Yoga Nidra and Healing Trauma
With Lynn Fraser
October 21 – 23, 2020
Zoom Online
Lynn Fraser is a trauma specialist and meditation teacher. She is the founder of the Stillpoint Method of Healing Trauma and specialises in holding a safe, trusted space for healing trauma in her online groups, classes and private sessions. She also is a senior teacher in the Himalayan Yoga Meditation tradition and a Certified Facilitator of the Kiloby Inquiries, a somatic mindfulness approach to healing developed by Scott Kiloby. Lynn has been interviewed on major podcasts in her field and is the author of Healing Ordinary Trauma, the Stillpoint Method, a suggested resource for this workshop. Her website https://lynnfraserstillpoint.com/ includes trauma education, links to recent podcasts and interviews, and the latest information on classes, small groups and working with Lynn. She lives near family, ocean and forest in Nova Scotia, Canada.
This workshop consisted of three 90-minute sessions. Each session included a talk, resource materials, guided practice and time for participants to share their experience and ask questions. Yoga Nidra offers deep nourishing rest, and the experience of stillness in the mind. Participants can experience staying grounded in the present – the only moment where we can breathe, relax and heal. It includes a state of conscious sleep in which a person is both alert and deeply relaxed on a physical, nervous system, mental and emotional level. It supports and improves physical and mental health and calms our nervous system survival responses of fight, flight, and freeze. By quieting the mind, Yoga Nidra can help enable a transformative shift in consciousness. As J. Krishnamurti points out, “If you as a human being transform yourself, you affect the consciousness of the rest of the world.”
Lynn shared with the group a basic understanding of trauma, which arises from the pain of human life. Many of us don’t know we are scared, hurt or only just coping, because these feelings are the water we have always swum in. We don’t know we have ordinary trauma, or that we are living with core beliefs of unworthiness. What we don’t know and can’t afford to feel, we can’t heal.
Lynn pointed out that we process collective fear and grief on top of our own individual pain. In this time of crisis, it is more urgent than ever to settle our nervous system, and to cultivate kindness for ourselves and others. When we look at life through a trauma lens, it becomes easier to understand the intensity of people’s actions and beliefs, and to have compassion. Lynn shared a cornucopia of techniques and practices for calming the mind and letting go of self judgement and fear of being overwhelmed by feelings and emotions. Practitioners are able to gradually access deeper levels and states of being, including deep sleep and turiya, the space beyond states. Dreaming diminishes and Presence increases, bringing many benefits. Participants reported sleeping better than usual at night. Lynn’s presentation was an experiential program of relaxation without any sense of right or wrong as we explored different centres in the body, aspects of the subconscious mind, conscious breathing, and mindful awareness. It was a restful dipping into a deeper sense of Being, which seemed to be most welcome for the attendees. Lynn invited us to join her online classes and presentations.
Exploring Ourselves, November 20, 2022
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauExploring Ourselves
Sunday, November 20, 2022
With Jackie McInley
Zoom online
Including staff and facilitators, fourteen people attended this Sunday morning meeting on Zoom from 10 am to about 12:15 pm. After the usual silent period, Jackie spoke for some time on the role of the facilitator, whom she said is a participant in the dialogue process. She clarified that she herself is not interested so much in the well-being of the individuals in the group but is more concerned with the well-being of the whole of humanity. This affects how we are treated in a dialogue setting. We ask what the human being is, not the individual particular person. We attempt to observe what we actually are and how we give attention to what we are, and we do not engage in speculation or intellectual discussion. It is a somatic activity, including our felt senses, and not just an exchange of ideas. And can there be observation without the division of observer and observed?
One of the group participants asked the question of Jackie, “What is the source of what was just said?” and Jackie responded, “Well, let’s see what happens when we have space to observe the reactions that take place.” Another participant asked if there is a collaboration within the group to relate from a sense of separateness. Other questions followed concerning the presence of abstraction in our relating and the tendency to adjust ourselves to others so we are liked. There was some exploration of these themes until a suggestion was offered that we investigate the meaning of “choiceless awareness”, a term often used by Krishnamurti. A number of the group indicated that it would be a good topic to pick up on at the next meeting.
