*This is part of a series of meetings exploring the nature of experience and its significance for human life. Each meeting acts as a stand-alone-It is not required that one have attended any of the previous meetings.
When we talk about our life, and ask ourselves: “What is my life?” “What is a human life, really? ” What does it boil down to? We may come up with definitions that we heard in school from biology class or something like that. But if we keep probing we unavoidably come upon the noticing that it has something to do with our experience. When it is all said and done, a lot of what we call our life is our experience of life. In fact, from a certain perspective one could say, in some sense, our life is literally constituted by experience. The very stuff or substance of our life is the stuff or substance of experience. Our life, from the cradle to the grave (and maybe beyond), is constituted and made up of the stuff of experience.
This is a significant thing to recognize because the fact of experience itself is often overlooked. We may be engrossed in the inner and outer happenings of our life to such an extent that we might have never stopped to ask about experience itself. What is the nature of experience itself? What would it even mean to ask such a question? How might we even approach it?
And, in terms of its practical significance, bringing light upon the nature of our experience may have a determinative influence on the very nature and quality of our lives, for as mentioned above, the quality of our experience is synonymous, in some very real sense, with the quality of our lives. Having some perspective and bearing on the nature of our experience, then, may be tantamount to having some perspective and bearing on our very existence.
In these series of meetings we will focus on nature of experience itself; that is to say, not its particular forms or variable surface manifestations, but its nature. We draw from psychology, philosophy, and wisdom teachers and teachings, contemporary and ancient. Each meeting will explore the nature of experience from a different angle. In this meeting we will approach it from the angle of identity, touching upon both traditional and contemporary methods and then having some opportunity to experiment/practice.
Agenda for meeting: We begin our meetings with a warm-up exploration in small groups of 2-3, and then move into a brief talk. After the talk, we again gather in small groups of 2-3 for an applied exercise or group exploration, then come back together to share, and have time at end for free form connecting.
Who is it for: This event is free and open to all interested in the topic. Part of the vision of this series of events is the building of a community centered around deeper and more meaningful ways of connecting.
Venue cost requirement: The venue requires the purchase of a drink or other item of up to 50k.
