Meaning of life self-inquiry group

Discussion for July 21:
"Our behavior is motivated by fear and desire, and manifests in reaction to each moment in the external stream of experience rushing our way. Our thoughts and emotions are the manifestation of the secondary, after-the-fact, inner-experience reaction.

The point I am trying to emphasize is action impacts the attention. What we are looking at in any given moment stems from a vicious circle of desire and actions to satisfy the desire, which in turn is built upon satisfying a different more anterior desire. Herein lies an important hint regarding one's spiritual path and journey to go within.

The overall direction and momentum of one's life determines what preoccupies one's attention. You can't look at nothing; you are are always looking at something. If one's life is lived in obsession with becoming wealthy, then the default object of one's attention when not focused on anything specific will turn to thoughts and images of becoming wealthy. There is a snowball effect to desire and fear that results in a predominant way of living one's life"

- From Bob Cergol's book 'Hope! Life's Calling: Find Yourself on the Spiritual Path Called Life' (pg 157)

Question: Are you taking action to manifest your number one commitment? What is the direction of your life?

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"What will make me happy in life?" ... "Am I my thoughts?" ... "What is Enlightenment?" ... We meet every week to ask questions like these in the pursuit of Self-Knowledge and Truth.

We are interested in topics like: Zen, stoicism, spirituality, psychology, mindfulness, Nisargadatta, non-violent communication, Socrates, existential philosophy, Alan Watts, taoism, Eckhart Tolle, meditation, Ramana Maharshi, etc. But we are not affiliated with any dogma, philosophy, or religion.

Our goal each meeting is to serve as mirrors for one another using question-based inquiry in a safe environment. In a session, every participant takes turns discussing the week's question or topic, and the group asks reflective questions without any agenda besides trying to understand the person's beliefs.

A few other guiding principles of our group:

• No one is obligated to share
• Be honest with yourself and others
• Do not try to convince others to believe or think as you do
• Keep the focus on the person being questioned

We meet at the Bethesda Library every Monday. The library is a 5 minute walk from the Bethesda Metro on the Red Line, approx 25 minute Metro ride from Metro Center and Gallery Place stations. The library has a a parking lot with metered parking for $1/hour.

*** WE WILL BE IN MEETING ROOM 3 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED ----- THE MEETING ROOM IS IN THE BACK OF THE LIBRARY ***

Please contact us with any questions!