What Is Awareness? June 10 – 12, 2016 Ashwani Kumar, Associate Professor at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, joined us for the third year running to present a weekend workshop entitled “What Is Awareness?” A small group of seven were present for the event beginning on Friday evening. Ashwani immediately stated that his style for this gathering would not involve lecturing and concepts but, rather, would be an invitation to enter directly into significant questions without prior knowledge or conclusions. He gave time for group members to get in touch with a question of fundamental importance in our lives and to then share it with the group in a process of exploration without looking for an immediate answer. It is the process of investigation and what can be seen through it that is important, not an intellectual answer or conclusion. After sharing our questions, Ashwani asked us to consider what is the state of mind out of which the question is arising. Are we seeking something we think or feel we don’t have? Can we stay with that feeling rather than doing something to change it or get away from it? Have we ever been in touch with the raw feeling without naming it or explaining it? Ashwani was very adept at keeping us focused on this type of inquiry and was continuously reminding us to go into the actual experience and sensations in the body and not to resort to the intellect for solutions to our existential issues. The rest of the retreat was a further exploration into the type of inquiry introduced on the first evening. Integrated into the program were some body-centred meditations and relaxation exercises, including energetic dance and gibberish. An interesting writing exercise and a nature walk were also valuable aspects of the retreat. On Sunday afternoon a video was shown of Krishnamurti speaking with a group in California in March, 1970. In the discussion, entitled “What Does Awareness Mean?”, K delves into the issue of harmony in living. The intellect is given far too much importance in our lives, causing an imbalance and conflict within ourselves. K suggested that awareness can bring harmony between all the parts of the human being. In fact, awareness is harmony. There must be a pure looking with any effort or intrusion of the intellect. This means a looking without an image of what is seen. The combination of inquiry and experiential meditations was a powerful approach to bringing us to an actual direct knowing of awareness in our lives. The effects no doubt varied for each individual, but the willingness of the participants to enter into the experiments must have brought benefits to all. We were grateful to have Dr. Kumar with us once again.
Krishnamurti Study Group
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauKrishnamurti Study Group Saturday, July 2, 2016 Four people showed up on the Saturday of the holiday weekend to explore the last half of chapter 16 in The First and Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti. The subject of the chapter was “Can Thinking Solve Our Problems?” K goes into the limited nature of all thought when it comes to resolving psychological problems. He invites us to see that thought can never solve such problems, but awareness, or simple looking and listening, can. This requires a quiet mind. The participants discussed the nature of this awareness and how a quiet mind can come about, as well as related questions and perceptions. It was a lovely day and it was pleasant to sit out on the lawn, enjoy the views and the sounds of nature while looking into the ideas expressed by K. and sharing our own questions and insights.
Krishnamurti Study Group
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauKrishnamurti Study Group Saturday, June 18, 2016 Four people met to study chapter 16 in The First and Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti. The chapter is entitled “Can Thinking Solve Our Problems?” and K gives an unequivocal answer: No. The more we think about a problem, he says, the more complex it becomes. Realizing this, we can ask “Can thought ever come to an end?” The understanding of this challenge requires a sensitive looking into the nature of thought and perception. Can we look at a problem as a whole, seeing the thing as it is, being aware of it as a fact and not as a theory? In order to do this, “there must be an awareness that is not of thought.” We read passages from the text and entered into a group discussion of the issues and the kind of awareness and insight needed to respond adequately to them. The question was raised concerning whether the awareness is something that has to be developed and refined or is it present and available as soon as we pay attention to it. Many relevant inquiries arose and insights were shared. As always, it seems that posing and staying with questions is more significant than seeking answers and solutions.
Victoria Krishnamurti Event
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauVictoria Krishnamurti Event Church of Truth Sunday, June 12, 2016 Seven people gathered on Sunday afternoon at the Church of Truth in Victoria to consider the topic “The Art of Meditation.” We began with a reading on meditation from Krishnamurti’s book Freedom from the Known, followed by a fifteen minute silent sit where we looked into the state of our own minds as recommended in the reading. Self understanding is, according to K, essential in living a life of meaning, harmony, and love, The silent period was followed by group discussion and inquiry into what is important in our lives. After a tea break we watched an excellent video clip of Rupert Spira answering a question on meditation. Meditation for him is not something we do, but something we are. Being knowingly aware is the essence of meditation, and this is our natural state if we care to notice it. More discussion followed and participants seemed very engaged in the material and dynamics of the afternoon.
