Archive for category: Event Summaries

The Urgency of Change Dialogue Meeting

July 18, 2021

Zoom Online

Seven of us were present for this Sunday gathering, the relatively small turnout probably owing to the attraction of various summer activities. One of our group members had suggested at the previous meeting that we discuss the important topic of “authority” as presented by Krishnamurti in his teachings, and we decided to take a little detour into The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti, with particular focus on the January 7 – 22 selections. These passages were considered to explore the subject of authority more fully than the chapters in our regular chosen text, The Urgency of Change. In The Book of Life, K talks about not only the authority we invest in others as a result of our desire to be told what to do, to have a sense of security and certainty in our lives, but he also addresses the authority we assign to ourselves as someone who “knows”. This kind of knowing, which involves the past through memory, can never adequately meet the movement of life as it unfolds moment to moment. There is knowledge, which supports the egoic self with its collections of concepts and ideas largely based on conditioning, and then there is a very different kind of knowing or wisdom which comes from clear perception or insight in the present moment and guides our lives in a way that is freshly unfolding as we live with a choiceless awareness of ourselves and the movement of our thoughts and feelings. This quality of attention may be what it is to be fully alive.

The session was opened with a guided meditation exploring some of the aspects of true “learning” as Krishnamurti spoke of it. We then stayed with the topic of learning and the differences between thought and pure seeing. The group inquiry touched on a number of subtle points concerning the refinement with which we can observe our tendencies to create and defend our sense of self. There can be an alert awareness of how we ascribe authority both outwardly and inwardly in our daily functioning. Ultimately, as K points out, there must be an emptying of the contents of our consciousness in order to respond fully to the movement of life. We discussed how this emptiness is not an ideal to be achieved. It is, rather, the dissolving effect of attentive looking and listening as they are lived moment to moment. The group sharing and exploration was rich and seemingly valuable to the participants.

“The Art of Seeing” with Cynthia Overweg

June 25 – 27, 2021

Zoom Online

This series of three presentations by Cythia Overweg from Ojai, California, was attended by between twelve and fourteen persons in total each session. Cynthia combined talks on the teachings of J. Krishnamurti with periods of quiet meditation, breath and bodily awareness, silence, and music. She also invited questions and feedback from the attendees. She intends to create a space of focused attention in which what K is saying may be understood through direct seeing and self-observation. “Seeing”, she stated, is central to Krishnamurti’s teachings and warrants a deep immersion in his explanation of its nature. When true seeing takes place there is no separation between the observer and the observed. The mind is quiet and there is a transformation.

According to K, “the act of seeing is the only truth; there is nothing else.” Seeing is the perennial transformation spoken of by many sages. Watching ourselves, Cynthia said, is fascinating and it opens the door to the “immeasurable”. With self-understanding comes love. Why do we not see? K explains that our mind is not free but is occupied with self-interest. To find freedom we must learn what the mind is doing and be sensitive to all the activities of thought.

Cynthia made use of many quotes from K’s writings and talks along with quotes from other sages down the ages. The truth of what others have said must be confirmed by ourselves in our own self-examination. She explored the topic of seeing in some depth over the three presentations and then summarized the main points in the last presentation with an outline of the steps involved in laying the foundation of self-transformation.

– There must be awareness of ourselves in “the mirror of relationship.”

– We must learn to see with our whole being.

– Meditation is the purging of the mind of its self-centred activity.

– The silent mind is open to receive the immeasurable, which is indescribable.

There is an apparent contradiction when K says that the foundation can be laid instantly and also that it takes a lifetime of work. The contradiction can be resolved in our own inquiry when it is seen that both points are true.

Cynthia brought the series of three meetings to a close with the questions “What is your relationship with what you see?” and “What is your relationship with silence?” Good material for ongoing contemplation. It was a powerful and valuable meditation on core teachings about “the miracle of seeing,” and it seems certain that participants left with many valuable insights having taken place.

“Nonduality: An Experiential Journey” with GP Walsh

June 12, 2021

Zoom Online

This Saturday morning session with spiritual teacher GP Walsh was attended by twenty-one people in total. GP has offered a number of presentations through the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada over the last few years, in each case attracting a good number of interested students who have always seemed to very much enjoy his communication style. He began and ended the session with guided meditations focusing on the simple sense of being that is always present, the “non-phenomenal” knowing which brings a sense of a reality which is undivided. GP spoke of the Buddha and Krishnamurti, with their shared challenge in speaking of knowing ourselves when we cannot describe ourselves. They both said that we can only discover ourselves for ourselves and not through the knowledge of another. What we actually are has no subject-object dualism. The two spiritual giants sought the source and cure of suffering, which lies not in the experience of suffering but in the one experiencing it. As soon as we say ‘this shouldn’t be happening” we begin to suffer. Trying to control life only creates suffering. On the other hand, Krishnamurti says “I don’t mind what happens.”

