What Does One Know

A man who says 'I know' is the most destructive human being because he really does not know. What does he know? So when you are conscious you are transformed, when you are aware that you are transformed, you are not.

-Krishnamurti
The Collected Works, Vol. VIII - 5

[The Power of People]

What is Experience

Experience nearly always forms a hardened centre in the mind, as the self, which is a deteriorating factor. Most of us are seeking experience. We may be tired of the worldly experiences of fame, notoriety, wealth, sex, and so on, but we all want greater, wider experience of some kind, especially those of us who are attempting to reach a so-called spiritual state. Being tired of worldly things, we want a more extensive, a wider, deeper experience; and to arrive at such an experience, we suppress, we control, we dominate ourselves, hoping thereby to achieve a full realization of God, or what you will. We think the pursuit of experience is the right way of life in order to attain greater vision, and I question whether that is so. Does this search for experience, which is really a demand for greater, fuller sensation, lead to reality? Or is it a factor which cripples the mind?

-Krishnamurti

Jkrishnamurti.org
The Collected Works, Vol. X - 16

[The Power of People]

First Things First

Finished reading Covey's First Things First. What I found interesting is the connection of one's values to one's strategy of time management. Somewhat intuitive, but it is often the simple things that are the most profound.

[The Power of People]

Meditation is Inquiry

As human beings we are all capable of inquiry, of discovery, and this whole process is meditation. Meditation is inquiry into the very being of the meditator. You cannot meditate without self-knowledge, without being aware of the ways of your own mind, from the superficial responses to the most complex subtleties of thought. I am sure it is not really difficult to know, to be aware of oneself, but it is difficult for most of us because we are so afraid to inquire, to grope, to search out. Our fear is not of the unknown, but of letting go of the known. It is only when the mind allows the known to fade away that there is complete freedom from the known, and only then is it possible for the new impulse to come into being.

-Krishnamurti

The Collected Works, Vol. X - 255

[The Power of People]

Presence

Put down your pad and pen and simply be the poem.

-Saul Williams

[The Power of People]

The Courage to Be Intimate

It’s curious what takes courage and what doesn’t. When I step out on stage in front of thousands of people, I don’t feel that I’m being brave. It takes much more courage to express true feelings to one person. When I think of courage, I think of the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. He was always running away from danger. He often cried and shook with fear. But he was also sharing his real feelings with those he loved, even though he didn’t always like those feelings. That takes real courage, the courage to be intimate. Expressing your feelings is not the same as falling apart in front of someone else, it’s being accepting and true to your own heart, whatever it may say. When you have the courage to be intimate, you know who you are, and you’re willing to let others see that. It’s scary, because you feel so vulnerable, so open to rejection. But without self-acceptance, the other kind of courage, the kind heroes show in movies, seems hollow. In spite of the risks, the courage to be honest and intimate opens the way to self discovery. It offers what we all want, the promise of love.

-Michael Jackson

[The Power of People]

Ceaseless Inquiry

You will have to find out for yourself, and that requires enormous investigation, hard work - much harder work than earning a livelihood, which is mere routine. It requires astonishing vigilance, constant watchfulness, a ceaseless inquiry into every movement of thought. And the moment you begin to inquire into the process of thinking, which is to isolate each thought and think it through to the end, you will see how arduous it is; it is not a lazy man's pleasure. And it is essential to do this because it is only the mind that has emptied itself of all its old recognitions, its old distractions, its conflicts and self-contradictions - it is only such a mind that has the new, the creative impulse of reality. The mind then creates its own action; it brings into being a different activity altogether, without which mere social reform, however necessary, however beneficial, cannot possibly bring about a peaceful and happy world.

-Krishnamurti

The Collected Works, Vol. X - 255

[The Power of People]

Without any desire for reward or fear of punishment

Now, is it possible for the mind to free itself of the observer, of the watcher, of the experiencer, without any motive? Obviously, if there is a motive, that very motive is the essence of the 'me', of the experiencer. Can you forget yourself entirely without any compulsion, without any desire for reward or fear of punishment, just forget yourself? I do not know if you have tried it. Has such a thought even occurred to you, has it ever come to your mind? And when such a thought does arise, you immediately say, 'If I forget myself, how can I live in this world where everybody is struggling to push me aside and get ahead?' To have a right answer to that question you must first know how to live without the 'me', without the experiencer, without the self-centred activity, which is the creator of sorrow, the very essence of confusion and misery. So is it possible, while living in this world with all its complex relationships, with all its travail, to abandon oneself completely and
be free of the things which go to make up the 'me'?

