aimlessly, or walking by yourself in the woods, or watching a butterfly carried off by the wind – to be ‘Choicelessly’ aware of all that is part of meditation.”

“True mediation is a movement without any motive – without words and the activity of thought [getting in the way]. It must not be deliberately set about. Only then is meditation a movement of the measureless Infinite – without a goal.”
~ J. Krishnamurti ~

Referencing Krishnamurti’s teachings throughout, JC shared testimony and insight into the nature of the presence of true meditation in daily life. Attendees were encouraged to inquire and share insights of their own as well, as we looked within ourselves to discover the Truth of true meditation in the eternally present Now.

Primary references for Krishnamurti quotations came from ‘The Book of Life,’ ‘Krishnamurti’s Journal,’ and ‘Krishnamurti to Himself: His Last Journal’

JC Tefft

A NEW BEGINNING
An online workshop with Mukesh Gupta
Hosted by KECC
January 10-12, 2025

This first workshop of the new year was attended by 16 registrants and consisted of three sessions, each one starting with a talk by Mukesh that explored the essence of a new way of living through presence, awareness, and love.

Talk 1 focused on discovering a new way of living beyond the old instruments of thought, emotion, and accumulated knowledge. The speaker emphasized that we need profound discontent with the old ways, not just boredom seeking new excitement. When we deeply see the limitations of using old instruments to find something new, the mind naturally becomes quiet and still. This stillness arises not through effort but as a natural byproduct of insight. The talk explored the quality of presence that emerges – a simple awareness of what is happening inside and outside, without judgment or resistance. This presence has no borders or limits and is not personal but universal.

Talk 2 delved into the quality of pure observation as another expression of awareness. The speaker examined how we usually observe through our conditioned background and past knowledge, which prevents direct seeing. While recognition based on past knowledge has its practical place, the talk explored whether it’s possible to observe without the psychological movement of the self. This pure observation and listening happen simultaneously – as we observe attentively now, the mind naturally becomes quiet. The various qualities like listening, observation, and awareness are not separate but are interconnected expressions of one energy of pure presence. This observation free from the observer is itself an act of unconditional love, as there is no psychological separation based on like/dislike or judgment.

Talk 3 focused on love as the essential quality without which “the world will go to disaster” (quoting Krishnamurti). The speaker invited a deep questioning about what love is, not intellectually but with one’s whole being. When we meet this profound question with complete attention and listening beyond words and definitions, there is natural stillness and wonder. The talk examined how the ego-mind, born from thought activity, prevents love from flowering through its constant reactivity and sense of separation. Through pure observation and awareness, we can see how psychological separation denies love. The speaker pointed to a state of unconditioned being that emerges when there is a letting go of the illusion of separation. This state is where love, attention and awareness are not separate but are one energy.

Throughout the talks, there was an emphasis on the immediate, direct experience of what is being pointed to – not as a future achievement but as something available here and now through alert attention and awareness. The talks highlighted that transformation happens naturally through presence and insight, not through effort or practice based on the old instruments of thought. They presented an invitation to discover a new way of living based on direct perception rather than knowledge, on freedom from psychological separation rather than reinforcing it, and on love that flowers naturally when the mind is quiet and attentive.

Joost de Wulf

Exploring Ourselves
Online dialogue with Jackie McInley
January 4, 2025

Today one of us asked: is it clear to us when we are talking out of memory or knowledge, or, if we are experiencing something directly?

We are aware that we consciously use knowledge and memory of experience, to guide our decision making in everyday life. It is however less obvious that knowledge is involved in emotional reaction. The example of anger, indignation or hurt was pointed out to illustrate how these reactions seem to be happening in the present, alongside physiological manifestations such as the quickening of the heart beat. The group assumed that the beating heart was in the present, but that its cause was either from an outside agency or from within ones own past experience being triggered.

It was then asked whether there was a root (or background) to these perceived and apparently spontaneous reactions? Is it assumed that we know for sure where danger lies when our fear reaction is triggered? Is knowledge involved in the very “reading” of our emotional reactions? Is a past memory of fear or pain reactivated and projected, thereby warning us to act in a conditioned way to avoid further disturbance? Is any direct awareness involved in this process of experience and knowledge based reaction?

Can a reaction be looked at without the assumption that it is already identified and known? Can sensitivity meet the reaction as a response taking place in real time? We also noticed that all negative emotional reactions seem to be happening to us as a disturbance to our apparently harmonious selves. Is the sense of self, separate from the content of the reaction?

Our dialogue extrapolated into questioning the nature of learning and inquiry itself. Is inquiry possible without knowledge? Is there a new kind of learning that none of us have been schooled in, but which may lie in the unnamed, direct perception of whatever is?

Jackie McInley