Two recent Eckhart Tolle meetups brought Stillness Within members and others together yet again on April 8th and March 25th.
In March the Stillness Within Meetup group watched a webcast from the home of Eckhart Tolle. There were 11 of us and after the meditative talk, the group took pause to deepen our own sense of inner being through a group awareness session of simply noticing.
Krishnamurti, in Choiceless Awareness notes:
“…if you are aware of outward things, the curve of a road, the shape of a tree, the color of another’s dress, the outline of the mountains against a blue sky, the delicacy of a flower, the pain on the face of a passerby, the ignorance, the envy, the jealousy of others, the beauty of the earth, then, seeing all these outward things without condemnation, without choice, you can ride on the tide of inner awareness“
There was little discussion but lovely sense of community at this gathering.
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The April meetup featured a recorded talk “The Awakening Experience – Before and After”. The talk described Tolle’s understanding of the nature of experience. The talk focused on the unfolding of deeper consciousness and in his words “the liberation that comes when we transcend the limitations of a solely conceptual identity”. We had some interesting discussion afterward and a group awareness exercise. With a few new members joining in, it made for a wonderful Saturday afternoon in the gatehouse.
In Freedom from the Known, Krishnamurti points to the dropping away of identity and concepts in a very beautiful way:
“When you look at the stars there is you who are looking at the stars in the sky; the sky is flooded with brilliant stars, there is cool air, and there is you, the observer, the experiencer, the thinker, you with your aching heart, you, the centre, creating space. You will never understand about the space between yourself and the stars, yourself and your wife or husband, or friend, because you have never looked without the image, and that is why you do not know what beauty is or what love is. You talk about it, you write about it, but you have never known it except perhaps at rare intervals of total self-abandonment. So long as there is a centre creating space around itself there is neither love nor beauty. When there is no centre and no circumference then there is love. And when you love you are beauty.”
I love this expression – or love loves itself!
Weekend Retreat at the Centre
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauThe Quest for Truth
Retreat with Professor P. Krishna
May 12 – 14, 2017
Professor P. Krishna visited us again this year to facilitate a weekend workshop exploring “The Quest for Truth”. Prof. Krishna has been a long-time associate of J. Krishnamurti, has directed the Krishnamurti adult centre and been principal of the K school at Rajghat near Varansi. He has written numerous articles and books on K’s teachings and given talks around the world. Formerly a physicist, he has a deep comprehension of the scientific approach to truth as well as the inner or spiritual approach. The weekend retreat began with a public talk by Prof. Krishna at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada near Victoria in which he discussed the differences and similarities between the scientific and spiritual approaches to truth. It was a very interesting talk in which he stressed that the two approaches need not be antagonistic towards each other but can be complimentary. The desire to inquire into the truth of nature or of ourselves in based in a natural curiosity which is built in to the human consciousness. The scientific exploration is into the external environment, whereas the spiritual is inward. It is possible to have both a scientific mind as well as a “religious” one. The true measure of spiritual truth, he suggested, was whether or not a human being becomes more compassionate and loving in his daily life. The point of the spiritual quest is to bring about order in consciousness, which naturally produces compassion as a by-product. Without wisdom, mere knowledge becomes a problem. Eleven people were in attendance for the Friday evening talk. A version of the talk can be seen on YouTube.
The rest of the weekend was attended by eight people and was a further exploration into both the scientific approach and the spiritual, with a greater emphasis on the latter. It was suggested that the most meaningful things in life are not attainable through thought and will, but are by-products of self- understanding. Authority is not helpful in the religious search. Knowledge has its place but is not transformative: we must find out for ourselves. The question as to what brings actual transformation in ourselves was looked into. We watched two videos of 1983 K talks in Saanen which stimulated group discussion, had plenty of time for walks on the property and resting, and enjoyed delicious meals from the Pearson College kitchen. Our Sunday topic was the illusions that create disorder and which appear at various levels of consciousness. We need to establish right relationship with these illusory concepts and beliefs with begin at the level of superstition and have their deepest effect in the belief that we are a separate entity. The remedy for illusions is seeing their danger through passive awareness or watchfulness. The blocks to such seeing are our attachments to the “me” and its manifestations, looking for pleasure and comfort rather than truth, and not looking at the root of our problems. Awareness can see the illusion of ego as it arises from moment to moment.
