KNOW THYSELF
A workshop on meditation, self-knowing, and moving into the unknown
With Kathryn Jefferies (online)
February 10-12, 2023 (Fri – Sun: 10 – 11:30 am PT/ 1 – 2:30 pm ET)
“Before dawn, meditation was the immense opening into the unknown. Nothing can open the door save the complete destruction of the known. Meditation is explosion in understanding. There is no understanding without self-knowing; learning about the self is not accumulating knowing about it; gathering of knowledge prevents learning; learning is not an additive process; learning is from moment to moment, as is understanding. This total process of learning is explosion in meditation.”
J. Krishnamurti
Themes
- “All life is relationship”—Krishnamurti’s the “mirror of relationship” —what does he mean by this? How do we see the whole of who we are through our relationships? —Identity, (do two people ever meet?)—using how we see people to access our concepts about ourselves, life, others—Negation: K’s process of taking away what we are not, to see what is left
- Seeing without names/labels/images—“Have you ever looked at a tree without the thought ‘tree’?”— Living in the past & future—clinging to the known (that exists as images in the mind)—why we do this, how we can move into the unknown, come upon the new—the nature of the open mind vs. the compulsion/habit to claim “I know” as a protective measure
- Limits of the intellect—moving from theory & philosophy into intelligence—what is this and how does it differ from the intellect/why does K differentiate between the two? What else is there other than thought and how do we access it?
Workshop description: what to expect
Each day, in addition to my giving a talk, we will engage in meditation through the process of self-inquiry. In this way, you can travel with Krishnamurti experientially instead of remaining solely in intellectual abstraction, which is to go nowhere.
We will meet ourselves through observing our thoughts about others as a mirror and then moving beyond thought into intelligence which is what arises to meet the questions we put to ourselves.
We will also have time for questions each day. As the subsequent day builds upon the previous day, questions may arise as you experience self-inquiry. Also, in this light, it is best to attend all three days of the workshop.
Excerpt from Krishnamurti’s Journal
The following excerpt from K will guide our inquiry with the purpose of you being able to experience for yourself what K is describing here. After our three days together, you should be able to understand his words directly, which is to say you can observe these truths for yourself. You will have a way to notice the movement of thought and follow its thread to its conclusion, seeing how your image of self is created and what is beyond the image.
“The study and the understanding of the movement of your own mind and heart give birth to this intelligence. You are the content of your consciousness; in knowing yourself you will know the universe. This knowing is beyond the word for the word is not the thing. The freedom from the known, every minute, is the essence of intelligence. It is this intelligence that is in operation in the universe if you leave it alone…
Only in relationship can you know yourself, not in abstraction and certainly not in isolation. Even in a monastery you are related to the society which has made the monastery as an escape, or closed the doors to freedom. The movement of behaviour is the sure guide to yourself; it’s the mirror of your consciousness; this mirror will reveal its content, the images, the attachments, the fears, the loneliness, the joy and the sorrow.”
The Facilitator:
Kathryn Jefferies, PhD taught in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University until 2021, designing a wide array of courses including in democratic child-centred education, mental health, emotional intelligence and right-brain learning. She now exclusively teaches workshops in self-inquiry to post-secondary students, teachers, and privately in addition to working one-on-one with clients in private practice.
Her doctoral dissertation called Ontological Intelligence focuses on Krishnamurti’s insights into education; it has since been turned into a book called Awake: Education for Enlightenment. Kathryn also became certified as a facilitator in The Work of Byron Katie in 2015 which is the form of self-inquiry she predominantly teaches. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her daughter. You can find her through her website Lettinginthelight.world
Three 90-minute online sessions.
Recordings will be made available after each session.
Workshop fee: $80 CAD
