In yesterday's Daily Reminder, we looked at what concepts are good for (and not good for), which reminded me of an experience I had a couple of years ago, when returning from the 3 Principles conference in London.
I was surprised at my own reaction to the three days – it was a bit of a watershed moment for me. A change in my relationship to concepts, that I really wasn't expecting.
Here's what happened…
It’s a few days since I returned home from the annual 3 Principles conference (which is, in their own words: “Three days focused on the potential and importance of Clarity, Love and Understanding.”)
I think this is the fourth time I’ve attended and (as usual) the first day my mind was still pretty busy. It was all into:
- what it was going to get out of the conference
- what I’d learn that was new
- what I’d see differently
- what sound-bites I could share with my clients… blah blah all that jazz.
Consequently I enjoyed some sessions and didn’t enjoy others so much.
I was in analysis mode!
🤓
It took a little while to let go of that ego-based superficiality and (as usual) I approached Day 2 with a far more laissez-faire attitude, just hanging out and seeing what happened.
And after I’d been to a few breakouts—smaller, more intimate affairs, where you get to interact and ask questions at the end—I observed that I had no questions.
In previous years I’ve gone, I’ve had a fair few questions, that I’ve specifically sought out a particular session to get answers to, or that have arisen during the course of what the speaker is saying.
But this year? Nada.
💁🏻♂️
I’ve been reflecting on why this might be.
It’s certainly not because I know everything (ha ha ha ha ha ha, someone scrape me up off the floor - I spent most of today noticing one dumbass misunderstanding of mine after another, lol).
No, the feeling I was left with, was that I had no more questions, simply because in the two years since I was last there, I’ve seen more and more what questions are and what they’re made of.
They’re just thoughts.
The activity of a mind that wants to conceptualise something that’s got nothing to do with concepts.
Happiness, contentment, peace of mind and mental health… they exist in a place without questions.
There, at the conference, questions just didn’t seem to make sense.
Which meant I got to spend serious amounts of time just hanging out in life. Nowhere to get to. Nothing to change, fix, learn or get.
Just contentment, camaraderie with my fellow humans and the falling away of another layer or two of unnecessary complexity.
Complexity that gets in the way of experiencing clarity, love and understanding.
I think that’s what the conference is actually about.
💟
Giles
I love that! And it's a sentiment that's definitely stayed with me since then.
It's not that I don't have questions, or the odd spiritual concept that I don't ‘understand’, it's more about remaining aware that it's not all that important.
Getting questions answered to ego's satisfaction is not a magical doorway to happiness or something.
🤷🏻♂️
Yesterday I related the tale yesterday of someone who was on last week's group call, bashing up against a concept that they couldn't get their head around.
After some quiet reflection, discussion and a couple of readings, I left them with a question of their own, to reflect on:
The response that came back the following day was for the ages, and reflected the fact that there's nothing wrong with questions – sometimes they'll make sense, and sometimes they won't.
Neither are ‘bad’ nor ‘good’ per se, they're maybe more a reflection of where we're at in any given moment.
Here's the response:
“I’m learning that there isn’t really a need for questions on a deeper level of consciousness, as there’s no real need for answers within a quiet mind.”
I couldn't love that more.
😍
Giles
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Giles P Croft
A great example of how tackling concepts head on, expecting relief, is likely to get us even more tangled up in thought!