The Urgency of Change Dialogue Group meeting

The Urgency of Change Dialogue Group meeting

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Zoom Online

Eight members of the Urgency of Change Dialogue Group were able to attend this final meeting of 2021. The focus of the session was the chapter entitled “Dreaming” in the J. Krishnamurti book, The Urgency of Change. The chapter contains an interesting discussion of the similarity between our daily use of symbolic language and the symbolic nature of our nighttime dreaming activity. One segment in particular seemed to communicate the essence of K’s teachings about the “self” and the causes of unhappiness in our living. “Symbols are a device of the brain to protect the psyche; this is the whole process of thought. The “me” is a symbol, not an actuality. Having created the symbol of the “me”, thought identifies itself with its conclusion, with the formula, and then defends it: all misery and sorrow come from this.” This statement by Krishnamurti formed the basis for much of our group dialogue and inspired some unravelling of the truth of it in our own life experience. K’s core ideas about the mind’s tendency to separate the observer and the observed were very much a part of the inquiry and, as such, seemed to be a fitting completion to a year of exploration.

Appreciation was expressed by participants for the opportunity to share such genuine exploration of ourselves while at the same time acknowledging the challenging nature of honest observation of the often tricky mind and its motives for behaviour. A quiet sense of comradeship seemed to have been generated by such an authentic and self-revealing endeavor. There was little doubt that we would all continue to pursue our interest in self-knowledge. We will have a “final” meeting in the first month of the new year.