More information about Prof. Krishna and his work can be found on his website, www.P.Krishna.org
Krishnamurti Study Group
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauKrishnamurti Study Group
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Six people gathered for the study group this week. We were able to sit outdoors for the first time and enjoy the grounds and the surrounding beauty while inquiring into chapter 8 of the Q & A section of The First and Last Freedom. The topic was “Awareness” and the difference between introspection or analysis and awareness. This was felt to be a crucial distinction in understanding Krishnamurti’s approach to self transformation and for understanding ourselves, the main point of the exercise. K also explored the difference between experiencing and the arising of an experiencer and an object of experience, which creates a duality where in fact there is none. The reading of the text led us into some in-depth looking into the issues. The six participants included Harshad, a guest from India, who always adds valuable insights to our dialogues. An excellent session with perceptive contributions by all!
Inquiry Sunday at the Centre
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauInquiry Sunday at KECC
May 7, 2017
A rather small turnout of four people attended the Sunday meeting at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin. For the morning session we watched a video of a talk given by Susan Blackmore at the Science and Nonduality Conference in San Francisco. She spoke for about forty-five minutes on the issue of “Living without Free Will,” and then fielded questions from the audience. It was a very interesting talk combining scientific reasons for questioning the reality of free will and spiritual inquiry into the question. The crux of the matter for her is not just the scientific evidence that free will is an illusion, but, more importantly perhaps, the questioning of the existence of a separate self, an entity who has or does not have free will. If it is seen that there is no entity as a “self” other than what thought creates, then the whole debate about free will collapses. As the talk and the questions from the audience proceeded it became evident that the issue has many complex aspects to it. The participants in our group enjoyed the video and engaged in an interesting group exploration of the material the how it related to the perspectives of J. Krishnamurti and our own understandings.
The afternoon session was comprised of questions put to Krishnamurti at various talks and his responses to the questions. One question was chosen to look at on video: “Can thought be aware of itself as it arises and not merely after it has passed?” K gave a passionate response to the question and our group then delved deeply into our own investigation. Our inquiry took us to the end of the meeting time for the day. Some very interesting points were touched on, including the possibility of being aware of thoughts without any duality between thought and awareness.
Being… with Eckhart Tolle (Stillness Within Video Gatherings)
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauTwo recent Eckhart Tolle meetups brought Stillness Within members and others together yet again on April 8th and March 25th.
In March the Stillness Within Meetup group watched a webcast from the home of Eckhart Tolle. There were 11 of us and after the meditative talk, the group took pause to deepen our own sense of inner being through a group awareness session of simply noticing.
Krishnamurti, in Choiceless Awareness notes:
“…if you are aware of outward things, the curve of a road, the shape of a tree, the color of another’s dress, the outline of the mountains against a blue sky, the delicacy of a flower, the pain on the face of a passerby, the ignorance, the envy, the jealousy of others, the beauty of the earth, then, seeing all these outward things without condemnation, without choice, you can ride on the tide of inner awareness“
There was little discussion but lovely sense of community at this gathering.
************************************************************
The April meetup featured a recorded talk “The Awakening Experience – Before and After”. The talk described Tolle’s understanding of the nature of experience. The talk focused on the unfolding of deeper consciousness and in his words “the liberation that comes when we transcend the limitations of a solely conceptual identity”. We had some interesting discussion afterward and a group awareness exercise. With a few new members joining in, it made for a wonderful Saturday afternoon in the gatehouse.
In Freedom from the Known, Krishnamurti points to the dropping away of identity and concepts in a very beautiful way:
“When you look at the stars there is you who are looking at the stars in the sky; the sky is flooded with brilliant stars, there is cool air, and there is you, the observer, the experiencer, the thinker, you with your aching heart, you, the centre, creating space. You will never understand about the space between yourself and the stars, yourself and your wife or husband, or friend, because you have never looked without the image, and that is why you do not know what beauty is or what love is. You talk about it, you write about it, but you have never known it except perhaps at rare intervals of total self-abandonment. So long as there is a centre creating space around itself there is neither love nor beauty. When there is no centre and no circumference then there is love. And when you love you are beauty.”
I love this expression – or love loves itself!
