Exploring Ourselves with Jackie McInley, January 18, 2025

Exploring Ourselves
Online dialogue with Jackie McInley
January 18, 2025

We started our dialogue today with the topic of, observation. Having read Krishnamurti, we are all familiar with the notion that the conditioned mind only observes through the lenses of the past. However do we actually see this as a living fact, or does it remain a mere idea for us?

As we observe, are we being informed by our past experiences and past knowledge, whereas the impression we share, is that this observation is very much in the present moment. The mind is oblivious to this “past”. As we look more closely we see that a simple observation – of a friend for example – may be full of ideas, conclusions and judgments; all of which obscure the actual reality of the person and inform us according to our own recorded impressions. The damage to the quality of love and relationship is clear.

So why do we hold on to this knowledge stored in our minds as the past? It would seem that the mind automatically processes perception in this way so as to “know” and feel secure, protected. We questioned together what happens if the past knowledge is not committed to, or adhered to as fact; can a reaction be questioned and admitted as memory from the past, unfolding in the present? If this break in process occurs, a strong sense of vulnerability is felt, one of the group brought out. The habitual safety of the known is no longer available as the mind opens itself to “not knowing” and not “managing” as per usual.

We asked, can we live like this? Can we “test it out” as Krishnamurti suggests?

Jackie McInley