May 2015 UVic Spiritual Awakening Meetup

It was my pleasure to host another Meetup at UVic on spiritual awakening this week. The theme was “Non-Duality: The Illusion of Separation and other Non-Dual Perspectives”. Fifteen Awakeners attended. The topic is a fairly challenging one for me, but I was happy to share my current understanding, and pleased to be conversing with others who shared their insight and questions. We started with an audio clip of Alan Watts speaking about duality, the Hindu concept of God as the one true Self, and the possibility that both the world and we as individuals are simply projections in a cosmic dream being dreamt by a “cosmic dreamer or actor”. We discussed separation, both why it seems like such a substantial aspect of our experience, but also why such a belief may be a false premise, an illusion. I shared how, despite our experience of seemingly separate static objects, in reality individual objects are actually unfolding processes that are all intrinsically connected to other processes, ultimately all being part of what might be called the total process of the universe. Our bodies and minds are not separate from this total process. This is something I’m just coming to understand myself, but the basic truth of it seems undeniable to me. We also touched on the primacy of consciousness, the ego, and the witness state talked about in many different spiritual teachings. We read a simple but powerful quote on stillness by K, which I’ll share at the end of this post, and finished with a Mooji video called “Beyond the Concept of Oneness”, which was much appreciated by a number of Awakeners. This is the last Meetup to be held until September. This last year has been a very eventful one for me in many ways, on both the spiritual front and also where relationships and the nitty gritty of the human experience are concerned (it’s all the same thing, really). This Meetup has been a very valuable experience for me, and I hope to continue it in the fall, as a part of my own evolution and as a way to connect with intelligent and interesting individuals. JR “A still mind is not seeking experience of any kind. And if it is not seeking and therefore is completely still, without any movement from the past and therefore free from the known, then you will find, if you have gone that far, that there is a movement of the unknown that is not recognized, that is not translatable, that cannot be put into words; then you will find that there is a movement which is of the immense.” J. Krishnamurti, The Book of Life

Speaking and Listening

It is very rare to hear a speaker who speaks clearly every word and sentence slowly and who feels a sense of space and silence between the words and sentences. Generally, people who are very fluent in speaking, speak habitually, mechanically and intellectually. They cannot affect listeners at deeper levels. Silent awareness is necessary while speaking or writing to communicate effectively especially when people are discussing about the nature of mind and psychological problems arising in human relationship.

The Myth of REINCARNATION

K talks about the nonsense of re-incarnation. And no wonder… In the modern era, it was the works of Madame Blavatsky, co-founder of the Theosophical Society, which brought it a new found popularity of re-incarnation, especially in the West – and coddled a young Jiddu from his teens to become the new Spiritual messiah of the world. But – to elaborate from my perspective… Although, there’s a good deal of evidence that certain people recall their ‘past lives’ as I did in a “Past life regression session” with a well-known devotee of the famous clairvoyant Edgar Cayce. The ‘apparent’ time-honoured doctrine of karma and rebirth – one’s so-called ‘reincarnation’ as a higher human or “godling” if one has behaved admirably throughout life, as a lower human or higher animal if one has behaved badly, as a lower animal or demon if one has behaved appallingly? As humans, there’s nothing here that cannot be ascribed to clairvoyance or telepathy – for which there’s a great deal of evidence. So that when I imagine I’m remembering my experience as a Roman centurion, what I’m doing is picking up large areas of his experience. And witnessing to the fact that deep down we all merge. Indeed the trouble with reincarnation is that it doesn’t go nearly far enough. If it told me that ultimately all consciousness is my consciousness, or that consciousness is ultimately indivisible, I would have no quarrel with it. As for the claim that one can recall one’s subhuman lives, what’s to show this isn’t what it looks like – futile daydreaming? In fact this dogma of reincarnation (though in its time a brave and ingenious attempt to account for life’s injustices) makes no sense to me at all. Or, if it’s not necessary for memories to bridge the gaps between reincarnations, what else does so? And in what sense are they my reincarnations? Millions of intelligent people go on paying lip-service to this hallowed myth; clearly few take it seriously enough to go into it. The real solution of all such problems about one’s past and future lies in one’s present. Besides, one isn’t incarnate anyway – I as Awareness (the First Person Singular) isn’t in a body now – so what’s all this fuss about reincarnation?  

