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exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity

How To Sit Quietly
In A Room Alone

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What have I learned? Many things, of course. As self-discovery progresses, as the inner person unfolds itself, virtually every day there are new “flashes” and “sparks” of insight.

But recently it occurred to me that the very title of this book might be misleading. While it’s true that most people are unable to sit quietly alone, the quiet room itself is not a required element to one’s spiritual growth.

Early on, I thought that one’s spiritual evolvement will be aided primarily by retiring to a secluded quiet place. This is actually not correct.

Also, back then, I believed that one should engage in a program of conscious breathing. But this is another fallacy. I rarely do “the breathing” anymore. I mean, it’s fine, it won’t hurt you, and can offer benefit as a form of “training wheels,” but it’s not necessary at all.

Seeking for the small quiet room or placing trust in regimented breathing would constitute reliance on a method, a structured way, an approved system – as if one could coax and lead Universal Consciousness to oneself as a tethered horse is led to water.

Universal Consciousness is a term for God, and good luck to us with any strategy, recipe, or formula attempting to corral, regulate, or systematize the energies of God. God does not respond well to commands or manipulation, she’s funny that way.

Then how do we go about this if there is no “how”?

Part of our problem is, we think that we ourselves are creating or building something. There’s the common phrase, “building character.” But character, in a meaningful sense, cannot be built.

Adjusting the mind to new conditioning, new grooves of thought, mental habit patterns, is not true growth and change. We cannot grow spiritually, in the way that this needs to happen, just by trying very hard to be good. There are worse sins than trying very hard to do what’s right, but effort alone will not take us to where we need to go.

The fact of the matter is that our desired spiritual-self does not need to be built. We already have it, part of our unexpressed, unfolded, “made in the image” capacities. Our task is to open our eyes, actually not so much to what we have but to what we are.

Or, to employ another metaphor, each of us harbors a “seed of godhood” deep within. And so the question becomes, what can be done to prompt the seed to germinate?

The answer is, nothing.

A seed will do what it wants to do, is self-directed. We cannot force it to germinate. We can provide accommodating conditions, but this alone will not require the seed to burst forth.

The soul has its own agenda and timetable for rousing itself. However, when the process of disgorgement begins, when it’s time for us to wake up – a different time for each person -- then our efforts to augment can prove efficacious.

The fact that you’re interested enough to be reading this may indicate that it is your time to come alive. If this is the case, what can we do to help ourselves? The answer here, let us recall, cannot take the form of a regimen, formula, or system.

And we don’t even need to micromanage and structure the details. The seed of godhood is well capable of getting this done. Acknowledging this, what is our part?

Our part is to simply notice.

What does this mean? Notice what?

Primarily it means, notice what’s going on in your own head. Become aware of the power of social conditioning that has been running your life.

Much could be said here, but it’s already been outlined in the “simply notice” articles.

When we “simply notice,” we begin to shine a spotlight of awareness into the dark realm of the dysfunctional ego. It doesn’t like to have its tricks revealed. But sunlight is the best disinfectant.

When we “simply notice,” the ego’s control over us begins to wither, and the seed within is no longer restrained from bursting forth. And now we’re squarely on the road toward radical, involuntary, personal transformation.

Jesus said that his teaching burden was light, easy, no problemo, no huffing and puffing to make it happen. And now we understand a little more of what he meant.

Spiritual practice is not just for the small quiet room. It’s meant to be part of a way of life, a moment-to-moment awareness of “simply noticing,” of monitoring what’s going on in one’s own head.

This is all that’s needed to unfold the vast and awesome “super-powers” within, which will be our joyous activity for the next million years and beyond.

Editor’s note: For more discussion, see on the Krishnamurti page 100+ synopses of his lectures, some of which include my commentary. I hadn’t yet reviewed and posted these when the “small quiet room” book was first published.

Here’re examples of Krishnamurti lectures:

involuntary, radical, personal transformation

08.Feb.1959. To uncover the self, the whole structure of the self, there can be no authority, no guru to teach. There must be no condemnation of what you see in yourself but mere observation. When we observe anything, we immediately give it a name, cover it with symbol, translate it in terms of what we know. We do the same thing when we look at ourselves. What we need is a non-evaluative, non-interpretive mind. A mind set free from the chains of memory will involuntarily come to a state of quietness, alertness, and it is only then that radical personal transformation might occur.

choicelessly witnessing one's own confusion summons its own action, commencing the real revolution

08.Mar.1959. To see that the mind is confused has far greater significance than what to do. Most of us think that self-knowledge is a matter of information, of why the mind is confused. But there is no answer, no way out of its own confusion, because whatever way it thinks, it will still be confused. We must perceive directly. I must see that I am confused, that I have a vested interest in some system, ideology or belief. This very perception is enough in itself as it brings about its own action, which is the real revolution.