UVic Spiritual Awakening January Meetup: Awakening… What is it? What gets in the way?

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January’s UVic meetup was a really nice gathering and a welcome break for some inquiry. There were eight of us who joined in and we had some really great discussion, sharing of experience and a bit of practice.

A number of clips describing aspects of spiritual awakening included: Eckhart Tolle, Ananta Kranti, and researcher Jeffery Martin.

We also reflected on the words of Rumi and Krishnamurti‘s advice that we observe our thoughts and reactions with non-judgement, curiosity and acceptance…. eventually discovering a deeper stillness of being.

Some of the group sharing explored:
~ the challenge of stilling constant thought,
~ suffering as an opportunity to surrender to deeper being,
~ having experiences of expansion of being only to find oneself return to the dramas of life

Pointers that seemed to resonate focused on – sensory awareness as a starting point for being in the now, an openness that accompanies being in nature and beauty, the gift of surrender, and ‘falling into openness’ rather than making an exerted effort.

We also listened to two short audio recordings from Ella May and Salvadore Poe. These offered two guided experiences of being in the now with present moment awareness.

In closing, the following Krishnamurti quote speaks poignantly about freedom not as an end state but as a beginning of something wonderful:

“I think it is important to understand that freedom is at the beginning and not at the end. We think freedom is something to be achieved, that liberation is an ideal state of mind to be gradually attained through time, through various practices; but to me… Freedom is not to be achieved; liberation is not to be gained. Freedom, or liberation, is that state of mind which is essential for the discovery of any truth, any reality, therefore it cannot be an ideal; it must exist right from the beginning. Without freedom at the beginning, there can be no moments of direct understanding, because all thinking is then limited, conditioned. If your mind is tethered to any conclusion, to any experience, to any form of knowledge or belief, it is not free: and such a mind cannot possibly perceive what is truth.”

J. Krishnamurti, first Bombay talk, March 4th, 1956

 

Thanks to Michael Hoppe for support in this event and to KECC for sponsoring the gathering!