THE ELIMINATION OF FEAR

Fear is the common state of all mankind. – Krishnamurti, Saanen, Switzerland 1981

Don’t move away from the reality, from the truth that fear is caused by time and thought. Hold it, remain with it, don’t run away from it. It is so. Then it is like holding a precious jewel in your hand. You see all the beauty of that jewel.
– Krishnamurti, Washington D.C. 1985

The elimination of fear is the beginning of attention. Fear must exist as long as there is an urge to be or to become, which is the pursuit of success, with all its frustrations and tortuous contradictions. You can teach concentration, but attention cannot be taught just as you cannot possibly teach freedom from fear; but we can begin to discover the causes that produce fear, and in understanding these causes there is the elimination of fear. Attention arises spontaneously when around the student there is an atmosphere of well-being, when he has the feeling of being secure, of being at ease, and is aware of the disinterested action that comes with love. Love does not compare, and so the envy and torture of ‘becoming’ cease.
– Krishnamurti, Saanen, Switzerland 1974

What are you afraid to see about yourself? Does that question bring up fear? Fear arises as a block to further self understanding. Are our fears inevitable, useful, necessary? Are they self-created? Is understanding fear itself a key to greater self-understanding, better relationships, and a freer, fuller presence in the world?

Join us in creating a safe place, an atmosphere of well-being where we can examine this jewel together.

We will meet each day for a 2 ½ hour session that will include discussion/dialogue, some short video clips and short excerpts from texts.

Daily online sessions (these sessions will not be recorded)
10:00am-12:30pm PACIFIC TIME

Facilitators:

Kathy Franklin and Terry O’Connor: Intentional Dialogue

“To go far, you must begin very near, but to begin near is very difficult for most of us because we want to escape from “what is,” from the fact of what we are.” – Krishnamurti

This dialogue is an attempt to begin very near by exploring the nature of our own selves as they express themselves in our daily lives. We look at the personal in the context of the universal and question the limits of the personal. Krishnamurti’s teachings are a point of departure, but the inquiry is our own. We seek understanding not through external sources but through observation of the subjective experience through which the world appears and the expression of that in our relationship with the natural and social world. Inquiring together as a group creates a microcosm of the larger society and a mirror in which we can see our conditioning reflected as we expose ourselves to one another and to ourselves. The aim of group inquiry is not problem-solving or self-improvement but self-discovery. As the self tends to become defensive and resistant to examination when threatened it is important to create an environment in which everyone is respected. A dialogue rooted in affection is vastly different from a dialogue of the intellect. This affection is an outcome of listening and requires a suspension of judgment.

We begin with a reading on the topic followed by five minutes of silence. After the silent period, we go around the circle and check in with a question, observation, or personal sharing related to the topic. People who don’t want to speak may pass. After the go around, the group is spontaneous. We like to stay close to the topic for the whole dialogue and to keep the dialogue in the here and now as much as possible.

Kathy Franklin and Terry O’Connor are retired psychotherapists who found Krishnamurti’s teachings invaluable in their work.  They have hosted a dialogue in their home since 1992, and have organized the annual Memorial Day Krishnamurti Dialogue and Gathering in Maryland since it began in 1995.