Unconditioned Mind, The: J. Krishnamurti and the Oak Grove School

In this thought-provoking account of the formative years of one of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s final pet projects; Oak Grove School, an alternative school in Ojai, Calif.; David Moody offers a unique perspective on the psychology behind Krishnamurti’s teachings as well as an intimate portrait of one of the most influential spiritual leaders of the twentieth century. The Unconditioned Mind is the first book to openly discuss the dramatic events that occurred during the early years of Oak Grove, and Moody’s experience presents readers with a vivid history of a school whose main intent is to “uncondition” the minds of its students and teachers. Krishnamurti, once groomed by Theosophists to become the next World Teacher, founded Oak Grove in 1975 and personally oversaw it for the last decade of his life. In The Unconditioned Mind, Moody recounts their close work together and explains Krishnamurti’s ideas with splendid clarity. He also recounts how those ideas sparked competition among the staff, producing a complex force-field that challenged Moody to the utmost. The resulting drama, and Krishnamurti’s involvement in it, forms the core of this insightful narrative. The Unconditioned Mind also offers a rare inside look into Krishnamurti’s own teaching methods. Moody explains in detail the many ways in which Krishnamurti attempted to convey the essence of his philosophy without the exercise of any form of psychological authority, and the resulting struggles Moody and other professors faced trying to implement this philosophy in the classroom. The Unconditioned Mind is a balanced and refreshing mix of the history, psychology and philosophy behind Oak Grove School.

264 pages

About the author: David Edmund Moody was born and raised in southern California, and attended undergraduate school at UC Berkeley during the 1960s. He took his Master’s Degree in Political Science at UCLA in 1970 and completed much of the coursework for a doctoral degree in Political Theory. Moody was the first teacher hired at the newly opened Oak Grove School in Ojai, Calif., in 1975. He subsequently served as Educational Director (1980-1984), and as Director of the school (1984-1987), a position he held at the time of the death of the school’s founder, J. Krishnamurti. After he left Oak Grove, Moody returned to graduate study at UCLA. He took his Ph.D. in Education in 1991. His dissertation research focused upon cognitive obstacles students encounter in their efforts to understand the theory of evolution. Portions of Moody’s research were published in the journalScience Educationand in a book he co-authored,Mapping Biology Knowledge(Kluwer, 2000). Moody is currently Director of the private tutorial service Mind Over Math, with offices in southern California. He is also a mathematics and science instructor with Laurel Springs School. Moody continues to pursue research in science education and related subjects, including the Gaia hypothesis. He also remains vitally interested in the teachings of J. Krishnamurti.