Self-inquiry, May 21, 2023

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Self-inquiry,

Sunday, May 21, 2023

With Harshad Parekh

At KECC

 

Five people attended this meeting at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin, BC. It was a sunny but very windy day, so we decided to hold the gathering inside rather than out on the lawn. Harshad was present once again to guide us through an inquiry into the challenge of living with compassion and awareness when dealing with others and with ourselves. He began by asking if there was a burning question that someone would like to explore in some depth and one of the participants was eager to present such a problem. It was an issue of being triggered by behaviour on the part of others that felt dismissive or critical and wanting to find an effective way or a formula for being with her reactions in a more peaceful manner. The question led to an extended inquiry into being aware of the activities of one’s mind in a way that could dissolve conflict. There was a good deal of talk about self-observation as the main “solution” to any such problem as well as remarking on the difficulties that can arise when one looks directly at the self and its habits. It was mentioned that “the self” tends to have a deep attachment to its own survival and continuity, thus provoking fear when its behaviour is closely examined. There were a number of interesting insights shared in this area and, although there was some sense of argument at times, we were left with a feeling of having considered some significant issues in a cooperative manner.

DB

Self-inquiry, May 17, 2023

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Self-inquiry in Victoria

With Harshad Parekh

May 17, 2023

Esquimalt Gorge Pavilion

 

Six people in total were present for this Wednesday meeting at the beautiful Esquimalt Gorge Pavilion on Tillicum Road. The session lasted from 4 pm to 5:30. It is sometimes difficult to describe what goes on in a dialogue meeting if one is paying attention to the interactions and how one is responding to those interactions and not so much to the content being discussed. The form of the conversation can often seem to dissolve into more of a formless and indescribable happening than something that can be easily described. Some of the dialogue was focused on the very occurrence of a melting away of shape and form in favour of an experience of Beingness which is made more of a “consciousness” which has no form than it is anything concrete. The awareness of such a subtle reality was perhaps more interesting for most than anything more solid. In fact, as I write this report it seems to reflect something even less solid than what can be described with our normal language and I hope it is not too confusing or difficult to grasp hold of. Some of the participants were interested in the kind of inquiry that Krishnamurti says can involve no effort and consideration of such a phenomenon attracted our attention for some time. It was also acknowledged that inquiry may have to begin with an intellectual understanding which can become more subtle and refined as one observes the workings of one’s own thoughts and feelings. Harshad emphasised that the most significant observation is that which looks from a place that is beyond the mind (or thoughts and feelings). Other participants expressed the same idea by giving importance to the concept of Being over the directing of energy in any particular manner. These participants tended more towards quietness than towards verbal expression.

DB

Self-inquiry, May 14, 2023

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Self-inquiry

With Harshad Parekh

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Krishnamurti Centre in Metchosin

 

Lovely sunny weather supported us in sitting on the front lawn at the Krishnamurti Centre of Canada in Metchosin, BC. Six people in total enjoyed the beautiful views of the ocean and the mountains along with shrill bird songs and colourful flowers growing on the property. Perhaps the fact that it was Mother’s Day may have taken people to other locations.

Harshad asked if participants had any pressing questions they would like to discuss and one woman shared that she had been studying Buddhism for some years and would welcome some discussion of the similarities and differences between what the Buddha and Krishnamurti taught. It was shared that K said at one point that the teachings closest to his own were those of the Buddha. This opened the door to some detailed discussion of the consistencies between the two and the points of diversion. The conversation flowed in an interesting way and eventually included some of the deep challenges that self-inquiry makes of us as our insights bring the dissolution of our personality structures. There was also an examination of some of the fears and joys that can arise when this destablising of the self starts to happen. A variety of experiences in this domain were shared, including people’s experiences when meeting K and applying his teachings in their daily lives. Harshad pointed out that if one is really serious about self-inquiry – and one must be – then he or she is no longer interested in making money, being famous, or other such “worldly” pursuits. It is rare that a person does not get distracted by such outside interests.

It seemed that, even though the number of attendees was rather small, everyone found the meeting interesting, enjoyable, and beneficial.

