Victoria Krishnamurti Event, December 1, 2017

This month’s session at the Church of Truth was focused on the topic of “The New Mind”. On a dark, rainy night only one person joined me for the event. We started by watching a Krishnamurti video from the Evelyn Blau series “Beyond Myth and Tradition”. This selection was entitled “The Religious Mind” and it looked into the question of what is a truly religious mind. K approaches the issue by negating what is not religion – beliefs, rituals, repetitive practices, and so on. Then he states that true religion is discovered when the mind is deeply silent. The mind must become the stillness beyond thought in order to know the sacred.
The one participant was new to Krishnamurti’s approach and had a number of questions about it which we discussed in some detail, going over the basic teachings and points of inquiry. She seemed quite interested, took a number of handouts with her, and expressed an intention to come back for the January meeting.

Stillness Within Meetup -Eckhart Tolle: The Nature of Ego and Identity

On Remembrance Day, eleven members got together to watch and reflect on a recently released Eckhart Tolle talk. The talk focused on the tendency for human beings to derive a sense of purpose from jobs, accomplishments, appearance and roles. Eckhart pointed to an inner awareness as a path to experience a deeper truth beyond the surface expressions and illusory identity. For many, a collapse or shedding of this constricted sense of self identity is possible with a relaxation into the present moment (being aware of breath, sound, one’s sense of aliveness, or simply sitting and being aware of the gaps between our thoughts).

The group enjoyed a debrief after the talk – with a range of individual reflections. One person had never seen one of Eckhart’s talks and really enjoyed his clear and fun way of expressing. Others felt that some of the content was pertinent to their current experience (e.g. a suggestion of not seeing each action as a stepping stone to get to an ultimate goal but rather a complete experience in and of itself).

As I listened, after having heard many many of ET’s talks, it seemed that rather than connecting on a mental level, stillness was invoked, (even some level of disinterest in the words pouring out). It left, perhaps, more of a non-mind based connection – to Eckhart, to the group, and to the infinite unknowable richness of being. Having meditated for years and years on a solo basis, this opportunity to commune with others from a spacious connection adds richness that warms and possibly even ignites something previously undiscovered.

I would have liked to sit in silence with Krishnamurti, to ask him what could not be conveyed in words (he often seemed so frustrated when the words weren’t ‘landing’ with his audience)… But if there really is no real division, no time, no space, I suppose K’s insights are in the field of our beingness now – closer than close!

Thanks again to the Krishnamurti Centre of Canada for hosting the meetup this month!

Krishnamurti Study Session at the Centre, November 18

This session we looked into Q & A # 19 in The First and Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti. The question concerned prayer as a way to God. K’s response included an investigation of prayer, concentration, and meditation. Prayer, he says, usually involves asking God to clear up the mess and confusion that we ourselves have created, thereby avoiding our responsibility for the way things are. Prayer may, he admits, produce a result that we want, but such a process is a projection of our own minds and is not putting us in touch with reality or clearing up our confusion. He goes into a few different aspects of prayer and then proceeds to question whether concentration as a process of exclusion has anything to do with real meditation. Meditation is understanding the ways of thought and feeling, seeing into all the layers of our consciousness, and being free of the content of the conditioned mind.
The reading of the chapter was interspersed with discussion of the issues presented and a sharing of questions and insights. The four participants were able to look into the relevance of K’s pointers for their own lives and to continue with the deepening of their inquiry and self-understanding.

Inquiry Sunday at the Centre

Inquiry Sunday
November 5, 2017

Our morning session, attended by five people, featured a video of Gangaji on the topic of “Unravelling the Knot of Suffering”. It was made in 2002 but the subject matter was timeless in looking at the basic causes of suffering and the remedy for the condition. The issue of suffering was approached in a few different ways but the essence seemed to be the attachment to an identity as a separate self who has to defend and protect itself from the apparent threats continuously presented by the impermanence of life. Gangaji’s interactions with people made the topic relevant to daily existence and her pointers were clear and useful. Our group engaged in some discussion which looked at some of the key points made in the video and how we understood them and found them applicable to our own experience.

In the afternoon we watched some new videos combining excerpts from Krishnamurti’s teachings with images from other Hollywood-style movies and beautiful scenic shots. It seems the idea was to appeal to the new generation of media-oriented youth who would relate to the more updated way of presenting K’s teachings. In discussing the material some ambivalent feelings were expressed and pros and cons to the presentation style were looked at. It was asked if K himself would approve of such attempts to make his teachings more ‘modern’, but of course he is not here to answer.

Krishnamurti Study Session at the Centre

Krishnamurti Study Session
Saturday, November 4, 2017

Our meeting this week focused on Q & A # 18: “Surrender to ‘What Is.’The question asked of K was “What is the difference between surrendering to the Will of God and what you are saying about the acceptance of what is?” In responding to the question, K emphasizes the difference between what actually is and our projections, imaginations, beliefs, and ideals about what is. “If you know reality, you cannot surrender to it; you cease to exist.” The short chapter was dense with ideas that could be explored in depth and the five participants were able to inquire quite deeply into the various issues raised by K and by each other as we went through the text. It was a very interesting contemplation on a key subject.

