Stillness Within – Eckhart Tolle: The Impulse to Awaken

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Four members got together in October to view this recently released Eckhart Tolle talk and reflection. There were some interesting themes raised by Eckhart in this talk.

One of the topics explored was the false sense of self.  Eckhart suggested that this sense of self is based on concepts and beliefs, accompanied frequently by a degree of unconsciousness. He suggested that our primary purpose in this lifetime is to see through these mental constructs, to discover a dimension of stillness which underlies that. The tool of self-observation, without labels or judgements, is offered as a path to discovering a formless, timeless essence within ourselves.

Krishnamurti also has emphasized this type of observation without judgement:  “So can there be a learning, that is, watching, observing, without any sense of accumulation, so that the mind is always fresh to learn? It is only such a mind that is a free mind.”

Eckhart suggests that through this deeper self-awareness, we will still notice human foibles, observe passing sensations, and even imperfections… but what may become more prevalent in our consciousness is a limitless presence, unformed, beyond words. The inner dimension of spaciousness is a portal to freedom, and a transcendence over suffering – it is our essential reality.

We enjoyed a spot of tea and a chat afterward – a lovely way to spend an afternoon on the beautiful grounds at Swanwick. Thanks to the Krishnamurti Centre for supporting this event.

Science and Nonduality Conference Weekend

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Science and Nonduality Conference

San Jose, California

October 20 – 22, 2017

It has been a consistent part of our program at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada for the past three years to host a live streaming of the annual conference held in the San Francisco area in October. The conference is a forum for prominent scientists and spiritual teachers to come together and share their perspectives on the nature of reality with an audience apparently comprised of people interested in the scientific and/or spiritual dimensions. Twelve participants were present at the Centre for the weekend. As is often the case, there were some problems with the technology and the live streaming was not always available, but fortunately the presentations were recorded and could be viewed later on our own schedule if not live. The weekend was packed with presentations by a mixture of male and female presenters with sometimes very different ways of communicating their viewpoints and questions about the study of life and consciousness. They covered a wide spectrum from very complex and rational science to wild and chaotic expressions of the “Kali” energy, a more right brain and less linear mode. A prominent focus was the need to integrate the “heart” with the head. Participants were familiar with some of the presenters, particularly such as Adyashanti, Rupert Spira, Francis Lucille, Cynthia Bourgeault, and Deepak Chopra. There was some comedy and entertainment mixed in with the more serious presentations.

The sessions were mostly twenty minutes in duration, which in many cases allowed for only a taste of the presenter’s full vision. More in-depth exploration would have been available at the conference itself with longer sessions supplementing the program taking place in the main auditorium. Nevertheless, the material did invite a looking into ourselves and a questioning of unconsciously held beliefs and concepts. Some of the talks inspired a sense of wonder at the vastness and majesty of the universe and the capacities of the consciousness that can contemplate it. A video of a David Suzuki interview with David Bohm, who was closely associated with J. Krishnamurti for many years, was included in the program. Delicious meals were provided by Pearson College. As always with the events at the Centre, the weekend was an opportunity to be with ourselves in a way that invited insight and deeper understanding. It seemed to be much enjoyed by all present.

Krishnamurti Study Group, October 7, 2017

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Krishnamurti Study Group
October 7, 2017

Four people gathered on Saturday afternoon in the main house at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin to study Q & A section # 16 in J. Krishnamurti’s book The First and Last Freedom. The chapter was entitled “On the belief in God” and it opens with a question put to Krishnamurti: “Belief in God has been a powerful incentive to better living. Why do you deny God? Why do you not try to revive man’s faith in the ideal of God?” K begins by saying that he is not denying God – it would be foolish to do so – but he questions the value of belief. “Neither the believer nor the non-believer will find God; because reality is the unknown, and your belief or non-belief in the unknown is merely a self-projection and therefore not real.” In the next paragraph he states that “what leads to a better life is intelligence, and there cannot be intelligence if there is belief…”
Our reading of the chapter was interspersed with a silent period to start and then group discussion of the material in the text, which stimulated a good deal of authentic inquiry and sharing of questions, insights, and experiences relevant to the subject of belief but also including explorations of self-awareness, observation, duality and nonduality, meditation and spiritual practice. There was a depth of investigating that made the session keen and enjoyable, and apparently of value to the participants.