DB

Choiceless Awareness, Part 3, May 13, 2023

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Choiceless Awareness Part 3:

The Necessity of Attention, Energy, and Relaxation

With Cynthia Overweg

Saturday, May 13, 2023

Zoom online

 

This was the third in a series of four presentations on the subject of choiceless awareness. There were a total of sixteen people present, including staff. Cynthia was online from Ojai, California. She began by pointing out that “choiceless awareness” was at the centre of all that Krishnamurti talked about, the central thread of many threads in the teachings. As for relaxation, K never spoke of it directly but, for Cynthia, it is very central and helpful in “practising” what K is pointing us to. She feels it is important to take regular relaxation breaks in one’s life and while considering deeply what Krishnamurti is sharing with us.

Relaxation, energy, and attention are aspects of awareness, awareness of the body, of the breathing, the emotions, and of what is going on around us. Awareness of tension brings relaxation, compassion, and understanding. The individual, according to K, needs abundant energy rightly directed. How does this come about? We need to see how we waste energy by resistance and conflict. When there is no movement, energy is at its height. Silence is a potent energy, quiet like the womb. Wordless observation is energy and non-observation is a wastage of energy, as is anything that divides. Pure energy cannot be sought after but it brings awareness of something sacred. It is attention that allows silence to come upon the mind, opening the “door of creation”. When there is attention all sorrow disappears, K has said.

Cynthia went in greater detail into the topics of attention, energy, and silence then offered a space for questions and comments from the participants. There were questions about belief and the importance of questioning and noticing our beliefs and assumptions, which disarms them. The tendency to give authority to the mind was discussed and the possibility of “getting out of the way” was spoken about by one group member. There was a good amount of exploration on the part of some and more silence on the part of others. Thanks and appreciation were expressed as the session was brought to an end.

Self-inquiry, May 10, 2023 in Victoria

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Self-Inquiry

With Harshad Parekh

May 10, 2023

Esquimalt Gorge Park Pavilion

 

Six of us gathered in the late afternoon on a beautiful sunny day to engage in dialogue or self-inquiry together. We sat in a lovely room very suitable for such an enterprise, with large windows giving access to a view of the trees and plants on the grounds at the Gorge Park with the river running past in the distance. Harshad, visiting us from India, asked if anyone had a specific question or issue he or she would like to explore. It seemed that there was a keen interest in the topic of awareness and its application to our lives as we are involved in the daily challenges that almost all human beings must deal with. Harshad spoke for some time about the universality of the human experience and the similarities of all people.. On the other hand, when a human being becomes deeply interested in the functioning of his own mind there is a different approach to his or her life which invites a curiosity that continuously or regularly looks into one’s own behaviour. One sees that the behaviour is not so much under one’s control but is “just happening”. This happening involves the arising of an “I” or “me” that is at the centre of almost all actions and thoughts and is the source of all problems. If one can be the witness of the thoughts and feelings, observing them from a place that is uninvolved but not separate, then there can be a dissolution of the ego “me” and a living in harmony. The “I” or “me” creates fear and all its attendant emotions and conflicts, but a life of awareness brings a freshness and clarity which has a quality of beauty.

The dialogue penetrated into the possibility of living such a life and what is required inside oneself. It was asked if outer conditions and people were important in the journey to self-realisation and the enjoyment of life. The question was looked at from a few different angles. Obsessive thinking was mentioned as one of the factors of suffering and there was some discussion of the necessary alertness and curiosity that helps us to be observing with awareness rather than being caught in thinking. This seemed to be perhaps the key factor in effective “meditation” as explained by Krishnamurti.

Self-inquiry May 7, 2023

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Self-inquiry Meetup

Sunday, May 7, 2023

With Harshad Parekh

At KECC

 

This meeting was held on the front lawn at the Metchosin location of the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada. It was the first time this year that the weather had supported an outside meeting. The facilitator was Harshad Parekh, who is visiting the Centre from his usual place of residence in India. There were six of us present to enjoy the sunshine, the gentle breeze (a little cool sometimes), and the sounds of nature, including many bird songs. It was remarked that being outdoors induced a sense of connection with a larger space of the environment than could be experienced at indoor meetings, which usually feel more limited and less expansive.

