Self-inquiry, November 29, 2023
With Jackie McInley
Esquimalt Gorge Park Pavilion
Victoria, BC
Ten people were present for the penultimate session of this visit to Canada by Jackie. She will be missed. Her skill in reflecting back to the group what its members have expressed and suggesting directions we could move to deepen our inquiry has made her facilitation extremely effective and valuable. To begin this session, Jackie brought forth the phenomena of the “lone wolf” and that of The Hundredth Monkey in the behaviour of certain animals in nature. She mentioned that human beings display similar patterns, which have been taken by scientists such as David Bohm to offer “hope” that we could find ways to cooperate and live in a greater state of harmony than we have up until now. One group member asked at this point if there was fear in the group and a self-protectiveness which might prevent a working together on the part of humanity.
Another participant asked if we have an understanding of how to deal with fear when it arises. How can we transcend fear when it appears? Can fear sometimes be an impetus for a healthy response to life situations? Can we “go through” our fear, and do we in fact actually have any choice in the matter? Is there a fear that actually is us, without separation, and without it being “my” fear?
We asked whether the source of fear is thinking, especially the generation of the “I” or “me” thoughts which form our identity. Is there a “me” which is creating the fear? And along with that, is there a motive for getting rid of fear, which keeps us caught in fear? Can there be a “seeing” of what is going on without a drive to find a resolution? Can there be a seeing with our whole being? These and other questions kept our attention for the full time of the meeting and then we had to draw it to a close.
It seems that our dialogue meetings have progressively taken on a sense of cooperative harmony and exploration that brings us together in a real search for truth and, perhaps, even love.
DB
Exploring Ourselves, January 21, 2024
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauTwelve people in total were present for this Sunday morning dialogue session with Jackie, who joined us via Zoom from the UK. Jackie began with some pointers about how to make use of a dialogue meeting. She said that dialogue is mainly about speaking and listening, both at a depth which is “accessible to everybody”. It is not a search for something we can take away and use in our lives. Rather, it is an ongoing “waking up” or “seeing” which opens up as we go. It can be very helpful if we can express ourselves clearly and slowly enough that we can follow what is being shared.
As is usually the case, we began with some quiet time. This allows space for any questions or observations that may arise and for any significant unresolved problems to reveal themselves. The first issue that arose was a question about how we can approach Krishnamurti without depending on him for answers. Do we repeat K’s words and make them into theories, or is a direct seeing into the issue possible? Is thought looking at thought or is there something beyond thought looking at thought or “aware” of thought? One participant expressed frustration with the seemingly slow process of going around in circles with such questions. Was the frustration a fact to simply “be with” or could we immediately go beyond the frustration? There was a good deal of discussion of such points, which could have been experienced as hard work or creative discovery – or some of each.
Closing remarks emphasised the central importance of the action of “seeing” as we inquire into the structures of our consciousness, either in group inquiry or on our own. We will be meeting on the first and third Sundays of each month until further notice.
DB
AWARE LIVING, OFF-GRID
/in Sharings /by Ralph TillerBEYOND MEANING AND MEASURE.
/in Sharings /by James WaiteIN BRIEF: Consciousness and awareness.
/in Sharings /by James WaiteWhat makes living and learning mechanical?
/in Sharings /by James WaiteAware Living Café, January 6, 2024
/in Event Summaries /by Ralph TillerExploring Ourselves, January 7, 2024
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauExploring Ourselves
January 7, 2024
With Jackie McInley
Zoom Online
Ten people in total were in attendance for this Sunday Morning online meeting. We began with some questioning of what kind of awareness Krishnamurti was talking about for so many years. Was it an awareness without a controller? Was it self-consciousness, or something different? Was it beyond self-consciousness, with a quality of freedom, mystery, or an inexplicability? Can it be “understood”? Is it separate from the body or one with it? Is it separate from thought? Are thought and conditioning the same? If there is no thought can there be conditioning? Is it possible to speak from the depth of consciousness or is thought always creating some element of conflict, usually without realising that it is doing so? And how do we see what thought is doing in us? There is so much projection in our thinking that conflicts are often not seen with any clarity, for example in family dynamics.
There were some questions about our approach to these issues. Are we having some insight or just thinking? Is there partial insight or full insight? Can we slow down the inquiry so we can see the insecurity of our thoughts? What about the uneasy feeling we have as we get closer to the sense of not knowing, of touching the unknown? In the experiential domain, can we stay in our vulnerability and feel the stresses that arise as we explore ourselves? Jackie asked the interesting question “What is the true sense of peace?”
Other participants wondered if we ever truly wake up or are we most often in a dream state. Are we caught habitually in various assumptions? Can we see that we are never really a victim and, if not, how is it missed? Is sadness “mine” or is it a universal phenomenon? If we sense that much of our experience is common and shared, does that bring us closer to other humans?
Sometimes the dialogue seemed to create that sense of shared meaning.
DB
Self-inquiry December 3, 2023
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauSelf-inquiry
December 3, 2023
With Jackie McInley
At 538 Swanwick Rd. in Metchosin
(the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada)
Thirteen people in total were present for this, the last meeting with Jackie on her present trip to Canada. She picked up on a subject that had been looked into during the previous meeting in Victoria: the idea of the “mask” and if we are functioning with or without one. How authentic are we in our moment-to-moment interactions with each other?