Inquiry Sunday at the Centre

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Inquiry Sunday
October 1, 2017

Four of us were in attendance at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada for our monthly “Inquiry Sunday” event. The morning session included a showing of a movie produced by Paul Smit entitled “All About Nothing,” followed by a video clip of Paul himself explaining the main causes of human suffering. The film was very well made and humorous while getting across some fundamental insights about human behaviour and the “non-dual” approach to our predicament. We enjoyed a good deal of lightness and laughter while witnessing the difficulties of the various characters in the story as they experienced conflicts and frustrations as a result of their identification with the idea of being separate entities. The commentary from those characters with a clearer vision of the situation was also entertaining as well as profound.
We had some engaging conversation about the film which touched on some real-life challenges the group participants had been facing. It provided a practical relevance to the inquiry. The afternoon session was planned as a Q & A session with video clips by Krishnamurti and others, but the guests from the morning could not stay for that event.

The Somatic Self

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The Somatic Self
Workshop with Matthew Spears
September 30, 2017

While doing a personal retreat at the Centre, Matthew Spears from Vancouver offered to present a two hour workshop entitled “The Somatic Self.” Matthew, who has a background in acting and trauma work, as well as a long-term interest in the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, is passionate about exploring the relationship we have with our bodies, movement, and the breath in order to bring “choiceless awareness” to that relationship. He engaged the group of ten in exercises designed to bring awareness to the way we breath and move, and how that is affected by interaction with others. He also focused on our use of voice and invited us to play with sound with the intention of freeing up any tension around the throat and enabling an unrestricted expression of our voice. Interspersed with the activities were some quotes from Krishnamurti read by Matthew’s friend Kirsten. Some discussion of our experience followed each segment of the workshop and there were questions at the end about Matthew’s vision of how the work related to Krishnamurti’s views. It was a playful, fun, and interesting exploration of the body-mind dynamic and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We thank Matthew and Kirsten for their offering and look forward to more contact with them in the future.

Weekend Retreat: Death and Rebirth Beyond Time

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Death and Birth Beyond Time
Retreat with Richard Waxberg and Deborah Kerner
September 22 – 24, 2017

We were delighted to be joined again this year by Richard and Deborah from the Krishnamurti Foundation of America in Ojai, California. Their brochure for the weekend event describes the intentions and approach of their work. “We are entering together into an exciting journey of discovery, inquiring into the potential for living in freedom to see if it is possible to meet the mystery and beauty of being alive with a fresh mind, as if for the first time…. The intensive retreat invites us to explore Krishnamurti’s insights that point to the possibility of a transformation of consciousness.”
Fourteen people participated in the retreat, which was mostly conducted in a “dialogue” format.  For periods of time each day we sat in a circle, sharing the inquiry and the insights arising as we emphasized “what K referred to as a deep ‘listening and seeing’, the open door through which unexamined beliefs, concepts. and ideas can be revealed beyond the limitation of thought and time, without judgment or resistance. This dimension of ‘seeing’ and ‘listening is like turning a powerful light on our conditioned responses, the normally hidden layers of conditioned thinking.”
Using quotes from K’s writings as entry points, our group dialogues unfolded spontaneously, along with occasional reminders to leave our tendencies to fall into limited thinking strategies and to be open to a more direct knowing (or “not-knowing”) that is vibrant and alive. Many aspects of the journey beyond becoming and into “being” were investigated in an atmosphere of affection and respect. A videotape of K speaking with David Bohm was played on Saturday night and provided more stimulation for our inquiry. There was time for walks in nature and rest periods. Delicious meals were provided by Pearson College. It was a wonderful weekend and we will be looking forward to Richard and Deborah’s return next year.

Inquiry Sunday at the Centre

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Inquiry Sunday
September 3, 2017

Our morning session was attended by nine people. We watched a one hour video of a panel discussion at last year’s Science and Nonduality Conference in San Francisco which included Scott Kiloby. Scott has been visiting the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada for the past four years to present workshops on his “Living Inquiries,” and will be coming again this November. The topic of discussion was “healing trauma” from a nondual or meditative perspective, and the members of the panel had interesting ideas to share about the universality of trauma and the profound effects it can have on us for many years afterwards. The challenge of working with deeply conditioned aspects of consciousness was acknowledged along with some brief sharing of effective ways of doing so, each panelist have his or her particular way of approaching such work.
Our group found the material very interesting and dove into some further exploration of the concepts presented in the video. The discussion had to be brought to a halt as the lunch hour came upon us.

For the afternoon session participants chose from a selection of video clips featuring questions and answers on various topics by Krishnamurti and other teachers. We looked at an Eckhart Tolle clip on how to get rid of fear and one by Mooji on addiction, both of which seemed relevant to the subject of the morning session. After each clip there was a good deal of in-depth group inquiry in which we explored the nature of fear and addiction and how they related to observing ourselves and being “choicelessly aware”, as Krishnamurti recommends. It was a full day and we enjoyed hosting such a good turnout of friends of the Centre.