After a presentation of roughly an hour, with some questions from the audience, GP opened the floor for further questions. The first question considered the apparent contradiction between spiritual inquiry and the performance of duties demanded by society. GP suggested we ask “who” or “what” is playing the human roles in life. It will be seen that there is actually no self or person performing the roles: there is just an emptiness, an indefinable movement of life. It is a recognition that what we are is the emptiness and not the personal identity or the images projected by thought, which is the source of all our problems. It was asked how we can know the difference between good and evil actions. GP replied that the Emptiness that we truly are is inherently discerning. If we ask what is the most loving thing to do, which is the vital question of each moment, the answer is an inner knowing of the heart. And we learn as we go.

Another questioner asked why the penny doesn’t drop completely or why is the understanding not totally realized for most of us. This opened a good deal of discussion and inquiry into “knowing” and “Being” and the belief in a separate self. As soon as a separate self is believed in, we begin to suffer. We can ask what appearances arise in and what remains when they depart. All preferences can be seen as arbitrary, which activates a letting go of attachment and, therefore, brings freedom.

It was another illuminating meeting with GP and the inquiring participants who joined the event.

Meditative Self-Inquiry: The Transformation of Consciousness

With Mukesh Gupta

May 29 – 30, 2021

Zoom online

This was the final session of the spring series on “meditative self-inquiry” presented by Mukesh Gupta and sponsored by the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada. Eleven people (all included) were in attendance. The Saturday meeting featured a presentation by Mukesh covering quite widely the subject of the transformation of consciousness as Krishnamurti spoke of it in his teachings. Mukesh clearly stated that he was presenting his own understanding of the teachings and not claiming to be an ultimate authority on what K has said. He soon asked the question, “What is consciousness?” According to his understanding of K, there is no consciousness as we know it without the contents, which are our experiences, thoughts, memories, knowledge, desires and fears. There may be something else when consciousness is emptied of its content, but normally we only know it through conflict between fragments, between one desire and another, between what is and what should be (the ideal). There is the conflict between “me” and my experiences, the thinker and the thought, the observer and the observed. K asked if there is a separate “I”, or is the “I” merely a thought and therefore, in a sense, an illusion or unreal. What can be done about this sense of separation that creates all our suffering and problems psychologically speaking? Is there anything to be done other than to be completely still with it? Transformation cannot happen through effort, thought, idea, or desire. There must, rather, be a seeing of the patterns of thought and division. This seeing is the ending of conflict. The nature of this seeing includes the facts of no observer or “past baggage”, no psychological time or effort (which is futile), and no motive. It is not part of thought and is therefore free of time and conflict. Seeing is also supreme action, negation, intelligence, love, and transformation. The false drops away when seen. Supreme discontentment is necessary in this self-inquiry process.

The second half of the meeting was open for questions and comments from participants. There seemed to be some difficulties in fully comprehending what K is actually meaning and applying it to everyday life, so there was a good deal of discussion of finer points of the presentation. The meeting on Sunday continued with the same number of people and further group exploration of the same and similar issues, partly in the form of a breakout into two smaller groups. The breakout allowed for a more intimate and engaged sharing, which apparently was enjoyed by participants. Being with emotions such as anger was looked into along with what it means to be aware. At the end of the meeting Mukesh recommended two Krishnamurti books as being very helpful: The Wholeness of Life, and Truth and Actuality. It was a fruitful and enjoyable weekend of inquiry.

The Urgency of Change Dialogue Group Meeting

Sunday, May 16, 2021

Zoom online

Twelve participants attended this Sunday morning meeting. Three of the group were unable to join us for various reasons, but two of them sent their greetings and best wishes. We began the meeting with a guided meditation exploring the possibility of “whole attention”, mentioned by Krishnamurti in the readings. This attention is not something that can be practiced or made deliberate. The question was posed, “Can this quality of attention be present right from the beginning, without psychological effort?” After the “meditation” there was some discussion of our experience, which revealed that participants had been aware of certain shifts in their consciousness which seemed meaningful. The inquiry moved to a consideration of Krishnamurti’s teachings as often having the nature of Zen koans, or questions that cannot be answered by rational thought and therefore require an accessing of a state beyond, or prior to, the thinking mind. This may be what David Bohm described as “shared meaning” in his writings on group dialogue.

The chapters recommended for reading in preparation for the meeting were the ones entitled “Perception” and “Suffering” in The Urgency of Change. Some of the ideas shared by K in those chapters were integrated into our discussion and overall the conversation flowed in a creative and interesting way, interspersed with periods of spontaneous silence. The silence was appreciated by some of the participants who commented on the phenomenon. K often speaks of the significance of that quality of silence which is a natural outcome of self study and a doorway to a “deeper” knowing of who or what we are – and what life is. The companionship was hopefully enjoyable for everyone, significant in the experience of non-separateness, and of value as an opportunity for self-observation and learning.