Krishnamurti Study Session, February 2, 2020

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Krishnamurti Study Session
February 2, 2020
At KECC

These study sessions focus on The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti. In David’s absence the study session was led by Laurie. Here is her report.

“There were six of us at the reading group today. Three of the people were on their first visit to the center. We read the February 4 meditation titled “Opportunities for Self-Expansion”. It was a rich discussion as we went around the room and shared our understanding, questions and experiences on the self and it’s many ways of dividing and separating from each other and within. We also touched on desire and the nature of being with what is.
We briefly discussed the February 5 entry “beyond all experiencing”. We went into a discussion of the definition of self and Self. We sat with the question: is it possible for the self not to experience?”

Krishnamurti Study Session, January 19, 2002

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Krishnamurti Study Session
Sunday, January 19, 2020
At KECC

There were three of us in attendance for this Sunday morning meeting to study The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti. Our selection was the February 3 entry entitled “Can the Crude Mind Become Sensitive?” It was suggested by David at the beginning that this entry expressed a very significant aspect of Krishnamurti’s approach to self-observation and transformation. He clearly points out in this passage that observing oneself without any attempt to become something different actually transforms what is. Any trying to become the ideal is only a creation of a different egoic self and not a transformation. Being fully present with, and aware of, what we are is what brings about real change. The small group explored these pointers in some depth, including questioning what he really means when he speaks of “crudity” and “stupidity” in this context. The words took on a meaning other than the conventional understanding one might have of those terms. The inquiry was well enjoyed and went on long past the official end time for the session.

Approaches to Self-Inquiry, January 12, 2020

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Approaches to Self-Inquiry
Sunday, January 12, 2020
At KECC

There were five participants present for this Sunday afternoon meeting at the Krishnamurti Centre in Metchosin. We watched a video presentation by JC Tefft entitled “Consciousness: The Last Frontier”, the first in a series of three video presentations by the same author. The presentation was about fifty minutes in length and covered some of the scientific theories about the creation of our universe as well as the mysteries of how anything came to be. It was an interesting exploration of the known, the unknown, and the coexistence of the two in the human experience. Tefft questioned what might be beyond thought and pointed to the truth that is beyond all concept and description and which can never be understood as an object of knowledge. That which is aware of all objects can never be grasped by thought.
After the video we engaged in a group dialogue exploring the relevance of the subject matter in our lives and to what degree it was useful. There was an appreciation of the questions raised and the spirit of inquiry stimulated. It was mentioned that Krishnamurti encourages a deep questioning of all concepts and beliefs and that freedom may exist in such questioning of the formulations of thought as they attempt to explain and describe the movements of Life. It was a lively discussion and seemed to be enjoyed by the inquirers.

Exploring Awareness, January 5, 2020

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Exploring Awareness
Sunday, January 5, 2020
At KECC

Nine of us were present for this Sunday afternoon session at the Gatehouse. The meeting began with a short description of some aspects of Krishnamurti’s teachings which then led into a meditation guided by David inviting an experience of what K calls “choiceless awareness.” The guidance alternated with spaces of silence in which the participants could integrate the experience provoked by the words. After the half-hour meditation there was time for sharing of the experience, and this turned out to be a rich interaction and group discussion.
At what seemed like an appropriate time Ralph played a recording of a guided meditation by Ram Dass. The twenty minute meditation was similar in many ways to the previous meditation with some variations. Again there was sharing afterwards, which became quite spirited and energetic. It seemed that the visitors thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.

Krishnamurti Study Session, January 5, 2020

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Krishnamurti Study Session
Sunday, January 5, 2020
At KECC

Five people were in attendance for this Sunday morning meeting to study The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti. We began with reading the February 1 entry entitled “Becoming is Strife”, in which K points out that becoming is a constant struggle, pain, and strife. We sat in silence for a few minutes, then each shared what had impacted them in the reading. After the individual sharing we entered into a free dialogue and further explored the ideas expressed in what deepened naturally into a broad and rich inquiry. After some time we moved on to the February 2 “meditation” entitled “All Becoming is Fragmentation.” Here K points to the fact that any movement away from “what is” towards its opposite is merely a projection of thought which is inherently conflictual. When this is seen the mind and the “what is” undergo a transformation or integration. K’s description was experienced to be very clear and direct and the discussion that it inspired was fruitful.

Krishnamurti Study Session, December 15, 2019

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Krishnamurti Study Session
Sunday, December 15, 2019
At KECC

There were just two of us present for this Sunday morning meeting. The book we are studying is The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti, and the selection was the January 31 entry entitled “Relationship is a Mirror”. Self-knowledge, K says, “comes into being when we are aware of ourselves in relationship, which show what we are from moment to moment.” If we can look at ourselves with “full attention”, without judgement or evaluation, then we will see that the mind can free itself of its conditioning and discover what is beyond the field of thought. And freedom lies only beyond: it is not within the realm of thought.
We explored deeply what K is saying in this chapter and touched on related aspects of self-observation which we have experienced in our process of self-discovery. What is “full attention”, and what prevents it from being present? What supports it? How is freedom “entirely different” from functioning within the field of thought? These and other questions kept us exploring and sharing for two hours.

