The Art of Living: A Journey of Transformation

/in /by

The Art of Living: A Journey of Transformation

With Mukesh Gupta and Ann Engels

July 29 – 31, 2022

Zoom Online

For this workshop, Mukesh joined us on Zoom from Varanasi, India, and Ann from Belgium. It was the first time the two had collaborated for an event sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada. There were between fifteen and seventeen participants (all included) at each of the three two-hour meetings over the three days. The format was quite familiar, with guided meditations to open each session, talks by each of the group leaders, small breakout groups for more intimate exploration, and time for group discussion or dialogue, including questions from participants and responses from the facilitators and group members.

The first meeting on the Friday evening was opened by Mukesh with some questions which he integrated into the meditation. He asked us all if we could say we are fully here, fully present without resistance. The playing of music and nature sounds were an aid to help us. Further challenging questions invited us to look carefully at our state of awareness. Why are we not completely peaceful? Why do we live in the past, in the activity of thought? Where is the heart in our living and can we learn to live with love and compassion? Can we learn this art together?

Mukesh pointed out that if we seriously want to learn the mind will be quiet and attentive, listening deeply and observing all the activities of thought as well as our emotional reactions to the life we live. This watchfulness dissolves the reactiveness of the mind and without effort produces a space of awareness, freedom, and love. This is learning through “the mirror of relationship”, as Krishnamurti so often says. This learning was emphasised in different ways throughout the weekend and discussed in the small and full group formats. There was also a variety of questions exploring a breadth of issues centred around “choiceless awareness” and related inquiries. There were regular reminders to stay in an attitude of slow and careful investigation, appreciating our connectedness and caring for each other. By being patient, our questioning, looking, and listening may be making a more powerful impact on us than we consciously realise and love may appear of its own accord.

The importance of self-knowledge was communicated often and a variety of subtle points and questions were investigated. It is not an intellectual process. Can we see the whole picture of ourselves in one glance and be free of our egoic patterns? Is choiceless awareness something that can be “known” or is it an aspect of the “Unknown”? This seemed like a very good question to take with us into our everyday lives and to renew as a moment to moment non-continuous “meditation” which has the power to teach us the art of living and the reality of transformation in our lives.

DB

To Be Human with Javier Rodriguez, July 10, 2022

/in /by

To Be Human, session 1, with Javier Rodriguez

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Zoom online

 

Towards the end of his life, J. Krishnamurti produced a summary of his teachings which was published in booklet form entitled The Core of the Teachings. Javier will explore the booklet in six instalments over the next six months; this first presentation was labelled “Truth is a Pathless Land”. There were 17 participants in total in attendance.

Javier began by questioning the meaning of the word “truth” and the value we give it. Truth and falseness are necessary distinctions in many ways in our ordinary lives and also in the philosophical domain. How is the truth of any idea established, and is it anything more than a belief? Javier pointed out that Krishnamurti was not asserting any absolute truth. There may be truth, but it cannot be conceptualised or found in the religious domain. In K’s world truth is a rather strange creature not found through analysis or knowledge. The focus on the known must be relinquished for the truth of the unknown to be realized. It is not a fixed point and it can only be “found” in the “mirror of relationship”. Through this mirror one must understand or see clearly the contents of one’s own mind as they are revealed in relationship with others and with oneself. The mind is the seat of illusion, and illusion must be understood for truth to come into our awareness. The tendency to escape from the facts of what we are must be put aside, at which point love will begin to flow through us as the truth of what we are.

After a presentation of about forty-five minutes Javier opened the meeting to questions from the participants. A process of exchanging ideas took place within the group for the remainder of the meeting, another forty-five minutes, and involved inquiry into a number of issues such as our tendency to deceive ourselves when we bring in our past experiences when considering the truth of any concept or idea. We must be aware of how we “lie” to ourselves. Group members were invited to share their questions and insights or comments, which stimulated discussion of topics such as awareness, love, stopping of thoughts, belief systems, right relationship, and the mystery of life and relationship. It was a lively sharing of inquiry and insights and will no doubt be interesting as the series of presentations unfolds over the next six months. The session was guided with skill and intelligence by Javier and promises to be continued in that manner.

