A view of the last gathering by Jo Galvin

In July I attended my first study gathering and retreat held at the Quaker Centre in Wanganui. The weekend retreat seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to reconnect with Krishnamurti’s teachings, providing time to study them without the normal day-to-day distractions.

The highlight of the weekend for me, was viewing the video series entitles “The Transformation of man”, which records dialogues held between Krishnamurti and Professors Bohm and Shainberg. Some of the questions dealt with by the dialogues were why humans live in chaos and misery and why we do not change; the nature of the conscious and unconscious mind and its potential for transformation; and what is required for the transformation to take place: psychological ‘death’ and the emptying of the mind.

Though the last two videos in the series are untitled, I gave to the final one the title ‘Our part in the river of human sorrow’.

In the discussions that naturally followed the videos, it was fascinating to reflect on how differently each person had received and understood the dialogues. I found the series totally absorbing but also arduous. It helped to treat them as a form of meditation, and by closing my eyes I could focus more deeply on what was being said. This only worked for a certain period of time, but when I lost concentration or became sleepy, I could re-focus by opening my eyes.

In terms of structure, the majority of participants indicated that they preferred the current informality, which still allowed for organised dialogues or other group interaction.

All in all I came away feeling my time had been very well spent. And thanks to Mum for the yoga class!

Jo Galvin