Exploring Ourselves with Jackie McKinley, May 15, 2022

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Exploring Ourselves

With Jackie McKinley

May 15, 2022

Zoom online

Jackie was facilitating this meeting from the UK and was joined by fourteen more participants for a “dialogue” concerning the nature of consciousness and our particular expression of it. She began by noting that there were three people present who were new to dialogue, which led her to ask the question, “What is dialogue?” We are not here to just talk about what we are thinking about, but more to observe the psychological and energetic movements that arise in us as they arise. She asked, “Can we be actually aware of these movements and not just conceptually aware?”

After some moments of silence, Jackie commented that a quality of silence is needed to observe. Everyone present is responsible for the atmosphere in the group and we are all in this attentiveness together, a broad attention towards all that is transpiring. Within such attention there is space for any serious question. The first question arising asked what we notice about our state of mind when we are present within a group. Jackie then asked if the question needed further elaboration or clarification. Another questioner inquired what the difference is between our state of mind and our thoughts. There was a response, a wondering if we were looking for answers. Jackie asked if we can hold a question and let it deepen our perception. There was then some discussion of thoughts vs. the observing of thoughts and the importance of being aware of our thinking. The dialogue unfolded to fill the two hour time slot and was judged to be interesting and worthwhile in its content and in the insights that became available to the group.

Meditative Self-inquiry, May 8, 2022

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Meditative Self-inquiry

With Mukesh Gupta

Sunday, May 8, 2022

Zoom Online

This session of Meditative Self-inquiry focused on the question “What is Compassion?” Sixteen people were in attendance in total and Mukesh was with us online from Europe. He began the meeting with a short silent meditation then posed the questions “What is compassion?” and “What is love?” with a comment that the two are very much interdependent. In both cases we must first see what is not compassion and what is not love and similarly with any quality of consciousness we are exploring, such as truth. Through negation we see and release what is not the truth. With the subject of compassion we see through our inquiry that any activity of the “me” or “ego” is not compassion and that compassion cannot be a part of the thought process, our stories, images, prejudices, and any aspects of the (egoic) self. There must be a space or freedom from the self and a seeing of the danger of the self-centred way of living.

“Why is there not this space or freedom?” Mukesh asked. “Is it because our minds are so busy, preoccupied?” There must be a quietness which listens to and feels the suffering of another. Separation must be seen to be just a story, an image. The truth of our Being is beyond images and thought. Identification with thought and images creates suffering and diminishes the beauty of life. Mukesh finished his half hour talk by saying that compassion is “passion for all” and not just caring for the few.

Mukesh invited the group to enter into a discussion or dialogue in which we could explore the nature of compassion from our hearts and not merely from the intellect. The first question that arose from the participants was a wondering how human beings can change their behaviour in relation to materialism and accumulation. What is the source of ambition and acquisitiveness? Is it fear? It was suggested that the mind is projecting the fear of dying without seeing the fact. This fear is the basis of greed and possessiveness. Can there be an attention which looks at the creation of fear and transforms it into creativity?

A second question from the attendees was concerning how we deal with expectation. The ending of suffering can become a goal and thus an expectation which does not bring freedom. Can we be aware of the activities of the “old mind” which is self-critical and observe from stillness, being open to the truth of the matter coming to us from the Unknown? This discussion brought forth the observation that we have never been taught who we actually are and without self-knowledge there can be no freedom or love. Competition between human beings creates conflict. When we imagine ourselves to be objects or “things” then there can be no love.

The inquiry deepened as the meeting unfolded and became more deeply involved in the challenge of being awake to our mechanical nature, staying with the self-inquiry, and negating that which is false. Can we move beyond our limiting desires for pleasure? It was noted that it is an ongoing work.

Exploring Ourselves, May 1, 2022

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Exploring Ourselves

With Jackie McKinley

Sunday, May1, 2022

Zoom Online

 

Fourteen people in total were present on Zoom for this Sunday morning online meeting facilitated by Jackie McKinley from the UK. As there were a few people new to dialogue as practised in the Krishnamurti world, Jackie gave an introductory talk about the central ideas guiding it. The main points she emphasised were the following;

– Dialogue is a coming together of friends in order to talk over our problems on whatever levels or depths we are moved to do so.

– There is no leader or authority. We are all in the same boat and noone is considered to know any more than the others. Each person may see a part of the total picture.

– We are learning the art of communicating together and investigating our patterns or conditioning exactly as they actually are, not as we would like them to be.

– When we don’t see who or what we are, this generates a host of problems in our everyday lives. Can we get a true sense of this? What do we need to see about ourselves?

– How do we go about this exploration? Some of the requirements are that we relax, listen, observe, suspend our thoughts and judgements, open to what others have to say, and hold the paradoxes of different views existing at the same time.