Exploring Ourselves, July 3, 2022

/in /by

Exploring Ourselves

Online Zoom Meeting

Sunday, July 3, 2022

 

Jackie McInley, who usually guides the “Exploring Ourselves” meetings, informed us a little earlier in the day that she was not feeling well and would not be able to facilitate this Sunday morning meeting. Then, in the process of inviting and enabling David to stand in as Jackie’s replacement, some technical difficulties arose which made it impossible for him to join the Zoom meeting with a functional video and audio speaker. Ralph then took the role of opening the meeting and asking the participants to create their own experience of inquiring into whatever was most interesting and relevant to them. It was a “dialogue without an authority”, as one participant called it. The thirteen participants seemed to be well enough versed in the mechanics of dialogue that they could together bring forward questions and pursue investigations into them that flowed along for a total of two hours. Some of the questions which were presented to the group were as follows:

 

– How do I know what is false and what is true?

– Are opinions useful? Are my opinions true or just beliefs? And how do I know if I am caught in a limiting belief?

– What is the place of our background in any communication? Is the background made of accurate images or illusions, and is it a source of conflict?

– What is self-awareness? Is it the realization that I am not in the present moment with my attention?

– What is the “actual” and what is resistance to it?

– Is there a possibility of going beyond self-interest? The desire to go beyond may be part of the trap of self-interest.

 

Some other issues that were discussed were the following:

 

– Being trapped in the perceptions of another person

– The chatter of the thinking mind

– Sensitivity and over-thinking

– The difference between thought, awareness, and insight.

– The nature of thought, of “being aware of being aware”, and of a total insight

– “New thought” and “old thought”

– The nature of the “I” or “me”

– How much “unwellness” we are willing to tolerate

– How often are we repeating our behaviour and are we really present with our experience?

– How is awareness communicated?

– How much does individual agency exist and can it bring about change?

 

It was acknowledged that many of these subtle questions are difficult to resolve and may often elicit rather vague responses. It was mentioned that, in contrast, Krishnamurti seemed to be very clear and direct in most of his answers to the questions posed to him during talks and dialogues.

It was clear that there was a good deal of curiosity in the group and a strong interest in self-inquiry, in whatever way it was understood.

Self-inquiry: the Merging of Heart and Mind, June 24 – 26, 2022

/in /by

Self-inquiry: The Merging of Heart and Mind

June 24 – 26, 2022 with GP Walsh

Zoom online

 

We were pleased to have GP with us again, online from Seattle, with a group of participants numbering between 23 and 25 on each of the three days of the workshop focused on self-inquiry or the study of who and what we really are. GP skillfully guided us at the start of each of the three 1 ½ hour sessions with a guided meditation featuring an experiential journey into the nature of our consciousness and our identity. He referred to a few teachings from ancient sources such as the Ribhu Gita and modern sources such as Ramana Maharshi, Mooji, and J. Krishnamurti. His main pointer was that we are the pure awareness that is hearing the words being spoken at this very moment. This awareness cannot be separated into subject and object or into other categories such as Being, Consciousness, and Feeling, or Heart and Mind. The Heart is the felt sense of Being and is that which we are experiencing at every moment. The nature of consciousness is very subtle and invites a great deal of inquiry into its nature in order to realise the simplicity of the truth that “I am That”. Over the weekend the group participants explored various aspects of our nature, our thinking, and our non-dual identity which turns into an experience of suffering as soon as we identify with the body or the mind. When “otherness” disappears the infinite appears.

Together GP and the group members explored a variety of questions such as “Who is perceiving?”, “What is the thought “I” referring to?”, “What is aware of being aware?”, “How can I let go of attachment?”, and so on. Such profound questions may have no answer in terms of ordinary thought processes and yet may produce a direct experience of ourselves, which may be what we are looking for. According to Ramana, the greatest barrier to Enlightenment is the belief that we are not enlightened already. We investigated the wisdom of such pointers which often appear complex and incomprehensible and yet can be understood in terms of thought’s habit of making everything into a problem. GP made twists and turns that challenged our understanding but somehow made the fact more accessible that “what we are looking for is what we are looking from.” It was a very interesting three meetings and GP’s presentation was much enjoyed.

