One Dancer, Many Dances
In this chapter, Rupert discusses three possibilities for ourselves—(1) to be a body and a mind (2) to be the witness of the body-mind world, or (3) to be pure Knowing—not just the witness of all experience but the substance of which it is made.
In today’s audio, he led us into a contemplation which focused on our actual experience, not our thoughts, feelings, beliefs or opinions. With eyes closed, we were led into deeper and deeper insights about the falsity of separateness and duality. As we explored the nature of our experience more profoundly, the labels we usually apply to it became more and more refined—until the mind itself disappeared.
We came to see that, when luminous empty Knowing dances in one way, it takes the shape of hearing, when it dances in another it takes the shape of thinking, feeling, sensing, seeing, etc., but it is always the same dancer—pure Knowing or consciousness. This is ultimately what Krishnamurti is saying–in his own way.
At the end of this contemplation, Rupert reminded us not to relate to others as separate from our Self but rather to know everyone as our Self. He concluded with a profound insight—when we stop relating with an outside world made of dead matter or mind, and relate with a world made only of the alive substance called Knowing, our experience shifts. Then the world responds in the form of beauty and others respond in the form of love.
Participants in our group today shared their experiences of this, captured by the following phrases—
- See what actually is
- Fall back into ourselves
- Relax and cease trying to be what we’re not
- Experience the emptiness of our common denominators
- Bask in the energy of those meditating with us
- Since I can’t detach anything from myself, I am everything, happening all at once
Some of us ended the afternoon consuming delicious refreshments, others finalized their observations in the Meditation Room.