– We do not allow our programming to take over but, rather, watch it in operation. From that foundation we exchange perceptions with others, ask questions (which may not have answers), and allow for periods of silence.

The discussion of these ideas led the group to an extended exploration of the issue of the “known” and the “unknown”. Is it important to learn about the Unknown or to understand and realize “freedom from the known”, the title of one of Krishnamurti’s books? Perhaps we need to understand the limitation of the known, the nature of it. Such questions involve a different kind of exploration than we may be used to and the group got quite involved in looking at and talking about the issues that were arising. Eventually Jackie had to wind up the meeting, leaving us with encouragement to engage in an ongoing inquiry into ourselves and our reactions within the relationships of our daily lives.

Centred Self Without Being Self-centred, April 22-24, 2022

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Centred Self Without Being Self-centred

Online retreat with Ravi Ravindra

April 22 – 24, 2022

 

Ravi Ravindra joined us for his annual retreat at the Krishnamurti Centre of Canada, in this case through the Zoom online medium. He offered three presentations of 1 ½ hours each with a talk of about forty-five minutes to one hour each time followed by questions from the audience with Ravi’s responses. There were fourteen persons all included in attendance for the three sessions.

Ravi introduced his subject by bringing our attention to the mystery of our existence in this vast universe. Who or what are we? We must look within to find our connection with the “divine” reality. The urge may arise in us to seek for something beyond the body and the thinking mind and, at the same time, we need to appreciate the body and mind as sensitive instruments of inquiry.

Inquiry begins with either wonder or fear of death and the challenges of being alive. We must be dissatisfied with our current state of knowledge and experience and therefore fueled in our search for something more profound. As the search is not easy by any means, how are we to go about it? Ravi touched on many interesting pointers to effective inquiry. Krishnamurti, Ravi pointed out, recommended that we keep asking questions, questions which come from the heart more than the mind. And it is the heart which is touched by the discoveries of self-inquiry. Every step forward is significant. Some of the many significant aspects of the journey suggested by Ravi for us to contemplate were the following:

– What part of us is acting in our responses to the challenges of life? Ego is a good servant but a poor master.

– There is no need to get rid of the ego: that is more ego.

– How can we nourish the desire for the divine?

– Negative and positive forces are a necessary part of existence and all aspects of ourselves are to be included.

– Refinement and greater understanding are needed more than the rejection of “evil”.

– Wanting things to be different may be less beneficial than being content with a gradual process of evolution.

– We are a hologram of the universe and self-inquiry is an endless process. The Devil is in me as well as the Divine. We must find the right place of everything.

– We must begin where we are. Spiritual practice will refine and cleanse my motivations.

– How do the wise sayings of the sages apply to me?

– Everything Ravi is saying is obvious but needs to be appreciated.

– Am I breathing or being breathed? The breath of God is keeping me alive, but I often take it for granted.

– Whatever I pay attention to changes its quality. There is no need to force anything. Watching what I am impartially brings self-transformation and greater depth and subtlety.

– We must find the right balance between effort and receptivity. What are my actions driven by: self or Self?

– Discouragement is inevitable but being connected with a group of fellow searchers can be invaluable. Self-compassion is also necessary.

– Can we allow ourselves to be surprised? The holy is surprising and requires freedom from the known.

– Spiritual questions cannot be solved but can be dissolved (but not necessarily permanently). If we stay with the mystery our lives can be transformed.

 

In addition to the large range of topics discussed over the three days, Ravi also guided the group in a few meditations which explored some inner, subtle dimensions of the body-mind.

Towards the end of the retreat some interesting questions were posed by participants, eliciting further gems from Ravi.

Overall, participants appeared to greatly enjoy the richness of wisdom gathered by Ravi over many years of study and meditation. We are grateful for his willingness to share with us.

DB

Exploring Ourselves, April 17, 2022

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Exploring Ourselves

With Jackie McKinley

Sunday, April 17

Zoom Online

This was the second meeting of the “Exploring Ourselves” series for the month of April. Seventeen of us joined online to engage in a dialogue without any specified subject matter. In fact, given that there were a number of new people, we began with the question “What is dialogue?” Jackie presented some of the central ideas guiding dialogue, the most important one perhaps being the concern with freedom. In dialogue, she said, nobody tells anyone else what to do. But then how do we deal with people who are fired up about some idea or perspective and speak aggressively, violently, and so on? How do we speak to each other as dialogue unfolds and we start coming up with answers, solutions, and opinions? Do we respond with our own answers? What is dialogue if not just a sharing of ideas? And can we notice – be aware of – what is taking place in our responses and reactions at different levels of our consciousness as we interact in relationship? Jackie asked if we would take some moments of silence to be with the question and the group participants complied.