DB

Exploring Ourselves with Jackie McInley, June 19, 2022

/in /by

Exploring Ourselves with Jackie McInley

Sunday, June 19, 2022

Zoom online

 

Fourteen of us were on hand for this Sunday morning session with Jackie McInley, who joined us online from France. The meetings lately have perhaps been increasingly spontaneous and with minimal structure and guidance, providing a space for unanticipated exploration of whatever is arising for participants as the conversation unfolds. Jackie is still active in bringing questions to the open space of potentiality that can be dialogue, but she also encourages group members to share whatever is alive for them. Very soon in the discussion some questions were posed about the relationship between thought, feeling, and emotion and to what extent we are listening to feelings. We looked a little at intellect and feeling, the question of naming a feeling or not, and the kind of inner narrative that goes on as we converse. The place of fear and desire for security was introduced and the importance of being closely with whatever is going on in us was mentioned as being significant in our self-inquiry.

The dialogue flowed onward with the wondering “What is responding to any question and can we allow the question to go beyond what is stimulated by it?” One participant contributed that there are many layers and levels of interaction and reaction that are taking place in the sharing of dialogue. The subject of tension arose and seemed to be of interest to many of the group. What is it like to experience tension with its different layers? Is tension being felt or is it being “organised”? Is there a kind of “Gatekeeper” in us who wants tension to appear in a certain way? Is there a conflict between control and breaking free? Some subtleties of “being with” tension or other feelings were brought forward, including the issue of fragmentation between different parts of us. Can the mind’s tendency to create division be seen as it occurs, without having to find a solution to it?

It was a meeting peppered with a variety of interesting questions and responses; the attendees were quite fully engaged, as usual.

DB

Inner Peace, Joy, and Beauty with Mukesh, June 12, 2022

/in /by

Meditative Self-inquiry with Mukesh Gupta:

Inner Peace, Joy, and Beauty

June 12, 2022

Zoom online

 

Mukesh began this last session in the current series by contrasting the field of love within us and the field of conditioning. Presence, awareness, and beauty cannot be manufactured, so how can the shift happen from one set of qualities to the other? How can there be a shift from conflict to love and joy? It seems to require an awareness of how thought is dominating our experience in the moment. In order to support such a shift, Mukesh employed a series of slides depicting lovely nature scenes along with meaningful quotes from Krishnamurti and others. The messages conveyed the need for clear perception of “what is” from a place of stillness of the mind and heart.. What happens when we see the play of conditioning with our whole being, including the “heart”, from the inside and the outside? What happens when we do not fight with what is but, rather, listen and look from a non-reactive, still mind, without choice, judgement, or resistance? Can there be no fighting with ourselves, a learning that has no sense of achieving a result? Can there be an awareness of inattention, of the creation of a self with all its problems? Then there is a different quality of relationship with ourselves and others, a relationship without measurement or direction? Seeing from wholeness is different from seeing through the thinking mind.

Mukesh’s opening presentation was followed by some group discussion and elaboration. Participants brought forward questions about being with “negative” thoughts. It was asked whether thoughts are personal or universal and if the source of our thoughts and fears can be seen. Perhaps we have not attended fully and therefore fear has arisen. Dealing with fear through thought is ineffective, Mukesh asserted. What is needed is a non-reactive mind that does not judge but remains with the whole reality of the conditioned mind from a place of wonder and “not-knowing”. Total presence is the deepest wisdom and involves constant learning. We can be with the “ego” as if it were a child, with love and compassion. Then there is a dialogue with oneself and others, a seeing of the construction (by thought) of the egoic self. Then there is a different experience of oneself and one’s life.

The meeting was a sharing of ideas and insights along with an exploration of the implications of seeing our thought patterns and habits. Mukesh reminded us in his conclusion that existence is a mystery and a miracle. When we are aware of this there is peace, joy, and love.

Making Peace with the Mind, June 11, 2022

/in /by

Making Peace with your Mind: Can We Quieten the Mind without Effort?

