Wat we doen
This is a friendly confrontation group. The object of the work is to seek the answer to the "Who am I?" question. We use the tool of self-inquiry to retreat from errors in our thinking, through the critical examination of our beliefs and thinking processes. This process should and will prove itself along the way in proportion to the seeker's honesty, persistence, and commitment.
We hold meetings currently through the "Zoom" online platforms advertised in the events section. To log into meetings, you need to become a member first by clicking on the "request to join" tab at the bottom of the page. Joining a meeting on the night, click on the upcoming event, where there will be a link to the meeting on the right-hand side as you scroll down that page. If you are having any difficulties with this, contact me, the organiser, using the Meetup messaging facility.
A meeting will be advertised at least a week in advance, where there is usually some stimulating material presented in the topic heading and meeting information to think about. Generally, on the night each participant is given a block of time of around 10 minutes (dependent upon the number of participants on the night) to share thoughts on the topic after which will be quizzed on their opinions for the following 10 minutes. This helps seekers to itemise areas in their perspective that may feel false or not fully understood and provides questions for the seeker to reflect on when the meeting is over. A pen and paper at the ready may be beneficial to record anything that resonates during the meetings to reflect on later.
[Here is the link to the previous group from which this group started: Awareness, Spiritual, Zen, Psychological, Philosophy Group | Meetup]
Some main guidelines are:
Own what you say. Use "I" statements rather than "you", "one" or "we". Depersonalizing avoids ownership of feelings, experiences, opinions, and issues, making change an uphill battle. By using the word “we”, it seeks validation and acceptance of others. “My” puts your truth before your need to fit in.
Be honest with yourself and others.
No one is obligated to share or do anything.
Ask questions with a sincere desire to understand how the other person thinks.
Do not give advice.
Some participants ask if it is ok to leave their camera off during a meeting and that is perfectly fine, whatever is preferable.
Do not try to convince anyone of anything or play God by preaching.
When asking questions do not make it about you, the questioner.
Loaded questions are not helpful, where you imply in the question some opinion about the character of the person being questioned. The monitor will bring these types of questions into the open during the meeting to highlight a style of questioning not tolerated.
The rule is that if participants go against the set out rules, without genuine efforts to change their approach to the meeting accordingly, they will be given three chances before being dropped by the monitor from the meeting. It is then up to the monitor if the person is allowed back for future meetings, which will only happen if an amicable agreement has been reached to comply with the rules for future meetings.
Recommended books to read (also please give ratings for these books as the more ratings a book gets, it will appear more often in the searches):
Essential Books for the Spiritual Search: Books - (tatfoundation.org)
I Am That: Nisargadatta Maharaj, Translated by Maurice Frydman, Sudhakar S. Dikshit: I am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj : Maharaj Sri Nisargadatta, Sudhakar S. Dikshit, no: Amazon.co.uk: Books
The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi: The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi: Amazon.co.uk: Maharshi, Ramana, Osborne, Arthur: 9781597310048: Books
"There is no greater religion than human friendship" - Richard Rose
[Thanks to Wikipedia Commons for the cover picture]
Aankomende evenementen (2)
Alles weergeven- "I am Awareness, not a person" - True or False? (Philosophy)Koppeling zichtbaar voor deelnemers
Tonight's meeting is on Bart Marshall's bootleg version of the book, "Ashtavakra Gita". Tonight we are covering the Preface, the Introduction, Chapter 1: Instruction on Self-Realisation, and Chapter 2: Joy of Self-Realisation. (You can access/read these in the link given below to an online pdf copy of the book).
Dan's meetings run on the first and the third Sunday of each month. The meetings are discussion style, where everyone gives feedback on their impressions from the book and how they inspire, grate upon, motivate, or generally stand up to your own convictions on what is true.
Here is a link to an online version of the book: Ashtavakra.PDF (holybooks.com)
Here is a link to a copy of the book on Amazon: Ashtavakra Gita (bootleg version) : Marshall, Bart: Amazon.co.uk: Books
- Existentialism: What is the Purpose of a Human Being? (Philosophy)Wynn's Hotel Dublin, Dublin 1, D
Tonight's meeting will be on the existential question, "What is the purpose of a human being?" We will meet in Wynn's Hotel, Abbey St, click on the link in this meeting information to get directions.
Here are some questions to stimulate some thinking on the above topic, please develop your own questions to share on the night:
Do you feel your life has a purpose? Is it a purpose that you choose the meaning for, or does life have an inherent meaning?
If the latter, are you aware of the inherent meaning of life or is it something you feel must be discovered?
To take a nihilistic view, is there absolutely no meaning, that existence is one big accident?
To take the Advaita Vedantic view, are we reincarnating through many lives to raise our levels of being?
What existential questions do you have?
Some quotes from Richard Rose, "The Sex Connection", looking at human existence from a physical angle, the transmutation of energy from coarser to finer energy:
"There is an upward spiral in the evolution of animals toward the production of more subtle protoplasm, eventually climaxing in man with a body that contains the most subtle nervous system and brain of all animals. So that man takes the cream from all the animals and plants".
"The human too serves as food for external and internal parasites," Rose said, if you consider viruses, bacteria, and disease our natural predators, adding, "Nature consumes us. There is no escape. Everybody is going to die from some sort of natural consumption".
Photo by Smit Patel on Unsplash