May 9 Meetup: Dealing with Unconsciousness

This month, there were 7 of us who met at the centre to watch an Eckhart Tolle video and enjoy some sharing on the topic of “Dealing with Unconsciousness”.  The talk explored the common occurrence whereby people can for a moment or longer, lose their sense of presence and become overtaken by strong emotions or reactions (he sometimes relates this to the ‘pain body’ – an energy field that is stuck and usually linked to some form of emotion and specific thoughts).  Eckhart shared a few practical suggestions that he has seen work well for people in moving through experiences of unconsciousness and shifting back to a more spacious being. Tips that stuck out for me: Avoidance of situations or people who ‘trigger us’ is not necessarily the ideal.  Each of these situations is actually an opportunity to strengthen our acceptance of ‘what is’ and to become more present.  As K. has said when he was speaking about the key to happiness/peace, “I don’t mind what happens” Take-away:  prickly people or uncomfortable situations can be gifts inviting a deeper acceptance or embracing of what is. Eckhart suggests that we may have enough self-awareness to know which situations or people tend to bring out a strong bout of unconscious reaction and offers that these may be times when we can assume a position of gentle self-awareness and self-observation – prior to the encounter.  The power of detached observation can lessen the strength or duration of emotional – or ‘pain body’ eruptions. Take-away point:  knowing our reactive patterns can help us to enter those situations in a starting state awareness. Breathing, sensing our body, witnessing and resisting the urge to label or mentally interpret are all strategies that may help, not only in our own flare ups of unconsciousness but also in preventing reaction to others’ strong flare ups. Take-away:  the surface me may ‘lose it’ but as soon as I see that losing it is happening, non-judging observation can bring back presence.  A sense of beingness that goes far beyond the momentary reaction can naturally emerge. Finally, an additional possible approach suggested was to have an open invitation to our partners or teams to ask us whether there is a moment of unconsciousness happening.  Take-away: Others sometimes can see us more clearly and act as a flag for us when needed. One thing that all of us really liked was that Eckhart described a process of awakening that is gradual rather than instantaneous – noting that sudden dissolving of the egoic self that he himself experienced is only the rare exception.  Most of us seem to be in a longer term process of awakening – and dealing with minor ‘surfacing’ of egoic-based tendencies is quite a normal part of the experience. Over time, we may begin to notice that even amidst great anger, pain or despair, there is in the background, an underlying stillness.  This deeper sense of presence may eventually tip the scales and become our predominant sense of being. Great session with a wonderful sharing afterward! Shannon  

Weekend Events at the Centre

Krishnamurti Study Group Saturday, May 2, 2015 Nine people met to begin the study of chapter 5 in The First and Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti.  It was a beautiful day for enjoying the property and the spectacular view while at the same time looking into some serious questions.   The chapter is entitled “Action and Idea” and it starts off looking into the relationship between action, the “actor”, and the anticipated result of the action.  K says that action with an end in view creates the “actor”, which is the source of conflict in action.  The reading led to an interesting exploration of these ideas and the possibility suggested by K of action without idea. Inquiry Sunday Sunday, May 3, 2015 The morning session on Sunday included a video interview with Dr P Krishna, former principal of the Rajghat Krishnamurti School in India.  Dr. Krishna had a long time association with K and is very familiar with his teachings.  He is also an excellent speaker who can clearly present his understanding of the ideas that K was attempting to communicate.  Over the course of the interview a range of topics was covered, with a particular focus on the difference between thought and awareness.  Dr. Krishna emphasized that while psychological thought is strongly conditioned, awareness is not conditioned and is able to observe or look directly at the creations of thought and see whether they are true or not.  This is the key to living with clarity and harmony.   Also discussed was the challenge of running Krishnamurti schools with the intention of learning about ourselves and not just about the subject matter required to pass exams and get a job.  Dr. Krishna will be leading a weekend retreat at the Centre in May. The Sunday afternoon session began with a video of K answering the following question during a Saanen gathering in 1980:  “Is our sitting quietly every day to observe the movement of thought by your definition a practice, a method, and therefore without value?”  He began by asking the questioner about the motive for this activity.  Was there a seeking of some experience or achievement, some exalted state of consciousness?  Without seeing what one’s motive is any activity will lead to illusion.  If one’s motives can be observed as part of the inquiry then sitting, standing or walking quietly is significant and necessary.  Then the mind may come upon a silence and depth without being forced or manipulated in any way. Participants then engaged in dialogue on the front lawn of the main house, including some stories of personal meetings with Krishnamurti.  

Ravi Ravindra Weekend Retreat

  Daily Dying and Living Well Retreat with Ravi Ravindra    For the third year in a row Ravi Ravindra, a PhD and former university professor of physics and philosophy, visited from Halifax to lead a weekend retreat at the Krishnamurti Educational Center of Canada in Metchosin, BC.  The subject of the weekend was death, including the universally recommended “practice” of dying daily in order to fully live, or “dying before we die”.  Ravi gave an introductory presentation on Friday evening at the Centre, attended by 22 people in all.  He asked the audience what questions we have about death and gave an interesting talk on religious and scientific views about death and the possibility of survival beyond the death of the body.  He emphasized that each of us must look into the issue for ourselves rather than accepting any outside authority.  An interesting distinction was the difference between looking into death with a motivation of fear and looking from a sense of wonder.  If we are perceiving from a sense of wonder fear does not exist.  Ravi spoke of the importance of the question “Who am I?”  Who is it that dies, and who is it that lives?  To fully investigate the questions of life and death we must look into the real nature of the “I”.     Sixteen people returned on Saturday for the full weekend retreat.  It consisted of a variety of activities, including guided meditations, exploring Krishnamurti quotations, “observing” without commentary while outdoors in nature, and a good deal of discussion about the central topics of the retreat both in the full group and in smaller groups.  Ravi shared a number of stories relevant to the topics at hand about his meetings and conversations with Krishnamurti.  He also prescribed some writing exercises in which a certain question was asked and the participants were given time of consider it and write their responses.  What would we do if we only had two weeks to live?  What is our expectation about death?  What insight(s) have we had about death over the weekend?  On Saturday evening an audio recording was played of a conversation between Ravi and Krishnamurti on the subject of death.     Many interesting questions and gems of wisdom were presented over the weekend for our contemplation and discussion.  Perhaps one of the most significant focuses for many was the issue of what assists the surrender of the self or ego and what prevents it.  Throughout the retreat Ravi demonstrated a skillful way of inquiring into what is really meant by any statement or so-called authoritative idea, encouraging us to break down unquestioned acceptance and absolutist positions regarding “truth”.  We thus come upon a more open and flexible mode of viewing reality.