Weekend Retreat at the Centre
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauSelf Inquiry and the Unfettered Mind
With Kathryn Jefferies, Ph.D
April 21 – 23, 2017
Dr. Jefferies teaches in the education department at Lakehead University in Orillia, Ontario. Her Ph. D thesis on the subject of “Education for Enlightenment” included perspectives on education from J. Krishnamurti, Byron Katie, and others. In this weekend workshop, she wove together the approaches of Krishnamurti and Katie in order to inquire into the meaning of living a life of wholeness and true satisfaction and the effect that has on the world around us. “We are the world” is one of the core principles of her teaching, along with the idea that we are our own authority. The ultimate truth of any idea, perspective, or spiritual teaching is only realized in our own actual experience. Understanding the difference between concepts and actually seeing the truth about ourselves for ourselves is something often not appreciated but is essential for self and societal transformation.
Kathryn gave an introductory talk on Friday night at which sixteen people were present. She spoke of her background and experiences with education and self-awareness, outlined her basic approach to both, and shared her vision for the weekend. Thirteen people were able to stay for the full weekend during which Kathryn guided the group in several meditations, both walking outdoors and sitting in the meeting room. The meditations were focused on the simple observation of “what is”: the breath, the body, and the thoughts and feelings arising moment to moment. She presented “The Work” of Byron Katie and guided the group in exploring issues relevant to them through its method of questioning assumptions and beliefs about others and ourselves. Participants used worksheets to write down their stressful thoughts and then worked together in dyads to investigate the beliefs contained in their statements. Kathryn was very skillful in facilitating the process and in bringing people out of their thinking minds and back to their actual experience. Real understanding will come from simply doing the work, she suggested.
A short video about Krishnamurti was shown on the Saturday night and there was time for rest and for exploring the lovely property and surroundings. The weekend was a challenging and profound exploration of ourselves and our relationship with others and the world. There was great support for insight and direct seeing into the nature of our thinking and feeling and for going beyond the conceptual mind to a deeper experience of being. Kathryn embodied the spirit of real inquiry and is planning to return next year to offer another weekend of inquiry at the Centre.
Krishnamurti Study Group
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauKrishnamurti Study Group
Saturday, April 15, 2017
This week’s topic for study was from The First and Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti, Q & A # 8 “On Awareness.” The question was “What is the difference between awareness and introspection? And who is aware in awareness?” K goes into the motivation behind introspection and points out that it always has a motive to achieve something, which then maintains the self at the centre of the activity. Awareness, on the other hand, looks at the self without judgment or the intention to modify it, and this choiceless awareness dissolves the self. As to “who is aware”, K points out that at the moment of experiencing there is no observer or observed, neither the person who is aware nor the object of awareness. There is only pure observation and experiencing. The six participants engaged in an excellent dialogue, seeking to see clearly for ourselves what K is indicating in the chapter. There was a sense of freshness and immediacy to the inquiry.
The Certainty of Our Own Being 2
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauPlease be advised that the blog post on this topic that was entered yesterday was discussing the teachings of Rupert Spira. We held a meditative session at Swanwick and listened to a Spira audio. Then we discussed it. The key ideas are not mine, but rather Spira’s.
Rick Mickelson
The Certainty of Our Own Being
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauThe key points–
Victoria Krishnamurti Event
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauVictoria Krishnamurti Event
Friday, April 7, 2017
Our first Friday night session at the Church of Truth was quite successful. Five of us watched a couple of clips of Krishnamurti speaking at Brockwood Park on the subject of death and then formed a circle for some group dialogue. Three of the participants were new to Krishnamurti, and all found the material and the discussion of great interest. They were also intending to attend events at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin. In the videos, K spoke of the illusion of being a separate consciousness and the limitation of the thought-constructed sense of a “me”. Can we die to our attachments and our sense of being a separate, isolated entity? Out of the act of dying, love makes itself known. The participants had a good deal of pertinent input for exploration and discussion.
We looked at a Rupert Spira video addressing a question about the fear of dissolution. His approach was slightly different than Krishnamurti’s, but everyone felt the two were complementary and valuable in our inquiry into the meaning of living and dying.
Krishnamurti Study Group
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauKrishnamurti Study Group
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Three regular inquirers met on Saturday afternoon to continue looking at the Questions and Answers in The First and Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti. We completed the reading of the section “On Suffering” and engaged in a pointed dialogue stimulated by the material. K points out that any resistance to suffering or any attempt to escape it only maintains the state of consciousness that produces suffering. We looked deeply into this issue from different perspectives and all felt it was a significant exploration of this very essential subject.