“What Is Awareness?” Retreat
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauWhat Is Awareness? June 10 – 12, 2016 Ashwani Kumar, Associate Professor at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, joined us for the third year running to present a weekend workshop entitled “What Is Awareness?” A small group of seven were present for the event beginning on Friday evening. Ashwani immediately stated that his style for this gathering would not involve lecturing and concepts but, rather, would be an invitation to enter directly into significant questions without prior knowledge or conclusions. He gave time for group members to get in touch with a question of fundamental importance in our lives and to then share it with the group in a process of exploration without looking for an immediate answer. It is the process of investigation and what can be seen through it that is important, not an intellectual answer or conclusion. After sharing our questions, Ashwani asked us to consider what is the state of mind out of which the question is arising. Are we seeking something we think or feel we don’t have? Can we stay with that feeling rather than doing something to change it or get away from it? Have we ever been in touch with the raw feeling without naming it or explaining it? Ashwani was very adept at keeping us focused on this type of inquiry and was continuously reminding us to go into the actual experience and sensations in the body and not to resort to the intellect for solutions to our existential issues. The rest of the retreat was a further exploration into the type of inquiry introduced on the first evening. Integrated into the program were some body-centred meditations and relaxation exercises, including energetic dance and gibberish. An interesting writing exercise and a nature walk were also valuable aspects of the retreat. On Sunday afternoon a video was shown of Krishnamurti speaking with a group in California in March, 1970. In the discussion, entitled “What Does Awareness Mean?”, K delves into the issue of harmony in living. The intellect is given far too much importance in our lives, causing an imbalance and conflict within ourselves. K suggested that awareness can bring harmony between all the parts of the human being. In fact, awareness is harmony. There must be a pure looking with any effort or intrusion of the intellect. This means a looking without an image of what is seen. The combination of inquiry and experiential meditations was a powerful approach to bringing us to an actual direct knowing of awareness in our lives. The effects no doubt varied for each individual, but the willingness of the participants to enter into the experiments must have brought benefits to all. We were grateful to have Dr. Kumar with us once again.
Krihnamurti Study Group
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauKrishnamurti Study Group Saturday, June 4, 2016 Five people attended the session today in which we studied chapter 15 of The First and Last Freedom. The chapter is titled “The thinker and the Thought”. It explores the fallacy of believing that there is a thinker, an entity or person, separate from the thinking process which can act to change or affect our psychological thinking. In fact, the thinker is a product of thought and cannot stop it, get rid of it, or change its conditioned functioning in any significant way. When this is seen there is a different relationship with thinking which does not suffer from the effects of dualistic perception. A sense of wholeness can be known. The struggle to change ourselves, to become more or less, comes to an end. The ideas presented in the text were excellent material for group inquiry and discussion. It was a good session dealing with some of the core insights presented by Krishnamurti. Next meeting we will look into chapter 16.
Inquiry Sunday
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauInquiry Sunday June 5, 2016 The morning session was attended by five participants. We listened to an audio presentation of Adyashanti in conversation with a member of his organization and exploring the subject of “True Love”. Adya was asked about his relationship with his partner Mukti in particular, and he explored how the two of them deal with conflicts and differences when they arise. He acknowledged that others’ relationships may not be based on such a mutual compatibility of viewpoints and intentions and may therefore be more challenging and difficult, but what he spoke of could certainly be applied to any relationship in one’s life. It seemed that he was really talking about being aware of ourselves in relationship and the learning that naturally takes place as a result. In the afternoon, we chose three questions asked of Krishnamurti during his talks over the years and looked at video clips of his responses. The first question was “Is there a final question which will end all my other questions?” K’s inquiry into the issue led him to ask another question, “Is there a state which is not dependent on any circumstances?” He seemed to feel that if we deeply inquire into that question it will bring us to something essential. The second question chosen was about individuality and responsibility for our actions. K pointed out that in fact no individual exists as we are conditioned to believe it does. When this is seen clearly, a state of compassion and love arises which will take right action in each circumstance. The final question was a little unusual. “We can learn more from listening to others than from listening to K. Why do you not encourage people to get together and learn from each other by discussing?” We were interested to see how K would respond. His answer was clear and to the point. “Are you listening to K?” he asked, “Or are you listening to yourself?” Any form of learning, including group discussion, is valuable as long as there is not a dependence on an outside authority, whether it be K or anyone else. We must learn about ourselves by looking directly at ourselves.
