Deep Conversations at Bethesda Library -- Spiritual Accidents?

The library is open, we are meeting today!

"Richard Rose's teachings are based on the premise that extreme spiritual effort is our best shot at enlightenment. But he also cautioned that 'There's no recipe for a lightning bolt.' In other words, there is no direct cause and effect relationship between your efforts and enlightenment, should it occur.

Which begs the question, 'So why exert any effort?'. Well, because statistics show it somehow increases your odds. Yes, it's true that there's no one here to do any seeking, and that no effort is required to be that which you already are. You are most definitely already and always that which you seek. That's the absolute Truth. But a fat lot of good it does you if you don't know it.

The hard facts are that almost every incidence of Realization has occurred to someone who actively worked and prayed for it over a period of years—sometimes a whole lot of years. The mechanism at work is a mystery, but the pattern is observable so if we're serious about this enlightenment thing, it seems like a good idea to plug into it. As Rose said, 'Enlightenment is always an accident, but there's ways to become more accident prone.'
-- Bart Marshall

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“I am struck with how rare it is to find a few good friends on the path. It is easy to find people who simply want to sit and be entertained by teachers, or who want to sit and entertain by playing the role of teacher. In other words, the quest for affirmation often outweighs the quest for truth.
Yet you may have one or two good friends, and definitely have one or two waiting to be discovered. Find them; be thankful.”
— Shawn Nevins

'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!