Harshad opened the meeting by asking if participants had any pressing questions they would like to discuss or would they like to have him read a passage from a Krishnamurti book and talk about what K’s meaning is when he writes or talks about self-knowledge and self-understanding. One participant said she would like to explore the application of spiritual teachings to the living of them in our everyday life. This seems to be a very common question for spiritual “seekers” who wish to make the teachings real for themselves. This led to a discussion of meditation and what K is referring to if and when he uses the word. Harshad and others shared some of their understandings about the value of a quiet mind and the beauty that can be experienced when there is silence in the consciousness and one can then be in closer contact with nature and one’s own beingness. Several people spoke about Krishnamurti’s use of the “negative” approach when he talks about what something is not rather than what it is. Participants gave examples of their realisations of this truth and how it had affected their lives. They expressed appreciation for the benefits of such “meditation” and its place in the unfolding of their lives. There was also some appreciation for Harshad’s capacity to speak of such things in an effective manner.

We look forward to more such dialogues on the grounds of the Krishnamurti Centre.

DB

Self-Inquiry with Harshad, May 3, 2023

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Self-Inquiry

With Harshad Parekh

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Esquimalt Gorge Pavilion

 

Jackie has departed and Harshad has arrived from India to spend a month at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin, BC. While he is here, Harshad will be guiding meetings at the Centre and in Victoria at the Gorge Pavilion on Sundays and Wednesdays respectively. Nine of us were present for his first session at the pavilion. He began with an introduction of his own person and his long-time interest in the teachings of J. Krishnamurti and their value to him. As K has often explained, one can be born in India and carry an Indian passport but need not identify oneself as an Indian. One is a human being with traits and tendencies similar to all humans, and all humans have shared experiences of suffering and joy. We are all conditioned in similar ways, Harshad noted, and we may have an interest in inquiring into our ways of behaving and experiencing in relationship with the world. In that endeavour we may look to Krishnamurti as a source of wisdom and insight. Harshad shared that he finds K’s investigations with the observation of our minds and feelings, and the consequent “renewal of the mind”, particularly relevant. Developing a capacity to see things freshly and to observe with a silent mind that does not judge is important.

Why does the mind deteriorate? Harshad asked. The question provoked some discussion in which we looked at the issue of conflict and competition in communicating with others and the desire to be something or someone we are not. The fear of silence and being alone was explored, along with the need to start looking inwards in order to understand ourselves. Harshad read a passage written by Krishnamurti about renewing the mind, which was followed by some discussion. There was a good amount of participation from the group in the discussion/dialogue. It seemed like an auspicious beginning to Harshad’s stay in Canada

DB

Self-Inquiry, April 26, 2023

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Self-Inquiry in Victoria

With Jackie McInley

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Esquimalt Gorge Pavilion

 

Eleven participants attended this in-person meeting at the new Gorge Pavilion. This was Jackie’s last session with us before her return to the UK, but we are hoping she will return before long for more dialogues and friendship. We soon began to explore the quality of our listening and sharing as well as how we listen to ourselves. There was some acknowledgement of the sometimes intense and deep meaning of silence in the midst of the dialogue. We then moved into quite an engaged conversation about what was arising for people in the group as we interacted and noticed our reactions and responses. How did insight and revelations about ourselves show up, and did these bring a greater depth and meaning to our inquiry?

One participant asked if what we were reporting to be our experience was mostly mental or was it significantly “somatic”, or feeling-based. We seemed to sense that it was both bodily based and also a function of what we might call “awareness”, which notices what is going on but may itself be beyond the physical sensations and the thoughts that are arising.

As we continued with the verbal exchange some dialoguers began to take note of something that they called “compassion”. It seemed to be an aspect of “listening carefully” to what others are saying. Even if what they are saying contains some amount of confusion, still the listening transforms it into something that could be called “thinking together” and which brings more “heart” into the communication. Some called the experience of such sharing “meditative” and seemed to be surprised at the heightened sensitivity and sense of closeness that was infiltrating the conversation.

It seemed that everyone felt a great deal of appreciation for the quality of the sharing that had taken place within the meetings during the month of April. It will be interesting to see how things take form in May.

DB

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