Before the meeting was closed, some time was given to a description of an upcoming workshop which will run for five days from November 23 to 27 for two hours each day and will be entitled “Unfolding Conflict”. Facilitated by Jackie, the event will offer an opportunity to explore the subject of conflict deeply. Interested people are invited to sign up on the website for the dialogue series. https://krishnamurti-canada.ca
DB
To Be Human: Examining the Core of the Teaching
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauTo Be Human: Examining the Core of the Teaching
Thought and Time
With Javier Gomez Rodriguez
November 13, 2022
Zoom Online
Fourteen people were present, all included, to continue our ongoing exploration of J. Krishnamurti’s brief summary of his teaching, which he entitled The Core of the Teaching. This time we were looking into the fourth paragraph, which begins with the statement “Thought is time”. Javier quoted that sentence and then asked a number of questions which probed more deeply into the meaning of K’s words and the ones that followed. Can we perceive the fact of his statement? Can we see that thought is destructive and that knowledge is working against us?
There are different kinds of knowledge – technical and psychological. Knowledge on the technical level is necessary, whereas it brings conflict when the psychological takes the primary position in our actions. Then illusion is predominant. The notion of a self is an illusion and, in that sense, “an enemy”. Thought as the self creates a desire for security while at the same time it destroys security.
In relationship, action based on knowledge (the past) is divisive. For Krishnamurti, the new is truth. Are we alive to the freshness of life in the present? Can we suspend the intrusion of the past, which is the “me”, which is machine-like? Thought and knowledge are always limited, as is memory. We live in conflict as we do not meet the present moment fully.
Javier questioned, along with K , the idea of psychological evolution. Biological evolution may be a fact, but it does not apply to the psychological realm where one can theoretically become a better person. He also tackled the issue of the thinker and the thought. Is the observer different from the observed or are they equally images projected by the mind (thought)? If we see the projections of the “me” and the “you” then they may come to an end and division may cease. This is very important and must be clearly seen. Such seeing will bring about a radical mutation in the mind.
After his opening presentation, Javier opened the floor to group dialogue and discussion. Various questions and perceptions arose from the group participants. Can there be awareness of the human suffering which we cannot avoid? Is this sensitivity strong enough to bring inquiry and a deep questioning of our lives? Can we think our way out of thought? What is the key? It was suggested that what is needed is a quality of perception and insight which sees how thought is operating in our daily lives.
The subject of death and the search for immortality was brought in. “Can the sense of time dissolve?” it was asked. It was pointed out that death and life go hand in hand and are not separate. The challenge of understanding these apparent dualities is a very significant issue for all of us to investigate!
DB
Understanding Ourselves, November 6, 2022
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauUnderstanding Ourselves
Sunday, November 6, 2022
With Jackie McInley
Zoom Online
Twelve participants joined Jackie online at 10am on a Sunday morning. There seemed to be a readiness to jump right in without delay with some deep inquiries concerning our identities. Are we truly interested, it was asked, in exploring such fundamental questions as “What or who is the thinker?” and “Is the thinker separate from thought?” Are we assuming that we are mature enough in our understanding to make conclusions about such issues and is there clarity about the difference between our observing and our thinking about our observations? Such questions stimulated a good deal of discussion about a variety of related topics, including the asking “Is there an I at all?” Jackie inquired if Krishnamurti himself said that there is no “I”? Is “I” just a thought? Is the “I” thought a product of the subconscious mind, and is the subconscious real or is it comprised of that which we do not want to look at?
The focus turned from observing to the issue of listening and the possibility and difficulty of listening without reaction. The value of sitting quietly and watching the mechanisms of thought was discussed along with the difference between deliberate and mechanical thought and what Krishnamurti spoke of on those subjects. Do we see what is real or do we just perceive the appearance of realness? And what place does fear have in our observing and being with what is? Again it was asked if we can truly see the robotic nature of our thinking in such a way that we are free of it?
The consideration of the various questions occupied the group for well over the time put aside for the gathering (two hours). The session was then brought to a close by Ralph with an announcement of the upcoming supplementary workshop with Jackie towards the end of the month. In addition to the regular Sunday meeting on November 20, there will be a five-session workshop for two hours per session from November 23 to 27, Wednesday to Sunday, The workshop, entitled “Unfolding Conflict”, will be an opportunity to penetrate even more deeply than usual into basic issues of interest to the participants, with perhaps a focus on conflict, a subject given great emphasis by Krishnamurti in his teaching.
