An Advaita Vedanta philosophy site, focusing on Realization, enlightenment, nisarga yoga, non-duality (nonduality), your original nature, dwelling as your natural state, and the teachings of Maharaj.
Announcing the closing of the Non-Duality Bookstore as the focus in the future will be on providing books electronically. See at the end of this post an offer to receive at lower-than-eBook prices the last of the paper books remaining in stock at 50% off with free shipping in the U.S. and half-price shipping internationally.
Also, see details below for starting your own “Advaita Study Home Group”
F.: The posting scheduled for today will be posted later this week since an e-mail received yesterday will likely advance for some seekers the understanding of the pointers offered recently.
FROM A SITE VISITOR: I think I understand where ‘heavy metal person’ was coming from. Like, how do we know we aren’t just mimicking what our concept of a realized person is? Like, OK, I can let go of all the programmed stuff I knew was BS anyway. And I can 'train myself' to live in the moment, and not grasp, or reflect, or obsess, etc. But how do I know that’s not my mind conforming to a new pattern? There must be some way to gauge it, right? So he/she wants a list. This is what a realized person looks like: A, B, C. And if I comply with A, B, C, then I must be on the right track. And if I don’t comply, I want to know why I can’t substitute D for C. Give me a formula, and I’ll apply it. I think that's why religion is so addictive: they give you the parameters, and if you stay within them-you win! Follow the yellow brick road, and you'll get to see the wizard! For me, I want to be realized, but then maybe I won’t know I’m realized. The ego is still involved, isn’t it? It’s kind of like, how do you know when you’re dead? Well, if you’re dead, you don’t know it. If I’m realized, will I know it, and does wanting to know it mean I’m not realized yet? Help! Ashley S.
Hello Ashley,
Actually, where you are coming from is nowhere near where “heavy metal person” was coming from, but where you are coming from is a place where Full Realization is far more likely to happen. As mentioned in the May 2nd post,
Why is being in the presence of a Realized teacher—or reading the writings of a Realized teacher or the transcripts of satsang with a Realized teacher—almost always required if Full Realization is to happen? How can one understand what one cannot understand because of having been programmed to function unnaturally / abnormally and to think supernaturally / magically? One cannot. How can a twisted “mind” untwist itself? It cannot.
Your chance for Realization is advanced by the fact that you are not making any nonsensical claims and by the fact that, instead of questioning the teachings, you are questioning the "self" itself. (That is what is happening with your willingness to at least consider the possibility that you might "just be mimicking what your concept of a realized person is.")
That willingness, combined with the other "indicators of readiness" cited above, reveal that you are likely a candidate for Full Realization, quite different from persons who are mistaking the dawn for the noon and who are only thinking that they have completed a "journey" which, in fact, they have hardly even begun.
Indeed, the questions in your e-mail strike at the heart of the reason for allowing this series to move in its present direction. An error of assumption can happen if either the teacher or the seeker concludes that merely listening to the consciousness speak or merely reading what the consciousness has spoken will be understood even if the seeker does not take the pointers into the silence for consideration and even if there is no direct teacher guidance (both of which are almost always necessary).
So, consider this, if you will: there is much said to a seeker at step one that will not be said to a seeker at step two, to a seeker at step two vs. what might be said to a seeker at step three, etc. Thus, to talk of "traits" of Realization and non-Realization is nonsense at the final stage but possibly necessary for some seekers at the earlier stages.
It has become clear recently that some persons—especially in the West—who are now considering these teachings (which are totally alien to them and which have no Western counterpart for comparison) require more basic information than might be the case with other seekers.
If you are blindfolded and only allowed to touch one part of an elephant, you cannot possibly have even the slightest notion about what the entire elephant looks like. As a result of programming and conditioning and acculturation and domestication, most in the West have been similarly blindfolded.
As religion's hold tightens in the West and in the Middle East and is carving out deeper inroads in the Far East, again, all of those persons involved are being blindfolded as well. The Realized teacher is here to remove the blindfolds…that is all.
As noted in the May 4th post, and as Maharaj pointed out, once the teacher removes the blindfolds, then you can go out and conduct your own experiment using the tools provided and have the opportunity to know what You know first-hand...that is, what You have always known but could not see.
Persons haven't a clue that they are trapped in false identities and ego-states and egotism and—if they would be free of all that nonsense—they must see what living in a non-Realized, nonsensical manner "looks like" in terms of their faulty thinking, nonsensical talking, and perverted (unnatural) behaviors.
Because of the normalization of such warped thinking and talking and behaving by those plagued with a twisted "mind," how many are likely to realize suddenly that their thinking is abnormal? Almost none.
The ignorant do not know they are ignorant, and the crazy do not know they are insane. Those still asleep haven't the slightest clue that the things they say or some of the things that they write in an e-mail to this site would inspire a therapist to invite them into long-term counseling.
And even if some were to see that they are being driven by illogical thoughts and are making irrational claims (which most won't) few would have even the slightest inclination to be free of their abnormal thoughts and talk and behaviors. And those consorting with the insane who are claiming that they have been restored to sanity when they have not will be re-programmed, as well as re-conditioned, to normalize insanity.
Furthermore, even if moved to seek freedom from all that is illogical and irrational and insane, few would have even the slightest clue about how to go about finding a set of teachings that would bring about an understanding that would allow them to abide thereafter in a natural fashion.