The Direct Path to Peace and Happiness

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The Direct Path to Peace and Happiness
Weekend Retreat with Rupert Spira on Video
December 6 – 8, 2019
At KECC

Ten participants came together for a weekend at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin, BC, to immerse themselves in the teachings of well-known non-dual teacher Rupert Spira. The experience was guided mainly by the video version of a retreat held in Amsterdam earlier this year wherein Rupert gave a series of six talks and guided meditations with the intention of awakening a realization of our true nature and supporting the embodiment of such realization in our daily lives. Unfortunately one couple had to leave the retreat on Saturday because of a health issue.
Rupert continuously pointed to the reality of awareness as our essential nature and the constant factor in all experience. He suggested we need not be persuaded that the presence of experience prevents the knowing of awareness as our real nature. He went into quite a depth of exploration of various aspects of the process of seeing through the belief in a separate self and coming home to our true nature as he covered the territory of his insights and fielded numerous questions from his audience in Amsterdam. The material covered was rich and practical for all our group members and facilitated a sinking into a space of cooperative inquiry in an atmosphere of affection, respect, and unity.
Rupert acknowledged Krishnamurti as an important influence in his development and quote some of his statements. On Saturday night we viewed two videos featuring Krishnamurti with David Bohm (“Walking by the Side of your Mind”) and in a BBC interview from 1980.
The formal program was filled out with informal talks and discussions, time for walks on the lovely grounds, and delicious meals from Glenrosa Restaurant. It was a very enjoyable weekend for all participants and a valuable journey into the profound sharings of a very clear and effective teacher.

Exploring Awareness, December 1, 2019, at KECC

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Exploring Awareness
Sunday, December 1, 2019
At KECC

The Sunday afternoon session was attended by six of us. We stayed with our usual format for these meetings with two guided meditations and some discussion of our experiences. We began with a meditation, guided by David, into being with our experience without naming it or creating any story about it. We were invited to be fully present with all our attention, with “full-body” awareness or what Krishnamurti calls “choiceless awareness”. Not naming experience can bring about a more direct and insightful understanding of “what is”, and bring about a deeper silence in the mind. There was then the invitation to notice if we were creating a division between ourselves as an “observer” and the thing being observed. What happens if this duality is noticed? Does a different quality of perceiving come about, a unitary and whole sense of presence and awareness?
The second half of the session featured a recording of one of Scott Kiloby’s guided meditations offered at his recent retreat given at the Centre. The focus was on looking at the ways in which thought creates a sense of not being good enough, a “deficiency story” about ourselves. The meditation also went quite deeply into the process of observing thoughts and feelings and allowing them to fall away as they arise, without needing to do anything. The experience seemed to be valued by all participants and considered very relevant to our daily lives. It was a rich afternoon of “meditation” and sharing.

Krishnamurti Study Session, December 1, 2019

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Krishnamurti Study Session
Sunday, December 1, 2019
At KECC

Five people were present for the morning session at the Centre. Continuing with our study of The Book of Life: Daily Meditations with Krishnamurti, we opened to the January 30 selection of quotes from K’s talks entitled “Self-Knowledge”. In this short passage he points to the necessity of knowing ourselves, for without such self-understanding we “have no basis for thought” and what we think is “not true”. He goes into the fact that all human beings share the same hopes and aspirations as well as our fundamental problems and egoic characteristics. He suggests that we generally do not experience the “extraordinary unity” of humanity at least partly due to our separation of the intellect and the feeling nature. We explored these ideas in group inquiry and probed deeply into their meaning. The participants were all well experienced in looking at themselves and it seemed the dialogue was of high quality and relevance.

Retreat with Scott Kiloby at KECC, November 22 – 27, 2019

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Five Day Inquiries Retreat with Scott Kiloby,
November 22 – 27, 2019
At KECC

We were fortunate to have Scott join us for the sixth year running, this time for a five day intensive retreat exploring his “Living Inquiries” and “Kiloby Inquiries” methods of self inquiry. Scott is the founder of the Kiloby Centre for treatment of addictions in Palm Springs, California. A total of eighteen people were in attendance for the retreat, which began on a Friday evening with a talk on the topics of “awareness, awakening, embodiment, readiness, honesty, authenticity, intimacy, and inquiry.” Scott pointed out skills can be taught but readiness cannot. He questioned what stops people from doing the self inquiry work and suggested a number of factors, always emphasizing the need for each one of us to look for ourselves. Resting as awareness is the basic practice, whereas his other techniques are to be used when resting is not easily accessible. Other talks throughout the retreat focused on describing his inquiry methods, some of which were new since his last visit, the nature and trajectory of “awakening”, the need to learn skills for working with our conditioning, contractions in the body, the challenges of the embodiment process, and working with trauma. Interspersed were sessions working with the inquiries experientially and practicing them so we could do them on our own after leaving the retreat. There were a number of practice sessions in pairs with participants facilitating each other. This produced some deep work and insights. An assistant was available for private sessions if desired. All the work was supported by the basic practice of resting in and as awareness, which involves recognizing that awareness is our essential nature. From there we can observe everything that arises in and as awareness without taking on the belief that we are those phenomena, without identifying with the thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Scott mentioned that his work was influenced in its development by J. Krishnamurti and is in essence very similar to that of Krishnamurti. Participants familiar with Krishnamurti’s teachings experienced the Inquiries to be an effective way of applying K’s teachings in a very specific and practical manner.
Other activities over the five days included plenty of Q and A opportunities, a Krishnamurti video, time for self-reflection, walks, and sharing at meal times. Spontaneous conversations took place in the unstructured periods. Meals were provided by catering from Glenrosa Restaurant and Toque. We were also treated to a delightful music concert organized by Chanda Siddoo and featuring her own compositions. The concert was described as an offering to combat the threat of nuclear war and to inspire peace on our planet. By the end of the retreat there was a strong sense of unity and affection amongst the group members – a direct result of the honesty and authenticity of the sharing and working with the sometimes difficult issues of our human experience. It was an opportunity much appreciated and valued by all the participants. It is a great joy and a privilege to have Scott at our Centre and we look forward to his return at about the same time next year to continue with the exploration of awareness and its embodiment into all aspects of our life experience.