DB
Yoga Nidra and Healing Trauma, October 21 – 23, 2022
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauYoga Nidra and Healing Trauma
With Lynn Fraser
October 21 – 23, 2020
Zoom Online
Lynn Fraser is a trauma specialist and meditation teacher. She is the founder of the Stillpoint Method of Healing Trauma and specialises in holding a safe, trusted space for healing trauma in her online groups, classes and private sessions. She also is a senior teacher in the Himalayan Yoga Meditation tradition and a Certified Facilitator of the Kiloby Inquiries, a somatic mindfulness approach to healing developed by Scott Kiloby. Lynn has been interviewed on major podcasts in her field and is the author of Healing Ordinary Trauma, the Stillpoint Method, a suggested resource for this workshop. Her website https://lynnfraserstillpoint.com/ includes trauma education, links to recent podcasts and interviews, and the latest information on classes, small groups and working with Lynn. She lives near family, ocean and forest in Nova Scotia, Canada.
This workshop consisted of three 90-minute sessions. Each session included a talk, resource materials, guided practice and time for participants to share their experience and ask questions. Yoga Nidra offers deep nourishing rest, and the experience of stillness in the mind. Participants can experience staying grounded in the present – the only moment where we can breathe, relax and heal. It includes a state of conscious sleep in which a person is both alert and deeply relaxed on a physical, nervous system, mental and emotional level. It supports and improves physical and mental health and calms our nervous system survival responses of fight, flight, and freeze. By quieting the mind, Yoga Nidra can help enable a transformative shift in consciousness. As J. Krishnamurti points out, “If you as a human being transform yourself, you affect the consciousness of the rest of the world.”
Lynn shared with the group a basic understanding of trauma, which arises from the pain of human life. Many of us don’t know we are scared, hurt or only just coping, because these feelings are the water we have always swum in. We don’t know we have ordinary trauma, or that we are living with core beliefs of unworthiness. What we don’t know and can’t afford to feel, we can’t heal.
Lynn pointed out that we process collective fear and grief on top of our own individual pain. In this time of crisis, it is more urgent than ever to settle our nervous system, and to cultivate kindness for ourselves and others. When we look at life through a trauma lens, it becomes easier to understand the intensity of people’s actions and beliefs, and to have compassion. Lynn shared a cornucopia of techniques and practices for calming the mind and letting go of self judgement and fear of being overwhelmed by feelings and emotions. Practitioners are able to gradually access deeper levels and states of being, including deep sleep and turiya, the space beyond states. Dreaming diminishes and Presence increases, bringing many benefits. Participants reported sleeping better than usual at night. Lynn’s presentation was an experiential program of relaxation without any sense of right or wrong as we explored different centres in the body, aspects of the subconscious mind, conscious breathing, and mindful awareness. It was a restful dipping into a deeper sense of Being, which seemed to be most welcome for the attendees. Lynn invited us to join her online classes and presentations.
Understanding Ourselves, October 16, 2022
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauUnderstanding Ourselves
Sunday, October 16, 2022
With Jackie McInley
Zoom Online
Jackie joined us from London, England, for the second meeting of the month of the “Understanding Ourselves” series. There was a total of sixteen attendees at the meeting, some of whom were new to our dialogue. Jackie opened with a comparison of the online meetings and life itself in that both have their limitations – the limitations of the technology, the lack of direct contact with each other, and the inherent limitations of our human conditioning. We respond to dialogue not as a process manipulated by an expert who has perfect knowledge but more as an exercise in thinking for ourselves with no one’s thoughts or insights being more important than anyone else’s. What is our relationship with authority? Is Krishnamurti an authority for us? Or is dialogue an opportunity to pay attention, to observe each thought we have, including thoughts about others and feelings of being hurt by another? And can we share from a direct experience of what is happening in us in present “time”? Can a part of this be a perceiving of our psychological defense system in action?
After the exposition of what we are doing essentially in our meetings, there was a period of silence followed by a space for questions, comments, and discussion. Jackie asked if anything had touched us deeply and if we felt any sense of urgency in addressing any particular issue. The conversation turned to an exploration of our need for connection with others and ourselves and the contrary sense of disconnection many of us may often feel. This topic carried the meeting for a good length of time until it was brought to a close after 2 ¼ hours. At one point there were some comments by a couple of individuals that they were not understanding much of what was being said, which was leading to a loss of interest. For the most part, however, there was animated sharing and investigation of questions and issues felt to be significant.
