Some reflections on our European TSK-retreat in July 2016
In one of our last calls Jack reminded us of simplicity: not trying to get somewhere else but activate TSK in our ordinary life, “finding light in the darkness”. The access is awareness.
Our retreat has given some new input how to do this. In our group some longterm TSK students met together with younger men and women, who came along with “fresh eyes”, wondering what TSK is about. So we had very refreshing conversations during our sessions and our breaks: for example how to communicate TSK, how to communicate and practise in our group.
Some frustration in the first days could be transformed to new ways of practising: we did a lot of exercises outside in nature (look what Klaus has posted): “Going withour going” or my favourite ones “Listening to sounds without without naming or looking for the source of the sound”, “Panoramic hearing”, “Panoramic seeing” and some more. We talked in small groups about the effects of TSK in our daily experience and how we shall go on practising. Very rich and intense conversations came up, TSK insights and effects on a very practical level – showing space openening up in various ways.
One later effect for me was again the experience that in the middle of conflicts and emotional states of pain and confusion, there is always the chance of knowing and seeing, how I get lost in stories, believing in their content to be true. Looking at “my ways of operating the mind”, getting aware of “Time of Thinking”, “Gravity of Thoughts”, of sensations and feelings, how the self is working to stabililize and function in its world, there is always a chance of “Loosening up, what is given” and to find new possivilities of acting.
A step to “Fully present mindfulness”? And sure, this knowing quality is always coming together with a joyful quality! So I think appreciation has deepened and we all got a feel of new possibilities – being grateful and may be feeling more “at home in the world”.
Thanks again to Jack and all the retreatents, who came together at Plockhorst.
Karin
Good morning, Karin. Reading your description of the retreat in Plockhorst helps me to appreciate the many strands of understanding and the many opportunities for engagement that opened up for me because I found a copy of Time, Space, Knowledge” in an Albuquerque bookstore in the mid ’80’s.
It feels to me now that the emphasis on TSK classes and retreats has been superceded by Rinpoche’s new “Mind” books. Reading the most recent one, “Dimensions of Mind”, as I have been for the past month, I have the sense that Time, Space, and Knowledge remain central but that now a wider perspective, which includes all the other bodies of knowing that Rinpoche has introduced to the Western world, are resonating with one another within a larger field of what it means to be a human being at this juncture of life on Planet Earth.
Reading “Dimensions of Mind”, which is presented as a conversation between Rinpoche and Jack, also gives me a better appreciation for the effort that Jack has put into presenting the TSK teachings online over the past ten years. His search for ways to develop a community that could continue sharing the TSK vision with others can now be seen as one aspect of a wider and hopeful sharing of the fruits of the entire Mandala that has been created in the West.
All the best to you,
Michael