Memories of Toni Packer V: A Personal Lie Detector

I recall here—as well as memory allows—part of a private meeting with Toni Packer. It took place, some decades ago, during a silent retreat at the Springwater Center.

First, a little background. At that time I was graciously allowed to be part of the Springwater Center staff as a volunteer*. Now Toni had encouraged the staff to expose themselves to environments outside the Center. So, one weekend shortly before the retreat, I and other residential staff left by car for the, not too distant, big city of Rochester, New York.

After a rendezvous to assemble for the return trip had been arranged, I eventually found my way to a very attractive place for me: the public library. I browsed the shelves for titles that might be related to the mind, philosophy, or religion. One such book that I came across contained a particularly interesting passage. Perhaps, it stated, technology could provide a way for people to always be honest—each person would monitor themself with a portable, personal lie detector. I thought, "What an intriguing idea. I must present it to Toni."

And I did exactly that during the retreat. Toni Packer sat in her chair across from me as I related this idea to her in the private meeting room. Toni prefaced her response by saying that the word "lie" implies a judgment of moral condemnation and that phenomenon could be investigated. But then she went on to ask, eliciting in me at least some slight embarrassment, why wouldn't one simply observe themself directly rather than relying on a machine?

*See Memories of Toni Packer I: The Judgment of Cells for more on this.

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