Attention: The ‘be all’ and ‘end all’

People often quote Krishnamurti as saying “Consciousness is its content,” but he said more often than not that “Consciousness as we know it, is its content.” Are we the content looking out through consciousness or is this content just information hosted by consciousness, and is it consciousness itself that represents our true essence? In order to consider this question we must first ask another question: “What is attention?”

We begin with listening and observing, and distill it until it contains no secondary qualitative input, no judgement, comparison, or condemnation; henceforth, we can speak of attention, where we are aware of ‘something’, attention that has a center. And, further, when we understand that this ‘we’ as interlocutor is itself a qualitative existence, a center, just more content, then we are aware of that which is aware, then we arrive at attention, a non-local consciousness, the intelligence of which Krishnamurti speaks.

Attention is then literally, and playfully put, the ‘be all’ and ‘end all’. Is it this easy? Perhaps not, but it is increasingly simple, and it is this trajectory we will follow in this 5-day dialogue sessions. Our own discussion and dialogue, and short excerpts from Krishnamurti’s teachings will guide us.

We will meet each day for a 3-hour session that will include but not be limited to discussion/dialogue, some short video clips and short excerpts from texts.

Daily online afternoon sessions
2:30pm-5:30pm PACIFIC TIME

Facilitator:

John Duncan’s interaction with Krishnamurti and his teachings began in 1984 when he saw public talks in Ojai. From then on he attended many dialogue retreats and events at the foundation until he moved to Ojai in 1999 and began working at the KFA. His work as proofreader for the Krishnamurti Publications was an invaluable scholarship in which he interacted with Krishanmurti talks and dialogues spanning over six decades of Krishnamurti’s teaching life, including the 17 volumes of the Collected Works. He has been leading dialogues on Tuesdays and Saturdays for several years and looks forward to introducing Krishnamurti and his teachings in a clear and dynamic fashion.