What we’re about
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 "Microsoft Teams" online platform 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:
No Freemasons are allowed to join this group.
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)](https://tatfoundation.org/books/#TAT_Foundation_Press_Books)
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](https://www.amazon.co.uk/That-Talks-Sri-Nisargadatta-Maharaj/dp/8185300534/ref=sr_1_1?crid=24YMHHANCVSU9&keywords=i+am+that&qid=1691582589&sprefix=i+am+that%2Caps%2C68&sr=8-1)
The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi: [The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi: Amazon.co.uk: Maharshi, Ramana, Osborne, Arthur: 9781597310048: Books](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Collected-Works-Ramana-Maharshi/dp/1597310042/ref=sr_1_1?crid=E6Q1GJXUYUN9&keywords=collected+works+of+ramana+maharshi&qid=1691582632&sprefix=collected+works+of+ramana+maharshi%2Caps%2C67&sr=8-1)
"There is no greater religion than human friendship" - Richard Rose
[Thanks to Wikipedia Commons for the cover picture]
Upcoming events (1)
See all- How to bring my Spiritual path to the forefront of my life? (Philosophy)Link visible for attendees
What stops us from really going for it? Here is a biographical account given by a seeker who is regretfully recounting the mistaken paths he took in his lifetime. Isn't this though the common story of most of our lives? How does someone at any point in their life's path, be they young or old, take charge of their chosen destiny?
Here is Nanzo's account: On Finding and Accepting Limits – Albigen.Net
Here are some questions that strike me as important with respect to Nanzo's candid account of his life:
Is finding or revealing our innermost need/desire the most difficult thing to do?
Do we know what we want but really it is fear that stops our progress?
Are we goaded by the seeming success of our peers that draws us toward worldly extraneous achievements?
Is our view of our self worth depending on the "sense" of appraisal we get from others in our society/life?
Are we too blinded by our feelings of self worth (our sense of failure), and our consequent reactions to become more successful to alleviate these symptoms, that we miss what we truly desire, what our holistic wellbeing truly needs?
Should we avoid all the external callings of life? But then how do we grow? If I avoid trying to be sucessful in the worldly sense, is that not a type of spiritual pride? A type of escapism from the possible growth opportunities that are possible boons on our spiritual paths?
What do you feel Nanzo means by "becoming the Truth"? What is the difference between knowing the truth intellectually and becoming the truth? How do we translate intellectual understandings into changes in being?
Please read the accompanying piece to this meeting before you take part in the meeting as it will be the prime focus of this meeting. Looking forward to hearing what reactions you had to this piece which I felt was quite irritating. Someone who seemed to have a genuine drive for the spiritual life, still being dragged this way and that way by the external attractions of life.
Thanks to Unsplash for the accompanying Photo: Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
Here are some stand out pieces from our discussions last week:
- Hegel: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel - Wikipedia
- Logic has its function. Feelings/intuitiveness can lead to a richer experience.
- The importance of having someone to hold the silence with you when experiencing (intense?) feelings.
- Is it a power of the mind/intuition to draw snap conclusions?
- Bernardo Kastrup: Bernardo Kastrup - Wikipedia
- Tom Campbell: Tom Campbell: The 3 Paths of Spiritual Growth
Check out the "What we are about" section in the groups' main page for some guidelines we work to adhere to. Meetings are run on the popular Zoom platform. Please contemplate the topic in advance of the meeting to get the best out of it and bring your views and convictions to the meeting, if possible have a pen and paper close by to record anything useful that may come up that you resonate with on the night, little things you may want to contemplate further.