With Cynthia Overweg

June 11, 2022, Zoom Online

 

This was the last instalment in the series of four presentations by Cynthia entitled “The Only Revolution” after the title of a book of talks by J. Krishnamurti. Thirteen people in total were present for the event. Cynthia began by asking what prevents peace in the mind and suggested it is the “never-ending machinations of the thinking mind” which constantly moves between the past and the future in its attempts to find security and other objects of the mind’s desires. She quoted K’s statement that “you cannot bring about a quiet mind without understanding desire”. She then discussed a number of aspects of desire and wondered whether we really understand them. We seem to have a fundamental desire to be happy, but the “thorn of self-interest” seems to destroy our happiness. We want security, safety, power, pleasure, sex, and more and there is frequently conflict between what I want and what actually is. K has said that desire means conflict. In order to be at peace “seeing” the nature of desire is essential. Then one could leave desire alone and there would be freedom from conflict. We often, however, do not look at the process of our thinking, whether it is directed outwardly or inwardly.

The activity of the “inner critic”, Cynthia pointed out, is usually not clearly seen in ourselves. In many ways we judge ourselves to be inadequate or not good enough, and this central aspect of our conditioning generates much unhappiness. Any effort to change ourselves will produce distortion but, as K said, “the ability to observe ourselves without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence” which brings about “a silence not put together by thought.” “Without being aware and experiencing the ways of thought, love cannot be.”

Cynthia provided periods of quiet observation during which we could observe the movements of thought. One of the participants supplemented the meditations with beautiful classical guitar music, assisting relaxation and quiet watchfulness. Cynthia added that “if we make peace with the divided mind, we make peace with the world.” Only when the mind is quiet does the heart come alive. As Krishnamurti said, “if I really want to understand something, immediately there is a quietness in the mind.” And “transformation is the result of a quiet mind.”

Cynthia ended her presentation with seven suggestions for supporting the emergence of the peaceful mind and heart:

1) Take time to align yourself with the world’s beauty and the beauty of nature

2) Sit quietly beneath a tree and listen. Lie down and feel.

3) On awakening in the morning, savour the silence and notice when the “me” shows up and time begins

4) Express gratitude

5) Be kind in each interaction and with yourself

6) Breathe in the vast star-lit sky at night

7) Watch and listen to birds without naming

 

The last twenty minutes of the meeting were open for discussion and feedback. There was some exploration of the place of thought in our daily life and the value of awareness and observation. The issue of language and division – and the unity beyond – was examined. The essential idea was “be attentive”! There was some expression of appreciation for Cynthia’s commitment and skill in communicating these profound insights and concepts

Exploring Loneliness and Fear, May 14, 2022

/in /by

The Only Revolution: Exploring Loneliness and Fear

With Cynthia Overweg

May 14, 2022

Zoom online

 

This presentation was Part 3 in a series of 4 comprising a collection labelled “The Only Revolution” after the title of one of J. Krishnamurti’s books. Cynthia opened the session by connecting the universal issues of fear and loneliness with the current world situation, including the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and climate change. Covid, for example, with its isolating effect, is forcing us to look at ourselves in a way that is unusually demanding, and war asks us to look into the sources of division and violence. We are particularly interested in the psychological aspects of these human behaviours. Fourteen people were in attendance.

Bringing in Krishnamurti’s teachings as she usually does, Cynthia shared his statement that “fear is what makes us accept our conditioning.” We are perhaps too afraid to challenge our conditioning and its sources in fear and loneliness. K says that “to find the truth, we must stand alone, and that is arduous.”

The discussion took the direction of contrasting loneliness and aloneness, expressions of “what should be” and what actually is. Fear is created by thought; can we look at it when it appears? We are unconsciously aware that we are empty, nothing, and the “me” is just a construct of thought. Emptiness must be understood if we are to go beyond it. We must look at our psychological dependence and be with the feeling of emptiness without any condemnation or effort to get away from it. The sense of “not being” may be the cause of all fear. K said that the mind cannot separate itself from emptiness because the mind itself is that emptiness. Loneliness is the very essence of the self, the “me”. Can it be seen without naming it? Can the mind go beyond it? Only then is there absolute freedom. We must understand the whole process of our own thinking, and out of that understanding comes love.