As the conversation moved on, it was asked if we need to be anyone or anything in particular. And can different ways of seeing be held in a space of mutual examination and respect? Do we need to take a position with regards to any idea? Is it best to contradict what is said if we feel it is less than fully true or is it more helpful to encourage further expression of the idea in an attempt to reach a greater depth of shared understanding? Is any skill involved in meaningful dialogue or is skill not a relevant factor? We looked from different angles at the process of communication within a group, seeming to find that an open and tentative approach is part of what is needed. We keep coming back to the idea that a sensitive awareness of our reactions is central to the dialogue process. We closed with a sense that the process is continuously unfolding and revealing new insights about ourselves. It is a creative exploration perhaps without an end.

Meditative Self-Inquiry April 10, 2022

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Meditative Self-Inquiry

With Mukesh Gupta, April 10, 2022

Zoom online

In this session of Meditative Self-Inquiry Mukesh chose to focus on the question, “Can there be an end to fear and sorrow?” Seventeen people, staff included, attended the online presentation and discussion which began with a talk by Mukesh and then opened up for group questions and dialogue. Right at the beginning Mukesh posed another question which he felt to be crucial: “Am I present here and now?” Without answering that question Mukesh then gave a talk of about forty-five minutes to an hour about the nature of fear and sorrow, both being realities that everyone goes through in their lives. As long as we are caught in fear and sorrow, he said, we cannot flower, but when we understand deeply the roots of them then the issues and associated problems dissolve.

Fear arises when we are not facing the reality of our lives, when we are avoiding it. It is the shadow of desire, desire to dominate and have power. It exists when our self-centredness is not seen and we try to find security in thought constructs. Can it be seen that there is no security in identification with thought and in being driven by the egoic mind. Listening to Krishnamurti and other teachers the truth is seen. We must also listen to ourselves. Ego mind cannot heal itself but it can be looked at from the space of awareness and pure observation without naming what is seen and without trying to get rid of it. The “ego” can arise and dissolve naturally. It will be seen that the “observer” is the “observed”: both are creations of thought. The “I” is fear and sorrow. Our looking must be complete, a watching of what arises as thought and sensation. This watching awakens a different quality of intelligence which manifests compassion and passion for truth.

Following the talk we sat quietly for a short time then entered into dialogue. Questions and responses emerged concerning the need and possibility of peace, which must begin with ourselves. Any realisation of peace is significant. Can we also go to the very root of conflict and cut it? Can we feel responsible for the world and not feel guilty at the same time? Dialogue helps us to see the limits and falseness of our ideas and to realise the power of love and compassion, the depths of life.

Problems seem endless. What are we to do? Can we stay with the seeing of the “me” in action? Can we face the loneliness of the “me”? We must approach complex problems in a simple way. We need energy for creation, not for reaction. The participants seemed moved to explore such questions and to bring such inquiry into their daily lives.

The Only Revolution: Meditations on Interior Change.

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The Only Revolution: Meditations on Interior Change

With Cynthia Overweg

April 9, 2022, Zoom online

 

This was the second in a four part series of presentations by Cynthia via Zoom from Ojai, where she resides. The focus of the session was on the issue of time and transformation. Is inner transformation limited by time? Seventeen people in total were present online for the event. As she usually does, Cynthia combined a rich selection of Krishnamurti quotes from various sources along with periods of silent awareness of the breath and the movements of thought and feeling as we observed ourselves and discussed the issues being explored through the quotes and our own inquiries. Musical accompaniment and beautiful photographs created an added background for curious looking and listening in the silent times.

Cynthia began with one of K’s fundamental teachings that it is through relationship that we begin to understand the functioning of the mind. Part of this understanding involves the issue of time. She also posed the question, “What is transformation?” It was proposed that transformation involves a shift into a level of awareness more subtle than our usual state. That quality of attention is free of the conditioned mind which often prevents us from seeing the facts of our own conditioning. “In the understanding of the total process of the mind, there is a radical change.” (K) This change releases us from the tyranny of the conditioned mind and from time itself. “To realise what is eternal, time must stop.” The moment to moment seeing of the self in action is the transformation. We must begin on a small scale with “me” and “you” in daily relationship, for self-knowledge is the foundation for the eternal. Ultimately, “the meditation of a mind that is utterly silent is the benediction that man is ever seeking.”

Following Cynthia’s talk there was an opportunity for participants to ask questions and share observations. The reality or illusion of time was questioned and the attempts to grapple with such deep questions by such scientists as Einstein and David Bohm were included in our own wonderings. We circled back to the importance of seeing clearly the problem of the “thinker” or “observer” as it is created by thought. Can this movement of thought be seen and understood as the whole movement of the “me”? This may be the basis of freedom.