Krishnamurti Study Group

Krishnamurti Study Group Saturday, April 18, 2015 Five people gathered to explore chapter four in The First and Last Freedom by J. Krishnamurti, entitled “Self-Knowledge”.  In this chapter K speaks very pointedly about the necessity of knowing oneself if one is to avoid being driven by the many illusions the unexamined mind can create.  Again, as in the previous chapter, he emphasizes the fact that the world and our society are projections of our own thoughts and beliefs, and the way we act in our relationships creates a ripple effect with widespread implications.  Participants were very much engaged in inquiring into the meaning and significance of K’s words for their lives and daily experience.  The importance of being with and looking into what actually is appeared to be very important rather than setting up ideals of how we would like things to be and attempting to shape our behaviour to those ideals.  It was expressed by most of the group that this chapter was particularly profound for them.  

Victoria Krishnamurti Event

  Victoria Krishnamurti Event Sunday, April 12, 2015.     Eight people gathered on Sunday afternoon at the Church of Truth in Victoria to contemplate the nature of pleasure and desire, a subject given some importance by Krishnamurti and other spiritual teachers.  The session began with a silent reading of a handout on pleasure taken from the book Freedom From the Known.  This gave some context for the following twenty minute video of K responding to a question about desire and its awakening.  He focused on the possibility of slowing down the process of desiring by paying careful attention to it.  Then a gap can be open up between the contact with an object or an image projected by thought, the resulting sensation, and the movement of thought which then wants to possess that object or fulfill the mental image.  This opening of a space naturally makes desire and the seeking of pleasure less of a driving force. The group then entered into a discussion of what had been read and seen.  Many relevant insights were shared and questions raised.  It often becomes apparent in these dialogues that people take many different viewpoints, even on subjects dealing with more subtle dimensions of life like non-duality.  The need to listen carefully to what each person is saying without quickly reacting and asserting one’s own opinion became evident to me as the facilitator and as a participant.  There was certainly a lively interest in inquiring into the subjects presented. After a tea break we watched a video of Gabor Mate giving a TED talk in Rio de Janeiro.  He spoke of the high cost of addiction in terms of damage to people’s lives and relationships and touched on the sources of addiction in the residual pain from childhood abuse and the sense of inner emptiness that many feel.   It was an excellent talk and very relevant to the exploration of desire and the drive to seek pleasure.  Finally we watched Eckhart Tolle answering a question about how pleasure fits into a spiritual life.  Eckhart covered some similar ground to K and Mate in his own style and ended with the idea that pleasure is not to be judged or avoided but there is also a deeper joy available which effortlessly arises from our contact with Being.  A short discussion followed. It felt like a densely packed afternoon but seemed to be interesting and insightful for the participants.

Eckhart Tolle video/meditation: The Meditation Realization

This month, 12 members joined together to watch a provocative and playful talk by Eckhart on the difference between having a formal ‘practice’ of meditation vs. making many moments of each day a deeply present experience – unshrouded by thought, anticipation of the next moment, or distraction in multiple directions. He used the metaphor of self as a blank canvas, with thoughts, feelings and beliefs compared to the paint on the canvas… Once these ‘externals’ are recognised as not being the self, we begin to sense more deeply the realisation of our underlying true nature. Eckhart’s discussion about strengthening this inner sense through stillness, nature, and relaxing of constant mind activity offered practical strategies for bringing to life Krishnamurti’s suggestion that we be a light unto ourselves. There were 5 new members and getting to know them over tea afterwards was a pleasure. Thank you again to KECC for hosting us!

Saturday K Study Group

  Krishnamurti Study Group Saturday, April 4, 2015     Four people participated in the study of Chapter 3 of Freedom From the Known by J. Krishnamurti. The chapter focuses on the relationship between the individual and the society and goes in some detail into K’s well known statement that “you are the world.” In this chapter he also emphasizes the need for the individual to find the source of creativity, which will bring about a society that can renew itself and not become static. The discussion explored the themes in some depth and was an inquiry into creative looking and understanding. The next session will begin with Chapter 4 in the text.