-Krishnamurti

The Collected Works, Vol. X - 254

[The Power of People]

Beyond the Chart and Graph

As we embark on our paths seeking excellence in our chosen crafts may we be aware of the bigger picture. I read a quote by Albert Einstein in Jim Tressel's book " The Winners Manual" that has really challenged my thinking.

"Concern for man and his fate must form the chief interest of all technical endeavours...Never forget that in the midst of your diagrams and equations".

In the midst of lectures, daily routines and conjecture I strive to keep this insight a foundation of my outlook. Though flawed and incomplete, one's attempts to realize this end is met with generous dividend. The value is in the struggle.

[The Power of People]

Fearlessness

The more you are willing to experience
all that life brings- facing it without
running, blaming or avoiding in any way,the more fearless and free you become.

-Yogi Says

[The Power of People]

Be Your Own Light

But what is necessary, surely, is to find out whether the mind that is the result of the past, the mind that is confused, disturbed, groping, seeking - whether such a mind can learn without turning to a guru, whether it can undertake the journey on which there is no guide. Because it is possible to go on this journey only when there is the light which comes through the understanding of yourself, and that light cannot be given to you by another; no Master, no guru can give it to you, nor will you find it in the Gita or in any other book. You have to find that light within yourself, which means that you must inquire into yourself, and this inquiry is hard work. No one can lead you, no one can teach you how to inquire into yourself. One can poi
nt out that such inquiry is essential, but the actual process of inquiring must begin with your own self-observation.

-Krishnamurti
The Collected Works, Vol. X - 254

[The Power of People]

Football and Emotions

Watching the Arizona Cardinals and Steelers pre-season game I admired the steadfastness of the star players. These athletes never appeared to be rattled, facing challenging circumstances with poise. What is the source of this attribute? I think perhaps emotional intelligence plays a substantial role. Does a star athlete interprete emotional cues differently than the mediocre?

[The Power of People]

Liberating

One should always question the status quo seeking to define knowledge for oneself, rather than blindly enslaving oneself to the interpretations of others" (Adams, 2007, pg. 7). If education is to be, truly liberating one must cultivate the ability to think for oneself. The post-modern paradigm urges scholars to think outside of one's perceived way or discipline and embrace strategies from a multitude of sources. As no one, holds a monopoly on the truth one's actions should offer no such confirmation of this assumptions validity.

Reference:

Adams, R. (2007). Social Contexts and Contemporary Issues. Paper

Mind It

I was driving home from my morning workout and for some reason a concept of Ayn Rand's popped into my mind. It was her belief that the human mind and the ability to think is what seperates us from every other creation.

Essentially if a person does not use their mind they are turning their backs on their gift. In a sense such a person embraces death as it is the mind that has allowed humankind to survive.

Some heavy stuff for early in the morning but it made me contemplatve the rest of the day...

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Questions

Does a person have a moral obligation to be themselves? Does authenticity even matter?

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Krishnamurti on Self-exploration

Not according to any idea, pattern, or teacher

We do not see the importance, the significance, of exploring ourselves directly, not according to any idea, pattern, or teacher. The necessity of understanding ourselves is perceived only when we see that without self-knowledge there can be no basis for thought, for action, for feeling; but self-knowledge is not the outcome of the desire to achieve an end.

If we begin to inquire into the process of self-knowledge through fear, through resistance, through authority, or with the desire to gain a result, we shall have what we desire, but it will not be the understanding of the self and the ways of the self.

You may place the self at any level, calling it the higher self or the lower self, but it is still the process of thinking; and if the thinker is not understood, obviously his thinking is a process of escape.

The Collected Works, Vol. VI - 206

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

human behavior

I have been researching human persistence and the achievement of goals. The largest indicator of a person's ability to do this is his or her mental models.

What internal framework of rules and regulations governs the person's behavior? Paradigms and ethical models are the bricks and mortar of this behavior programming. Understand this and one can understand large portions of human behavior.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Get It

It's not so much a matter of what you need, but rather do you maximize what you already have?

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]