Exploring Ourselves, April 3, 2022

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Exploring Ourselves

With Jackie McKinley

Sunday, April 3, 2022

Zoom Online

 

Nineteen participants gathered on a Sunday morning to share in a process of “dialogue” which was led by Jackie McKinley from the UK. She is offering the sessions, sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada, twice per month via the Zoom online medium. There were a number of participants new to Krishnamurti’s teachings and to the activity of dialogue. The meeting began with some discussion of the principles of dialogue as they were developed and presented by physicist David Bohm during and following his years of interactions with Jiddu Krishnamurti. The practice of “suspension” in particular was examined and questioned by group members. This is a practice of holding up an idea in a space where it can be looked at without previous conclusions or beliefs. Jackie spoke of an attitude of curiosity that is conducive to a freshness and spontaneity of investigation which can reveal meaningful insights into the processes of our own minds and hearts as we engage in relationship with others. This led to an exploration of what is effective communication in a group context such as this one and what is actually being received and shared by participants. Is there resistance to what is being shared and how it is being shared?

The subjects of awareness and attention arose and the differences between them were discussed, with some people making them significant. This seemed like familiar ground in Krishnamurti circles but was perhaps not so for everyone. There was both a sense of conflict and disagreement in the communication as well as gratitude for the willingness to look into issues which might be sensitive at times. Jackie often asks if there can be a looking without preconceptions and works hard at encouraging such an approach to understanding ourselves.

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“Exploring Ourselves” with Jackie McKinley

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Zoom Online

 

This meeting was a part of an ongoing series with Jackie McKinley, an experienced dialogue facilitator from the UK. This time Jackie guided the session online from Ojai, California, via Zoom. Twenty people in total were in attendance. She began with an introductory talk about what we were attempting to address in the group meetings, focusing on the factor of separation which may be significant when we come together to look at any serious issues. The issue of separation within ourselves and with other individuals is mirrored by the separation happening in the external world at present, in the Ukraine, for example. Following the talk there was a period of silent sitting which was then reflected upon within the group. What is it like to sit in silence, in the “unknown”?

Participants were invited to bring forward any concerns they might be carrying. The first person to speak shared her tendency to hold on to anger and ill feelings towards others. This led to the question, “Why do we hold on to anything?” Another participant inquired why we so often ask the question “Why?” Would not “What?” or “How?” be more useful? The question then arose about the intention of both types of questions. Are all such questions not employing thought and being answered by thought? Is not thought always limited (as Krishnamurti points out)?

As the activity of sharing ideas unfolded, the issue of separation was brought back and looked at in terms of the group process. Are we actually together when we inquire into any issue, or are we mainly concerned about solutions for ourselves to the exclusion of others? What does it mean to “think together” as K speaks of it? Can thinking address this question adequately? And can I listen to another who seems so different from myself? Is there always something “behind” the surface of what is being said, and does that necessarily prevent effective communication? Can listening take place even when conclusions are being formed and shared? There was a sense in the group of the difficulty of exploring such issues in a way that can be clearly understood by all involved. A good deal of time was spent with these questions and it was suggested we might explore them further at our next meeting in two weeks time.

DB

Meditative Self-Inquiry with Mukesh Gupta, March 13, 2022

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Meditative Self-Inquiry with Mukesh Gupta

Zoom online

Sunday, March 13, 2022

Seventeen of us were present in total for this Sunday morning group dialogue. It was the first in a new series of events with Mukesh. He emphasised a question he feels to be essential in our self-inquiry: “Can we not live in a deep peacefulness in our daily lives?” What is the cause of war and conflict inside ourselves and in the world? Can we, Mukesh asked, explore the question without motive or expectation, from a place of quietness and stillness? Can we be aware of our inner disorder? The sense of a separate “me” or “ego” must be understood, not by thought but by awareness. Why have we accepted the separate self as a reality? Is it a thought? And is there any other instrument of exploration than thought? He suggested that awareness and attention are not dependent on thought; we must begin with them and move into our inquiry employing a deep looking and listening which has no past prejudices.

Our group was split into smaller sub-groups of three or four for a more intimate sharing. It was suggested that we approach the questions without having any quick answers. Could we explore as an activity of the heart in a quiet presence and observation? After a valuable twenty minutes of sharing in the small groups we came back together in the large group and engaged in further discussion. The importance of facing any crisis with a “new mind” was explored in some detail by Mukesh and other group members. There must be an openness, a stillness without old ideas and concepts which have little aliveness and creative discovery in them. It is the new mind that can respond adequately to the challenges we are up against at this time and perhaps at any time.

Some time was spent at the end of the meeting in silent sitting, being with our bodily presence and breath.