Krishnamurti Study Group at the Centre

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Krishnamurti Study Group
Saturday, September 2, 2017

We had a good turnout of ten participants for this afternoon session on the front lawn of the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin. We looked into The First and Last Freedom, Q & A # 15 “On Criticism.” Krishnamurti goes into some of the reasons why we criticize ourselves and others and asks if even so-called “constructive criticism” is actually useful. He asks us “What is the necessary state of mind and heart that will understand relationship?” He suggest that what is needed is a passive awareness that is not judging or evaluating what is actually present but is open and sensitive to it. We cannot understand a child if we are projecting our own opinions about its behaviour. We must look and listen with a quiet mind, with warmth and affection.
The passages from the text stimulated lively discussion in the group, with a real application of what was being read to the communication, so that there was a sense of harmonious exploration rather than argument or opinion. Such sharing is enjoyable and tends to produce meaningful insight.

Victoria Krishnamurti Event

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Victoria Krishnamurti Event
Church of Truth
Friday, September 1, 2017

Our topic for the monthly meeting at the Church of Truth was “Can the Mind be Quiet?” Four people attended the session which began with a fifteen minute video clip of J. Krishnamurti speaking on the subject of observing without any sense of control, judgment, naming, or time. In this kind of observation there is no sense of conflict or division. What then takes place in the mind? K urges us to actually “do it”, to act not from thought but from pure observation. That is intelligence, love, and compassion. There comes a stillness and solidity which is not dependent on anything. This, he says, is meditation.
The video was followed by group discussion and exploration of our understandings and experience of what was presented. The discussion was very authentic and engaged. To end the evening there was a guided meditation on the “inner body” which was very effective in bringing attention from the “head” to the “body” and creating a sense of wholeness and peace. The participants seemed to find it of great value.

Weekend Retreat: Love, Intelligence, and the Self

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Intelligence, Love, and the Self
Weekend Retreat with Hilary Rodrigues
August 25 – 27, 2017

This was the eighth annual retreat with Prof. Hilary Rodrigues at the Krishnamurti Educational Centre of Canada in Metchosin, BC. Hilary is a professor of Eastern religious traditions at the University of Lethbridge and a former teacher and administrator at the Krishnamurti school that once existed at the site of the KECC. He has published books and articles on aspects of Krishnamurti’s thought, including the book Krishnamurti’s Insight, and has given presentations on K’s teachings in New York, New Delhi, Victoria, and Ojai, California. Entitled “Intelligence, Love, and the Self,” Hilary made it clear at the Friday night introductory talk that this was not to be an academic workshop, but “an opportunity to inquire deeply into particular issues in a personal and holistic way with others.” In a handout, Hilary explained that “the weekend retreat and sessions will provide a venue for inquiry primarily into the nature  of the self. What is the self? What are its characteristics? Why do some spiritual teachings promote self-denial, or even destruction of the ego? Our initial focus on the self will be to set the foundation for an exploration of the self’s relationship to love and intelligence. We will also inquire into: What is love? Intelligence? We will draw from the teachings of J. Krishnamurti and others to trigger our discussions and inquiry.”
The Friday night talk, attended by sixteen people, set the stage for the weekend of exploration. During the presentation, Hilary drew attention to the intensity and richness of such a group of interested seekers coming together to inquire and share. In particularly engaging moments he pointed to the possibility that everything we might be looking for is actually fully present in this very moment, if only we bring a sensitive attention to it. Throughout the weekend, attended by twelve plus Hilary, he skillfully presented the topics of inquiry which were then investigated as a group, with a rich interaction of the group members being an essential part of the process along with an intention to be choicelessly aware of our responses and reactions to whatever was taking place. Again, during these sessions Hilary  pointed to the immediacy of our present experience and the looking, listening, and awareness that can open up the “suchness” of the moment. It was a
powerful blend of pointed intellectual investigation, which included some discussion of what a few Eastern spiritual traditions say about the self, love, and intelligence, along with the actual practice of experiential self-knowledge as we looked at ourselves. It offered the possibility of a deeper awareness of the presence of love and intelligence in our own being.
The talks and dialogues were supplemented by a video of Krishnamurti speaking at Brockwood Park in 1982, free time to enjoy the property and the beautiful surroundings, and delicious meals from Pearson College. It was a wonderful weekend and we look forward to hosting Hilary again next summer.