Los Molinos.
Rising at 05.50 to a brisk morning.
Quadruple processing at breakfast (3 serving tables & food waiting on the table) has resulted in rapid breakfasting in an orderly fashion. No more queues spilling back out into the cold for over 20 minutes.
A new face at breakfast: our last team member, Mike, who arrived just before midnight to join the Kitchen Team.
09.31 A Kitchen Team meeting was called, by one of the members, to present to them his experiences of the morning. He had missed his breakfast shift, and only realized this while in the sitting. But he knew that this was OK. Comments from other members on the same topic suggested that, actually, it hadn't been as OK with them.
Then, a counting exercise. The value is not in "getting it right" but in the application.
13.50 Very important guitar work with the Level Two & Mentor Buddies this morning. GC guitar exercises are moving into a new generation.
Also important: a meeting with Hernan & a wide-ranging discussion covering a broad sweep of issues, including the nature of this course.
In the early years of Guitar Craft, a Level One course was presented as An Introduction To Guitar Craft. The development of the New Standard Tuning Weekend (often presented by The California Guitar Trio) introduced GC elements to anyone interested, and effectively served as an introduction to the introduction. Now, we have distinct courses described as An Introduction To Guitar Craft that serve as a formal preparation for Level One. The recent NST Weekend in Mexico therefore served as an introduction to an introduction to the Level One. The result is that Level One courses now operate at a much higher standard. Students arrive better prepared to work on the exercises, rather than merely to become acquainted with them.
The formal Introduction also acts as a filter. This became necessary after several students acted in bad faith & improperly at the course in Sassoferrato (2002). Part of the difficulty, there and in many other cases, was a background of drug use.
Originally, we took everyone who arrived. The courses were usually between 16 and 25 people, all beginners. As the courses grew, with more experienced Crafties on extended courses & working in the kitchen, the courses I attend have grown to between 60 & 100 people, many mature & experienced. We have no problem with clueless new students (we are all relatively clueless, after all) but the drug-addled clueless, acting without conscience, is not acceptable. So, the Introduction courses now function partly as detox, partly as filter, and partly to prepare students for a higher standard of application.
Over lunch: several superb comments.
First comment: on a meeting where people had arrived late. That had upset the commentator. He'd like to share that with them.
Quite right too, say I. How dare people arrive late for a meeting? A Guitar Craft House is a punctual house, after all.
Another comment, from a Level One: the meeting last night had brought energy into the house. People were staying up, and talking loudly, afterwards.
A comment from a Level Two: at the beginning of our L2 guitar meeting this morning, we directed part of the attention to the soles of the feet, then to the top of our head, and then to what is in between. When he did this, he found the circle present with him.
This is a very powerful insight. If we are present in the circle, we may find the circle is present within us.
Another superb comment: a member of the Kitchen Team had seen a small point of decision, whether to fall asleep or stay alert. He saw that he had a choice, and in falling asleep accepted he had taken a decision to do so.
In learned metaphysical & theological tomes we read of suffering. What is suffering, this huge, weighty, momentous & far away spiritual work? Suffering is smaller & closer than this, like making the choice to stay alert.
A question was asked related to negativity. Perhaps we are pissed off because someone has acted badly towards us. And maybe we have the "right" to be pissed. But we have the choice: to stay with the negativity, or let go of it. This is a decision. To drop it is suffering. A small choice, but real suffering.
17.29 An afternoon of mainly personal practice.
18.52 An Introduction to Tai Chi with Luciano.
20.40 Dinner was dangerously like a meal and, for the first time, when seconds were called they were placed within reach of the diners. There were crepes, even.
Performances by The League of Gauchos, a duet, and The Hell Boys (of even yet another new formation) who convincingly delivered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Several good comments. A maleficent gaze upset had upset someone for several hours. When next they saw the person, who had looked at them in this way, they were emanating goodwill. So, was the maleficent gaze imaginary? Was it unintentional?
We have lost a member of our beginning team, and gained a few more for the Kitchen Team. Hernan has been flaffed-about by a character who was coming, then wasn't, then was, while flaffing-about as to whether he was or wasn't. This was a distraction of focus for Hernan, who has quite enough to address with those bodies that have arrived. So we are Beginning Again and have our Inaugural Meeting at 21.00.
22.07 The Beginning Again was declared begun at 21.02.
