Krishnamurti Study Group Saturday, October 17, 2015 Four of us gathered to look into Chapter 9 of Krishnamurti’s book The First and Last Freedom.  The title of the chapter is “What is the Self?”  and it contains material which my require a subtle investigation of our consciousness if it is to be understood.  K speaks of the role of experience in strengthening the self, or ego, and points out that the self can establish itself even in the experience of silence.  The self, the centre, projects what it desires and strengthens itself when it achieves its goal.  Is it possible to dissolve this centre completely? The participants felt challenged by some of the ideas expressee in the text, which provided a good basis for an interesting group exploration.  There is a core group of inquirers that seems to be going deeply into the teachings.

The Stillness Within Meetup enjoyed another in the series of talks given by Eckhart Tolle during a recent Australian retreat. There were a number of themes: People really enjoyed Eckhart’s description of his experience with differing expressions of stillness (he shared that sometimes it is more in the foreground and then at times in the background when performing certain tasks) The theme of seeking satisfaction was a focus for much of the talk. He emphasised the value of not needing circumstances to be a certain way in order to feel at peace – i.e. there is a direct relationship between suffering and our expectations of the world around us – as well strategies that might help ET also described how awareness of our deeper beingness can become a path toward a natural dissolving of the egoic self… with presence and acceptance of each moment fully Ultimately, he expressed his understanding that what remains is free of the individualized self and instead, we can come to know our true identity as the flowing source of all existence Krishnamurti provides an added perspective that seems to resonate closely with Eckhart’s message: “Silence comes when thought has understood its own beginning, the nature of itself, how all thought is never free but always old. To see all this, to see the movement of every thought, to understand it, to be aware of it, is to come to that silence which is meditation, in which the ‘observer’ never is”  J. Krishnamurti Ten of us enjoyed the video and discussion afterward. Thanks to KECC for hosting us this month.

The September Stillness Within Meetup featured a recent video from a talk given by Eckhart Tolle in Australia where he spoke about the balance between being and doing – the collection of activities that form our work, hobbies, social and practical existence. A few pointers stood out for those who came out: Many mundane activities such as folding laundry or driving, can be opportunities to allow the spacious sense of ‘less thought’ and even a profound beauty within the openness – rather than the incessant stream of thinking we tend to default to. Finding many small moments of stillness – amidst the activities of each day, we can begin to find a deepened awareness emerging within stillness in many life settings. In my own case, having shifted my ‘practice’ away from formal meditation in favour of day to day moments of stillness, the message resonated with me. But it’s funny – the stillness or spaciousness is somehow the opposite of emptiness… A Krishnamurti quote I stumbled across seems to be speaking from a very similar perspective on the mind’s tendency to habitually cycle through thoughts: “As long as the mind is seeking to fill itself, it will always be empty. When the mind is no longer concerned with filling its own emptiness, then only does that emptiness cease to be”. JK Thank you again to KECC for hosting our first fall Meetup.

Inquiry Sunday Sunday, October 4, 2015 A small group of three gathered on Sunday morning to listen to a CD by Adyashanti on the stages of awakening.  He began by saying that in fact there is no linear path and the process will be different for each individual while still containing certain universal features.  The seventy minute talk was followed by a group dialogue out on the lawn.   It was felt by one participant that Adya was making things more complicated than need be, whereas the other two considered the points made to be interesting and of value, even if not strictly necessary for them to hear.  One person said that listening to the talk was a confirmation that all is well in the way the journey is unfolding for him. In the afternoon three video clips were shown of Krishnamurti speaking on death and dying to the self.  He pointed out the necessity of dropping all attachments if one is to be truly a free human being.  A very interesting discussion followed  with the four participants exploring what was said in the videos.  We also went into the question of love and attachment and whether it is possible to live without attachment in the midst of daily life, family obligations, relationships, and work commitments.  Again, it was agreed that these questions require ongoing looking and listening, which can bring insight and discovery.

Krishnamurti Study Group Saturday, September 19, 2015 A small group of three gathered to explore the second half of chapter 8 in The First and Last Freedom.  The subject was “contradiction”.  Krishnamurti says that the essence of contradiction is the desire to be something and the inevitable resistance to being “nothing”, which is what we truly are.  He explores this idea and others in some depth and invites us to see it clearly and directly within ourselves rather than as an abstract idea which may not be correctly understood. The group discussion related to the text was quite focused and profound.  Participants are finding this book to be very relevant and helpful in stimulating inquiry and insight.