Weekend Retreat
/in Event Summaries /by David Bruneau“Dialogues on Living” Weekend retreat with Harshad Parekh May 27-29 This weekend retreat with Harshad Parekh was an exploration into the nature and practice of seeing and listening. Harshad has had many years of experience teaching at Krishnamurti schools and conversing with Krishnamurti himself, and he is very able to communicate what he feels is the essence of K’s teaching. The most important thing is for us to simply look at ourselves directly. From this looking we can learn everything about ourselves. There is no need for teachers or books if we know how to read the book of ourselves. At times a text written with clarity may be helpful if we read with a quiet mind which is not looking for answers but is open to receiving insights. Over the weekend we watched three half-hour videos from the Evelyn Blau series entitled “Beyond Myth and Tradition.” On Friday night we watched the selection “On Change” and the ten participants discussed the issues raised in the video, particularly what it means to look and to see – and how these can change one’s life. On Saturday morning Harshad gave a short and clear talk after which we had a group dialogue. In the afternoon there was a reading from K’s book Commentaries on Living, First Series, pages 97 – 102 on Awareness. It was a selection rich with material for contemplation and discussion, and the group sharing was very interesting. On Saturday evening the video was entitled “The Mirror of Relationship”. K points out that we can only see ourselves accurately in relationship, by being aware of our thoughts, feelings, and reactions as we interact in daily life. A lively group dialogue followed which had to be reined in so we could move towards sleep. On Sunday morning one more person joined us for the day. We began with another excellent talk by Harshad and a reading from Commentaries on Living, Series Two on the subject of conflict, freedom, and relationship. In the afternoon there was a video on “Choiceless Awareness”, which Harshad continuously emphasized as being the core of K’s message. The video was again followed by group dialogue and the closing of the retreat. Throughout the weekend there was plenty of free time for nature walks and quiet looking into ourselves, as well an informal conversation and inquiry within the group of participants. The opportunity to spend such time in self examination in such a beautiful and conducive setting in the company of like-minded people was greatly appreciated by all. Delicious food was provided by nearby Pearson College.
Eckhart Tolle – The Great Potential in Loss – May 14th Meetup
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauThe May Stillness Within meetup took a break from weekend routines to listen to a 2001 talk given by Eckhart Tolle in India. The topic explored in the video related to the impermanence of ‘forms’, including ideas and even thoughts or beliefs. Eckhart suggested that losing a loved one, or one’s health or a job can provide an opening for a deeper truth or awareness to shine through. In the discussion that followed, a number of gleanings were apparent: * stronger emotions like other forms, when observed in a curious way, are transitory and often fleeting. * like Krishnamurti’s message, a relaxing of mental activity and simple noticing, without judgement or analysis can provide glimpses of a truth that is boundless. * we examined whether there is a role for the mind in cultivating true knowing… There were differing examples shared where mind was either a valuable partner in true knowing and also when the absence of thought seemed pivotal to a deeper awareness. Thank you to the K Centre for hosting is this month.
Krishnamurti Study Group
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauKrishnamurti Study Group Saturday, May 21, 2016 Seven people attended the study group today. We were looking into chapter 14 of The First and Last Freedom entitled “Relationship and Isolation.” K points out that the search for gratification in relationship leads to isolation and resistance, which inevitably results in suffering. Relationship, however, can be used as a mirror in which we can see ourselves as we are and become aware of our hidden motives and pursuits. Knowing ourselves is the only way that a harmonious way of living can come into being and without it we create conflict and division in the world. The reading of the text was interspersed with group discussion and inquiry. Participants found much of interest to explore and were able to probe quite deeply into the subject matter.
Inquiry Sunday at the Centre
/in Event Summaries /by David BruneauInquiry Sunday Sunday, May 22, 2016 In the morning session six people listened to an audio presentation of Adyashanti speaking about “True Love”. He started of my mentioning that it was unfortunate that in our society there are very few words to describe love, which has many different aspects. In Greek culture, love was divided into different categories. Adya focused on “agape” or selfless love as being “true love” and the wanting to fill a lack in oneself through another person or activity as being a lesser form of love which can never be whole. The love which comes from Being has the quality of wholeness. He also touched on the mystery of love and of the connection that can happen between people. In the afternoon, we watched three question and answer sessions with Krishnamurti. The participants were given the choice of questions from a fairly lengthy list and agreed on “Is there a question that will end all questions?’ K took a surprising direction by exploring whether experience is necessary at all in our spiritual search, and asserted at the end of the fifteen minute discourse that the original question had been answered. The next question seemed to flow from the previous on in a natural way. The choice was “What is the art of questioning?” The gist of the session and discussion was that a question can be held in consciousness without looking for a quick answer but allowing the question to reveal its various aspects. K has often said that the answer is in the question itself. A third question was looked into, “Can thought be aware of itself as it arises?” Throughout the afternoon, the group discussed the points raised by K as well as insights and perceptions from the participants themselves.