To Be Human: Examining the Core of the Teachings, Session 4
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauTo Be Human: Examining the Core of the Teachings
With Javier Gomez Rodriguez
Sunday, October 9, 2022
Zoom Online
This was the fourth in a series of six sessions hosted by Javier from the Netherlands via Zoom. The series is an examination of the short summary written by J. Krishnamurti outlining what he felt was the core of his teachings. In this presentation Javier discussed the section of the summary he entitled “Freedom”. There was a total of twelve participants in attendance.
Javier began with a brilliant analysis of the history of freedom on the outer level (which is limited and temporary), then moved to the inner dimension of freedom which was Krishnamurti’s main interest. For K, freedom was a factor of perception and is to be found in the “mirror of relationship”. The key is observation, which must be engaged by each individual. The images and ideas used by thought in seeking security are the problem from which there must be freedom – freedom from the content of consciousness or “the known”. When there is no limitation in consciousness engendered by the known then there is “love” and “freedom”. Where conditioning is operative there is no freedom. As Krishnamurti said, “freedom is pure observation without direction”. This means observation without motivation and is described by K as “choiceless awareness” (of the movements of thought or of the reactions of the human psyche).
Javier asked a number of deep questions about the issue of freedom. Can we choose to be free, to be kind, or to behave in a certain way? Is choice an expression of confusion, as K maintained? Is it freedom when we identify with people or ideas, when we have preferences, likes, and dislikes? Is perception shaped by our conditioning and are our images and concepts always partial and fragmentary? Javier’s exposition lasted about forty-five minutes, after which he opened the session to group discussion, which produced further interesting questions and insights. Aspects of freedom explored were as follows:
– Freedom is at the beginning, in the moment, in perception now, before thought interferes or takes control.
– Choiceless awareness is the space of freedom.
– “Freedom from” is different than “freedom” itself.
– Freedom is in emptiness, silence, nothingness, and in the place where we are not, which is also “love”.
– Freedom involves seeing things “properly”.
It was a harmonious session imbued with an atmosphere of cooperation and friendliness. There will be more to investigate at our next meeting in two weeks “time”.
Understanding Ourselves, October 2, 2022
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauUnderstanding Ourselves
Sunday, October 2, 2022
With Jackie McInley
Zoom online
The group facilitator, Jackie McInley, joined us online from London, UK, at 10 am on a Sunday morning. Twelve people, all included, were present for the open dialogue session which has been attended without restriction by interested people for some months now on the first and third Sundays. New participants have be joining the meetings as the weeks have gone by. As usual, the meeting began with some silence and then an introductory talk by Jackie with some explanation of the intention of such gatherings. With the intention of “understanding ourselves” that J. Krishnamurti has spoken of in great depth, Jackie spoke of the need to look at the human mind’s tendency to move away from what is uncomfortable and painful. Thought tends to move towards the comfort of the “known” and this habit must be clearly seen and understood before there can be any freedom. Freedom which is a result of thought is limited and mind-created. Krishnamurti was always interested in seeing the nature of the prison we are living in psychologically rather than decorating it nicely. Jackie suggested that we are not separate from the prison and asked if we are listening attentively from within the prison as we explore or are we strengthening the bars of the prison as we communicate in dialogue.
After some description of what seems to be our difficulties in finding freedom from the prison of thought, Jackie invited the group members to present their own questions which are considered to be significant in the search to go beyond the limitations of the thinking mind. There were many angles of approach to the issue, along with periods of silence, which all led to a central question, “What is real security and where is it found?” This question elicited a great deal of input and inquiry, with the recurring question “Can we get to the essence of the issue?” It was agreed that looking at the movement towards security was perhaps a key to unravelling the issue. Some of us felt that there may be a fundamental sense of lack, of something missing, which we are generally unaware of yet which drives us to seek security. And is the sense of lack created by the mind’s tendency to divide the “observer” from the “observed”, as Krishnamurti often suggested, thus creating a sense of isolation and separation in the human experience?
By this time the meeting was running overtime and it was decided we should take up the questions at our next gathering in two weeks. The meeting had been quite friendly and harmonious, with a sense of cooperation and “thinking together”.