Victoria Krishnamurti Event, November 3, 2017

Victoria Krishnamurti Event
November 3, 2017

The subject of this month’s meeting at the Church of Truth was “What is Meditation?” Five people took part in the session which began with a handout from the book Freedom from the Known by J. Krishnamurti. Meditation is described as “to be aware of every thought and every feeling, never to say it is right or wrong but just to watch it and move with it. In that watching you begin to understand the whole movement of thought and feeling. And out of this awareness comes silence.” After reading the whole handout the group was guided by the facilitator into a meditation as suggested by K. This was followed by another guided meditation on the “inner body” and the sense of Being as recommended by Eckhart Tolle. As a group we then reported on our experience of the meditations and how they could be integrated into our daily awareness “practice.” There were very interesting sharings by the participants.
We then moved on to a viewing of three short video clips by Krishnamurti, Eckhart Tolle, and Rupert Spira, all on the topic of meditation. The common thread was that meditation is a state of being rather than a “doing,” and this was expressed beautifully by the three teachers. During our closing discussion everyone acknowledged an enjoyment and significance in their experience of the evening.

Krishnamurti Study Session

Krishnamurti Study Session

Saturday, October 28, 2017

The material for study this meeting was from The First and Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti, Q&A 17 “On Memory.” A questioner had asked K. about his statement that memory is incomplete experience. He goes into the issue in depth in the response to the questioner, covering different aspects of it. The challenges of life are always new, but memory is always the old and therefore is inadequate in responding to the present situation. Also, memory tends to function as an instrument of the “me” or separate self, habitually protecting and defending the self and carrying past experiences in relationship into the present moment, thereby preventing any fresh and direct experience of life. This can make life “weary, dull, and empty”

The three participants engaged in some interesting discussion about the subject matter, reflecting on the relevance of it in our own lives and bringing awareness to the way thought operates in us as memory. We explored the difference between thinking and presence, the sense of pure being, and wholeness. It was a delightful sharing.

Stillness Within – Eckhart Tolle: The Impulse to Awaken

Four members got together in October to view this recently released Eckhart Tolle talk and reflection. There were some interesting themes raised by Eckhart in this talk.

One of the topics explored was the false sense of self.  Eckhart suggested that this sense of self is based on concepts and beliefs, accompanied frequently by a degree of unconsciousness. He suggested that our primary purpose in this lifetime is to see through these mental constructs, to discover a dimension of stillness which underlies that. The tool of self-observation, without labels or judgements, is offered as a path to discovering a formless, timeless essence within ourselves.

Krishnamurti also has emphasized this type of observation without judgement:  “So can there be a learning, that is, watching, observing, without any sense of accumulation, so that the mind is always fresh to learn? It is only such a mind that is a free mind.”

Eckhart suggests that through this deeper self-awareness, we will still notice human foibles, observe passing sensations, and even imperfections… but what may become more prevalent in our consciousness is a limitless presence, unformed, beyond words. The inner dimension of spaciousness is a portal to freedom, and a transcendence over suffering – it is our essential reality.

We enjoyed a spot of tea and a chat afterward – a lovely way to spend an afternoon on the beautiful grounds at Swanwick. Thanks to the Krishnamurti Centre for supporting this event.

Science and Nonduality Conference Weekend

Science and Nonduality Conference

San Jose, California

October 20 – 22, 2017

It has been a consistent part of our program at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada for the past three years to host a live streaming of the annual conference held in the San Francisco area in October. The conference is a forum for prominent scientists and spiritual teachers to come together and share their perspectives on the nature of reality with an audience apparently comprised of people interested in the scientific and/or spiritual dimensions. Twelve participants were present at the Centre for the weekend. As is often the case, there were some problems with the technology and the live streaming was not always available, but fortunately the presentations were recorded and could be viewed later on our own schedule if not live. The weekend was packed with presentations by a mixture of male and female presenters with sometimes very different ways of communicating their viewpoints and questions about the study of life and consciousness. They covered a wide spectrum from very complex and rational science to wild and chaotic expressions of the “Kali” energy, a more right brain and less linear mode. A prominent focus was the need to integrate the “heart” with the head. Participants were familiar with some of the presenters, particularly such as Adyashanti, Rupert Spira, Francis Lucille, Cynthia Bourgeault, and Deepak Chopra. There was some comedy and entertainment mixed in with the more serious presentations.

The sessions were mostly twenty minutes in duration, which in many cases allowed for only a taste of the presenter’s full vision. More in-depth exploration would have been available at the conference itself with longer sessions supplementing the program taking place in the main auditorium. Nevertheless, the material did invite a looking into ourselves and a questioning of unconsciously held beliefs and concepts. Some of the talks inspired a sense of wonder at the vastness and majesty of the universe and the capacities of the consciousness that can contemplate it. A video of a David Suzuki interview with David Bohm, who was closely associated with J. Krishnamurti for many years, was included in the program. Delicious meals were provided by Pearson College. As always with the events at the Centre, the weekend was an opportunity to be with ourselves in a way that invited insight and deeper understanding. It seemed to be much enjoyed by all present.

Krishnamurti Study Group, October 7, 2017

Krishnamurti Study Group
October 7, 2017

Four people gathered on Saturday afternoon in the main house at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin to study Q & A section # 16 in J. Krishnamurti’s book The First and Last Freedom. The chapter was entitled “On the belief in God” and it opens with a question put to Krishnamurti: “Belief in God has been a powerful incentive to better living. Why do you deny God? Why do you not try to revive man’s faith in the ideal of God?” K begins by saying that he is not denying God – it would be foolish to do so – but he questions the value of belief. “Neither the believer nor the non-believer will find God; because reality is the unknown, and your belief or non-belief in the unknown is merely a self-projection and therefore not real.” In the next paragraph he states that “what leads to a better life is intelligence, and there cannot be intelligence if there is belief…”
Our reading of the chapter was interspersed with a silent period to start and then group discussion of the material in the text, which stimulated a good deal of authentic inquiry and sharing of questions, insights, and experiences relevant to the subject of belief but also including explorations of self-awareness, observation, duality and nonduality, meditation and spiritual practice. There was a depth of investigating that made the session keen and enjoyable, and apparently of value to the participants.