Eckhart Tolle Silent Group
craig sheehan
Brisbane Eckhart Tolle Silent Group Meeting
The more you make your thoughts into your identity, the more cut off you are from the spiritual dimension within yourself.
In this newsletter:
v Next meeting
v Meeting Theme
v St Mary’s Matters
v Guidelines for discussion groups
v New Group announcement
v Eckhart on TV
v Tolle Retreat and Seminar 2009
v Last Chance for tickets to Seminar
v Greens Candidate for Condamine
v Extract from Oneness with all Life
v Information for new members
v Website
v Other Tolle Groups in Brisbane area
v Unsubscribe
A Gentle Reminder - Our next meeting for the year: Thursday 5th Mar, 2009 at 6:45pm
Venue
We meet at St Mary’s Catholic Church in South Brisbane.
This
Week's Meeting's Theme:
This week we will continue our new routine. We will have study/discussion groups
reading through both the Power of Now and the New Earth. There will also be a
DVD: Part 5 of the Art of Presence series, Questions
and Answers.
St Mary’s Matters
St Mary’s community have finished their week of meetings in the church. We should have the building to ourselves tonight. The Jungians are meeting in the house, so we will all be in the church.
Guidelines for Discussion Groups
Eckhart recommends following the Silent Group format. The group may begin with ten to twenty minutes of silence (silent meditation), 1 to 1 1/2 hours of an Eckhart Tolle audio or visual recording, ending with ten to twenty minutes of silence (silent meditation). It's best not to engage in discussion, as it tends to stimulate the mind and ego.
However, since we will be having a discussion group, the following guidelines are offered:
v When the desire to speak comes up, observe it and let the desire pass. Then, pause and speak from presence. You may find that after the desire to speak has passed, there is nothing to say.
v If you are embarrassed about speaking, that is also the ego. Observe that, and then let it pass.
v If you are going to speak, ensure that you speak loudly enough for the whole group to hear.
v Speak to the group, not just to one person.
v Only one person to speak at a time (no side conversations).
v If there begins to be too much activity of mind, then pause as a group, and go back to reading Tolle’s words.
v You will find the process of reading the books as a group very rewarding. To make it so for everybody, presence must be the dominant state.
New Group
Karen Allen has been attending our group for a while, making the commute from Caboolture. She is now ready to host a group and is interested in hearing from people who live in the Caboolture / Bribie Island area.
Karen can be contacted on 0404 965 393.
Eckhart on TV
As part of Eckhart’s tour, he will be doing some media appearances. He was on Today Tonight last night and is on Kerrie Anne Kennerley’s show today (5th March).
Tolle Retreat and Seminar 2009
Tickets will be available for collection tonight. If you are unable to collect them in person before the events, let me know and I will post them to you.
Last Chance for Discounted Tickets to Tolle Seminar 2009
Tickets for the seminar are still available, but the retreat is now sold out (as is the seminar in NZ) . Hay House are doing another deal for other Tolle groups – so there is a last chance to get seminar tickets at $120 each. Please let me know ASAP. (there is an expectation that tickets may sell quickly once he appears on TV).
Greens Candidate for Condamine
Well, you may ask why there is a section on the Greens candidate for Condamine in our newsletter. Well, that candidate happens to be me. Knowing that none of you live in Condamine (and therefore I am not seeking your vote) I thought that I would share this with you.
So why Condamine (otherside of Toowoomba – think Dalby, Oakey etc)? There was no Greens candidate there so I offered to run to allow voters there to express their concern about the state of the environment.
Why the Greens – this part you might find interesting. The Greens policy on the environment includes: To encourage the development of a consciousness that respects the value of all life.
Seems to fit nicely with what we do. Anyway, look for the results for Condamine on election night. (might add a bit of personal colour to an otherwise dull affair).
At the personal level, I am trying to bring some presence to the campaign. It is a very ego heavy environment, and it is easy to be taken away from the present moment. But then, I pause, and return to the present. Very challenging, but good practice.
(If I have offended anybody with some politics in this newsletter, I apologise and promise not to do it again.)
From Oneness With All Life
(Extracts this year will be taken from Oneness With All Life. As Eckhart describes in the introduction to the book, “ For this companion volume to A New Earth, I selected passages from the original book that felt particularly suitable for inspirational or meditative reading’.)
When you don’t cover up the world with words and labels, a sense of the miraculous returns to your life that was lost a long time ago when humanity, instead of using thought, became obsessed by thought.
A depth returns to your life. Things regain their newness, their freshness. And the greatest miracle is the experiencing of your essential self as prior to any words, thoughts, mental labels, and images.
For this to happen, you need to disentangle your sense of I, of beingness, from all the things it has become mixed up with, that is to say, identified with.
Information for New Members
Meetings:
We meet each Thursday at St
Mary’s Church, Merivale St, South Brisbane.
Although the meetings are held in a Catholic Church, we are not affiliated with
any religion. The church is open from 6:15 pm to allow silent meditation for
those who would like that, or a cup of coffee for others that arrive
early. We ask everyone to be present from 6:45 with the meeting starting
at 7 pm. The meeting finishes at 9pm, with an open invitation to go from the
church to a local coffee shop to continue the discussion.
How
to get there:
The meeting is in
the church itself, not at
the adjacent Parish Hall. To get there, take the driveway at 20 Merivale Street and park in the car
park. The car park is well flood lit. Knock if the church door is closed and we
have started.
Note: Parking can be difficult as there are other meetings nearby, and the car
park can be full. Make sure you allow plenty of time to find an alternative.
What
we do:
We commence and end with silence and each week either read a section of one of
Tolle’s books or watch a part of one of Tolle’s videos. The
'meditations' are usually up to 15 minutes at beginning and end. Afterwards, we
retire for a coffee at The Three Monkeys coffee shop on Mollison St, West End to continue any
discussions.
Our library:
There is a large a/v library for
lending. There is a one off fee of $5 to borrow from the library. (This covers
the cost of replacement discs, cases, etc).
The cost:
There is no formal cost, but we
request a gold coin donation each week per person. Any donations are
appreciated and go to the church for electricity and costs.
For More Information, contact:
Craig
Sheehan:
email craiga...@hotmail.com
ph:0411 177 031
For more information, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/brisbane-eckhart-tolle-silent-group
Other Tolle Groups in Brisbane
Marie Condon will be hosting a weekly meeting at Bellbowrie commencing on Thurs the 17th Feb at 7pm. If you live in the west, or know people who live out that way that have found it difficult to come into South Brisbane on a regular basis, please give them Marie’s details. Marie can be contacted on 32026628 or via e-mail at mar...@pacific.net.
Susan Thiesfield hosts a group in the Wynnum / Manly area. If you live in the east, or know people who do, please let them know about Susan’s group. Susan can be contacted at s.thie...@gmail.com
Roslyn Bates hosts a group at Bridgeman Downs. Meetings are held in her home 10am to 12 noon every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month commencing March 9th. If you know people living on the northside of Brisbane, please let them know about Roslyn’s group. For further details contact Roslyn on 0403 995 000 or at rbat...@bigpond.com
Elaine Berndt hosts a group at Tamborine. Meetings are held on the first and third Wed of each month at 10am. The address is 137 Murray Grey Drive, Tamborine, ph: 5543 6493. Elaine can also be contacted at elaine...@hotmail.com.
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