After about an hour of presentation, with some periods of silent meditation, watching the breath, and listening to music, the group turned to more interactive sharing and exploration. Appreciation was expressed for the hard work of stripping away our masks in order to see what is underneath. It was noted that the witnessing of the “me” in relationship with others is very challenging but can be seen against a background of silence, in nature for example. It was noted that Krishnamurti himself never let up from the urgency of looking at ourselves. How, we might ask, can this discussion be bigger in the world and how does it affect the whole of life?

It was another meaningful exploration under Cynthia’s skillful guidance.

 

DB

Exploring Ourselves, June 5, 2022

/in /by

Exploring Ourselves with Jackie McInley

June 5, 2022

Zoom online

Jackie joined us from Southern France for this meeting. There were eleven participants all included, most of them being familiar with the dialogue format employed by Jackie, which could be described as an open questioning of all assumptions and expectations. The session began with one of the participants introducing the subject of “judgement”. In our dialogue, are we making subtle judgements about each other and about ourselves? And when we ask questions, is it with an open slate or are we bringing a background to our inquiry? Is it possible to proceed in dialogue without bringing in the past in any way? And does a background have any value in considering a question? It seemed we were exploring an awareness with a rare kind of subtlety that takes nothing for granted and carries no beliefs.

As we proceeded with the exploration, the topic of judgement expanded into looking at polarisation, the desire for security, and the activity of the “me” or “self” in dialogue and in our daily lives. It was suggested that within such discussion what we are looking for may be an open awareness and a “shared sense of being”. The fact of a sense of fear at the deepest levels of our consciousness was brought forward. There was some agreement on the shared feeling of anxiety provoked by “emptiness” and the sense of a void within and, at the same time, some questioning of how participants were approaching the issues being raised. Rather than having disagreement, it was suggested, could different approaches be inclusive and useful to consider? There seemed to be some open questions remaining to be explored.

DB

Wisdom in a World on Fire, May 20 – 22, 2022

/in /by

Wisdom in a World on Fire

May 20 – 22, 2022

With Javier Gomez Rodrigues

Zoom Online

 

Javier joined us from Amsterdam for this three part workshop using the Zoom online application. Each of the three sessions included a roughly forty-five minute talk or presentation followed by forty-five minutes of group dialogue or discussion. There were between eight and ten persons present in total in each meeting and others that were not present live but were planning to watch the recordings of the sessions at a later time.

Javier began the meeting with some comments on the present situation in the world with its conflicts, divisions, violence, and nationalism. The root of violence, he pointed out, is the notion of self or the separate “me”. Identity is based on memory, the structures of the past, and the contradictions of thought, which creates its own problems. Are we willing to drop our identities and our sense of separateness? Javier asked. We are strongly driven by our ego identity and selfish motivations and must question where we are coming from in our relationships. Are we living in a world of ideas? Why do we not see these attachments to ideas and let them go? Are we controlled by our desires for fame and fulfilment, position, ownership of objects, and so on? Over the three days we explored deeper aspects of the self and the need for it to dissolve. This is the core of Krishnamurti’s teachings and he suggests that we use the “mirror of relationship” to gain “knowledge” of ourselves or insight into our thought structures which can bring about an experience of wholeness.

The talks and discussions touched on many of the psychological aspects of the self and its nature. The central place of images was explored in relation to fiction, reality, and love. This tied into the issue of loneliness and isolation and then the workings of pleasure and fear. Questions arose about children, siblings, parents and the opportunities of family life in realising love. A number of times we delved into the necessity of being fully with our pain and sorrow. Being with our suffering can awaken compassion and a sense of freedom. And facing the psychological fear of death and the desire for security can bring transformation. The question arose, “have we faced the fear of death?” The question is one of depth and value.

Javier’s presentations are full of humour and lightness as well as confronting serious and profound questions. The balance makes for an enjoyable and instructive learning experience.

DB