Once the idea of the mask had been re-introduced we sat for five minutes or so in silence. There was a comment that it was nice to have such a quiet beginning. Then Jackie gave her usual short introduction to the dialogue and responded to a few inquiries about what is allowed in it. Anything is allowed, she explained. We can talk about and explore anything we wish to, but it usually is more meaningful when we focus on some issue that has some weight for us. A spontaneous silence came upon the group for some minutes, at which point one participant took the risk to expose his mask by sharing some of the insecurities and anxieties that were commonplace for him in his daily life and the self-definitions that went along with those feelings. He ended by summarising his ideas about himself with the words “I am a loser.”
Another participant challenged the first by asking “Why, then, does the mask continue to exist?” Various members of the group contributed ideas about the dynamics of group interaction. “Is it common to project a mask in such a situation? Does everyone feel insecure when speaking out in front of a group? It was suggested that Krishnamurti is offering an alternative experience in that he is speaking of a process of self-observation that can be applied to any life situation. Such a close watching of one’s responses can bring in a fresh perception of oneself which involves a continuous learning about oneself and a questioning of the habits of thinking that are determining one’s experience. Such observation can create a space in oneself where a kind of freedom is revealed. The session concluded with what seemed like a satisfactory feeling of peacefulness and harmony.
DB
Self-inquiry, November 29, 2023, with Jackie McInley
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauSelf-inquiry, November 29, 2023
With Jackie McInley
Esquimalt Gorge Park Pavilion
Victoria, BC
Ten people were present for the penultimate session of this visit to Canada by Jackie. She will be missed. Her skill in reflecting back to the group what its members have expressed and suggesting directions we could move to deepen our inquiry has made her facilitation extremely effective and valuable. To begin this session, Jackie brought forth the phenomena of the “lone wolf” and that of The Hundredth Monkey in the behaviour of certain animals in nature. She mentioned that human beings display similar patterns, which have been taken by scientists such as David Bohm to offer “hope” that we could find ways to cooperate and live in a greater state of harmony than we have up until now. One group member asked at this point if there was fear in the group and a self-protectiveness which might prevent a working together on the part of humanity.
Another participant asked if we have an understanding of how to deal with fear when it arises. How can we transcend fear when it appears? Can fear sometimes be an impetus for a healthy response to life situations? Can we “go through” our fear, and do we in fact actually have any choice in the matter? Is there a fear that actually is us, without separation, and without it being “my” fear?
We asked whether the source of fear is thinking, especially the generation of the “I” or “me” thoughts which form our identity. Is there a “me” which is creating the fear? And along with that, is there a motive for getting rid of fear, which keeps us caught in fear? Can there be a “seeing” of what is going on without a drive to find a resolution? Can there be a seeing with our whole being? These and other questions kept our attention for the full time of the meeting and then we had to draw it to a close.
It seems that our dialogue meetings have progressively taken on a sense of cooperative harmony and exploration that brings us together in a real search for truth and, perhaps, even love.
DB
Self-inquiry, November 26, 2023
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauSelf-inquiry
November 26, 2023
With Jackie McInley
At KECC Metchosin
Eleven people were present for this Sunday afternoon meeting at the Swanwick Road location for the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada. The session was facilitated by Jackie McInley, who is visiting us from the UK and lending her passion and skill with group dialogue to assist our attempts to engage in meaningful discussions or “meditations” about the nature of self-exploration and self-discovery. Without being an authority, she “leads” the groups in looking into questions about ourselves and about life as we are experiencing it. As the setting is one where people have an interest in what J. Krishnamurti has said about such matters, the subjects of “study” are usually related to self-knowledge and insight into our own nature, both as individuals and as members of the human race. Sometimes the investigation takes a turn into unexpected directions, but these often turn out to be interesting in surprising and challenging ways, which was the case in today’s session.
When the attendees were asked what they would like to discuss, one participant introduced a topic involving the keeping of secrets and the creation of a disharmony when such “secrets” were held within and not shared with the group. On the other hand, it was pointed out how such secret behaviours that one may have engaged in, when shared, can break down barriers and promote a greater sense of communion and cohesiveness within the group. Some group members felt that such sharing might be “dangerous” in that others may have strong judgments about the behaviour described. In such cases conflict and division might result from a lack of trust in the results of such sharing. There was a question of what would be helpful to share and what would not and some degree of fear about taking such risks.
The conversation turned towards the almost universal experience of loneliness and the depth of the human need to find comfort in transcending our sense of isolation and separateness. The exploration of loneliness went quite deep and there was some resistance to ending the conversation. It seems that these group meetings have taken us into depths that we are reluctant to leave for the more superficial levels of oursurface interactions and relationships. At the same time, there may be an awakening of uncomfortable feelings and sensations which can be difficult to “be with”. Still, being with them seems necessary in order to penetrate them and “go through” a kind of “death” process wherein the “ego” self may dissolve and freedom from the self may be realised.
DB