DB
Who Am I? Finding the Truth of Who You Really Are
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauWho Am I? Finding the Truth of Who You Really Are
With Kathy White
September 23 – 25, 2022
This workshop presented a weekend of The Work of Byron Katie and was guided by Kathy White, certified facilitator, Art Psychotherapist, and yoga teacher. Kathy lived in the spiritual community of Findhorn in Scotland for 23 years and now works from her home on Vancouver Island. In this online event, attended by twelve persons in all, participants were invited to use a form of self-inquiry (called The Work of Byron Katie) as a tool to “meditate on any stressful identities” they are holding, whether involving work, family, or friends. They may find freedom and may access who they are beyond identifications. The Work, a simple yet radical tool of self-inquiry, has been used for the past thirty years by thousands of people all over the world. Using four questions and “turnarounds”, you inquire into the thoughts that are causing you stress in your life and may find many of those thoughts falling away and no longer of value.
The format of the workshop was a combination of full group interaction and smaller “brakeout” pairings of two inquirers which allowed for more precise and intimate explorations. Some participants were relatively more experienced than others in the method and others less so. It seemed that everyone had a meaningful experience and appreciation for the learning and insights was widely expressed at the end of the event.
Exploring Ourselves, September 18, 2022
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauExploring Ourselves
Sunday, September 18, 2022
With Jackie McInley
Zoom Online Meeting
Fourteen people were in attendance for the second “Exploring Ourselves” meeting of the month. Jackie joined us from London, UK, and facilitated the session with her usual skill and sensitivity. She opened with a few probing questions exploring some fundamentals of group dialogue and offering some concise suggestions concerning what we are actually doing in these meetings. She did this while emphasising that we stay clear of any rigid conclusions. Are we truly interested, she asked, in looking at our conditioning? And is there a quality of mind that can learn by perceiving what is actually happening in this present moment? Can we admit that we don’t already know all about what is going on and there may be subtleties about which we have been unconscious? Can we look into our reactions to what is taking place?
The meeting lasted for a little over two hours. The second half consisted of an increased level of interaction between participants. Group dialogue brought forward issues of how to be present with anxiety and other emotions, looking without the word, “arguing for” or giving power to thought and mind, and the role of memory in inquiry. There seemed to be some lack of clarity in the investigation, and it was decided that some of the issues should be further explored at our next meeting.
DB
To Be Human, September 11, 2022
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauTo Be Human
With Javier Rodrigues
Sunday, September 11, 2022
Zoom Online
This was the third of four sessions comprising the “To Be Human” series of presentations by Javier being transmitted from his place of residence in the Netherlands. There were thirteen of us in attendance for this investigation of Krishnamurti’s attempt to summarise clearly the essence of his teachings in a short booklet entitled The Core of the Teachings. The exploration of this particular segment of the booklet Javier chose to call “Examining the Common Consciousness of Mankind”. He began with what he considered to be the main points of the section, Krishnamurti’s insights regarding how the human mind creates the content of its consciousness through images, which are hoped to provide security but in fact end up creating division between human beings. Security in images is a contradiction. Man is not an individual as the contents of his consciousness are shared with all other men or women. The way thought projects “the known” – knowledge, memory, and experience – was explored in some depth, including the fragmentation of such activity and the limitation of the resulting “me” entity which then feels separate and isolated. The paradoxes of separateness and shared humanity were looked at along with Krishnamurti’s well-known saying that “you are the world and the world is you.” When the truth of this statement is realised then there is an intelligent response to life and compassion arises. True freedom and uniqueness are only possible for the human being who is free of the content of his consciousness. Some time was spent with these and other rather challenging ideas, including the question of an agent or entity behind consciousness and the different quality of wholeness that is felt when we go beyond identification with thought.
After about an hour the group was opened to shared discussion or dialogue. The first question inquired into “What is the meaning of oneness and how is it to be realised?” This was followed by a question about trauma, the genuine need for love, and the art of being with difficult feelings. A number of other complex issues were brought forward including the importance of being vulnerable to our conditioning, our subconscious hurts, and that which is authentic in us. Krishnamurti’s emphasis on dissolving the distinction between the observer and the observed and the impact of such an action was debated for some minutes with some contrary perspectives expressed.
As usual, Javier guided the dialogue skillfully (and sometimes humorously) and it seemed the meeting was enjoyed by the participants.
DB