Archive for category: Event Summaries

Exploring Awareness
KECC
August 5, 2018

Our afternoon session on Sunday, August 5, resumed our exploration of guided meditation as a way of understanding directly what Krishnamurti and other teachers are pointing to. It is proposed that a more experiential knowing or insight may be available than through verbal discussion, or that the activity of verbal inquiry will be complemented by being invited into an experience of it in a different way. The three participants were guided into a way of looking at both the nature around us as we sat on the front lawn and then the arising of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations in the same space of observation or awareness. We then took a silent walk while exploring the total attention we’d been invited to embody, followed by a short sharing of our experiences. It was remarked that the type of perceiving suggested opened up the awareness to a more subtle and detailed seeing and a sense of wholeness.
We then listened to a guided meditation by Jeff Foster, which was similar and also somewhat different than the first meditation. After the forty minute meditation we discussed briefly how it had affected us and the conversation became a friendly and significant sharing of our experiences which we all seemed to appreciate.

From Delusion to Awakening
with GP Walsh
July 27 – 29, 2018

This weekend retreat, held at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada near Victoria, BC, was presented by GP Walsh, a spiritual teacher from New York. GP has been teaching inquiry and self-awareness for over thirty years. He is the founder of the MasterHEART Institute and the creator of Inner Reconciliation, which formed the backbone of this retreat.
GP’s website explains the central points of his teaching. The path to awakening is twofold: the path of inquiry or wisdom and the path of compassion or heart. Both are necessary in order to both know the reality of your true being and to live it in everyday life. We are always our true self, but we do need to have our own unique personal realization of it. And it doesn’t stop there. Once the awakening begins to dawn we can begin to integrate that inspiration and wisdom into every detail of our lives. Thus we become the living truth.
The retreat began with a public talk on the Friday evening, attended by seventeen people. GP spoke of the fact of impermanence and change, pointing out that conflict is the attempt to make stable that which is always changing. He asked if there is something unchanging which observes the change, something unmoving which can see the movement. He expressed his deep appreciation of J. Krishnamurti and the importance of his teachings on the understanding of the operation of the “egoic” mind, As Krishnamurti points out, without this understanding we cannot be free.
GP encouraged us to openly express what is going on in the egoic consciousness and not to sugar-coat it. Thus we can be with what is authentically our experience. This set the stage for the weekend of inquiry, guided meditations, and group discussions of the nature of our consciousness and our true identity as awareness rather than as the “person”. Included were stories depicting our human shared process of seeking, GP’s own experiences in that domain, and exploration of the challenges and anxieties involved in the deconstruction of the ego. The sixteen participants looked into the nature of the “present moment” and kept returning to the question “Who am I, really?” GP pointed to the
significance of allowing whatever is being experienced and being aware of resistance in ourselves to “what is”. Everything in us has a place when not being interpreted and shaped by the egoic delusion that we are separate entities. When the idea of separateness is believed, we suffer. Otherwise, our unique expression of Being can by enjoyed and valued. The one and it’s expression as the many are of equal significance.
GP skillfully stretched the boundaries of our understanding and experience of ourselves and our reality. He also presented a short experiential outline of the “Emotional Freedom Technique”, which has been helpful for resolving fears and conflicts.
Included in the weekend were two videos about the life of Krishnamurti and some of his teachings on the subject of freedom. Delicious meals were provided by the local Glenrosa Restaurant. It was a wonderful weekend and we look forward to further association with GP.

Krishnamurti Study Session
Sunday, July 22, 2018
At Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada

In this session we completed our reading and discussion of chapter 30 in the Q & A section of J. Krishnamurti’s book The First and Last Freedom. The chapter “On God” was a source of much inquiry and exploration over the past few meetings. This time we began with some investigation into K’s emphasis on the “unknown” as the ground of reality and the need to “go beyond” the known in our inquiry. Many probing questions were asked and looked into with a sense of listening and looking with a real openness rather than assertions of opinion. The group of six individuals who are seasoned inquirers was able to create an atmosphere of spacious presence in which insight could arise. Sitting out on the front lawn was an added enjoyment to the process.

Krishnamurti Study Session at KECC
Sunday, July 8, 2018

We continued with our study of chapter 30 in the Q & A section of J. Krishnamurti’s The First and Last Freedom. This chapter seems to stimulate discussion as the two participants were quickly immersed in an interesting exploration which ranged over a number of aspects of Krishnamurti’s teachings and the process of self-inquiry and self-knowledge. One issue of particular interest was the possibility of observing ourselves and others, as well as the world around us, without evaluating and judging. Can awareness of our evaluations and the dissolving of their primacy in our consciousness open the door to love? This inquiry seemed to have a clear relevance to our daily relationships and life experience, with the potential to change how we see and experience the world. We had to pull ourselves to a halt as the conversation could have gone on much past the scheduled time for lunch and preparation for the afternoon session with Rick.

Ten Year Anniversary Celebration
Saturday, June 30, 2018

A special day was organized to mark the ten-year anniversary of the re-opening of the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada after a three year closure from 2005 to 2008. The Centre has, since 2008, been offering a full program of events related to the teachings of J. Krishnamurti and other teachers presenting essentially similar perspectives in the area of self-knowledge and insight into the truths of self, consciousness, and awareness. We had an excellent turnout of 27 people in all.
The day began with a Zoom session led by Italian spiritual teacher Shakti Catarina Maggi. She invited questions from the audience and there was plenty of opportunity for participants to inquire with her. Catarina placed a large emphasis on questioning and listening “from the heart” as she offered insight and guidance on the process of “embodiment” of our understanding in daily life and experience. Her wisdom and loving responses were much appreciated and enjoyed by the participants.
After the Zoom session we enjoyed a sumptuous lunch provided by the Centre and by contributions from the guests. There was the opportunity for socializing and discussion with old friends and new, some of whom had been present in the original days of the Centre when it was a private high-school in the late 1970’s. Some people took the time to walk around the property, although the sun did not appear until later in the afternoon.
A movie entitled “The Mind of Krishnamurti” was shown at 2pm. It is an excellent introduction to the life and teachings of Krishnamurti and may be viewed on Youtube. There was then a draw for a free weekend retreat at the Centre and an outline of upcoming programs and retreats.
To wind up the day some light entertainment was offered in the Guest Cottage, where Greg Sumner played on the piano and sang a collection of songs including “The Krishnamurti Blues,” his own composition.
It was a lovely day of sharing and communication with like-minded friends. Thanks goes to all those who helped with the event.