You have noted the "easy part" for some...specifically for those willing to question and discard the tales told that were used to program them; yet such types form about 1/2 of 1% of the entire population of the planet. 50% are programmed to be unquestioningly loyal, and another 25-35% exhibit varying degrees of being "wired" in like fashion.
For those who can move beyond that point, as you have, there have been more and more requests for some "gauge." Thus, the April 28 posting offered a gauge that can be used (in the style of Jeff Foxworthy: "You might not be Realized if....")
What was being led up to next was a gauge that could reveal the opposite…that could reveal "You might be Realized if...," but that process was delayed with an obvious need for further clarifications before moving on. Eventually, a list as complete as the April 28th list will be posted that can be used as a “Realization gauge.”
See, it became obvious from much of the e-mail being received that there is still considerable misunderstanding among some site visitors about what happens post-Realization when “choosers” and “persons showing preferences” disappear and all begins to unfold naturally and spontaneously without any “one” being personally attracted to "this" or being personally repelled by "that."
Yet here's a pointer that drives to the heart of what you are asking: when you mention "training yourself" or "complying" or "wanting," then those will be indicators to the Realized listener that indeed Ashley still has a ways to go before Full Realization happens.
That is not a criticism. It is merely a fact that once the peripetia happens, all that follows will happen spontaneously and in a totally mindless fashion. Talk of “training self” or “retraining itself” (“self being a key word there) is mind stuff; trying to “comply” is the stuff of persons; and still “wanting or desiring” is the stuff of persons as well.
(That pointer answers your last question about what "wanting" reveals to the Realized teacher...yes? The very fact that “wanting” is still happening is a giveaway.)
One indicator that signals evidence of Full Realization—especially Realization of the “Nisargan variety”—is the total absence of beliefs, of desiring, of fearing, of reaching for, of seeking, etc. But you have hit upon the very reason that a Realized teacher is required, via one means or another, and the reason involves four stages that each seeker must be guided through. The stages will be discussed tomorrow. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
FROM A SITE VISITOR: I think I understand where ‘heavy metal person’ was coming from. Like, how do we know we aren’t just mimicking what our concept of a realized person is? Like, OK, I can let go of all the programmed stuff I knew was BS anyway. And I can 'train myself' to live in the moment, and not grasp, or reflect, or obsess, etc. But how do I know that’s not my mind conforming to a new pattern? There must be some way to gauge it, right? So he/she wants a list. This is what a realized person looks like: A, B, C. And if I comply with A, B, C, then I must be on the right track. And if I don’t comply, I want to know why I can’t substitute D for C. Give me a formula, and I’ll apply it. I think that's why religion is so addictive: they give you the parameters, and if you stay within them-you win! Follow the yellow brick road, and you'll get to see the wizard! For me, I want to be realized, but then maybe I won’t know I’m realized. The ego is still involved, isn’t it? It’s kind of like, how do you know when you’re dead? Well, if you’re dead, you don’t know it. If I’m realized, will I know it, and does wanting to know it mean I’m not realized yet? Help! Ashley S.
Hello Ashley,
Actually, where you are coming from is nowhere near where “heavy metal person” was coming from, but where you are coming from is a place where Full Realization is far more likely to happen. As mentioned in the May 2nd post,
Why is being in the presence of a Realized teacher—or reading the writings of a Realized teacher or the transcripts of satsang with a Realized teacher—almost always required if Full Realization is to happen? How can one understand what one cannot understand because of having been programmed to function unnaturally / abnormally and to think supernaturally / magically? One cannot. How can a twisted “mind” untwist itself? It cannot.
Your chance for Realization is advanced by the fact that you are not making any nonsensical claims and by the fact that, instead of questioning the teachings, you are questioning the "self" itself. (That is what is happening with your willingness to at least consider the possibility that you might "just be mimicking what your concept of a realized person is.")
That willingness, combined with the other "indicators of readiness" cited above, reveal that you are likely a candidate for Full Realization, quite different from persons who are mistaking the dawn for the noon and who are only thinking that they have completed a "journey" which, in fact, they have hardly even begun.
Indeed, the questions in your e-mail strike at the heart of the reason for allowing this series to move in its present direction. An error of assumption can happen if either the teacher or the seeker concludes that merely listening to the consciousness speak or merely reading what the consciousness has spoken will be understood even if the seeker does not take the pointers into the silence for consideration and even if there is no direct teacher guidance (both of which are almost always necessary).
So, consider this, if you will: there is much said to a seeker at step one that will not be said to a seeker at step two, to a seeker at step two vs. what might be said to a seeker at step three, etc. Thus, to talk of "traits" of Realization and non-Realization is nonsense at the final stage but possibly necessary for some seekers at the earlier stages.
It has become clear recently that some persons—especially in the West—who are now considering these teachings (which are totally alien to them and which have no Western counterpart for comparison) require more basic information than might be the case with other seekers.
If you are blindfolded and only allowed to touch one part of an elephant, you cannot possibly have even the slightest notion about what the entire elephant looks like. As a result of programming and conditioning and acculturation and domestication, most in the West have been similarly blindfolded.
As religion's hold tightens in the West and in the Middle East and is carving out deeper inroads in the Far East, again, all of those persons involved are being blindfolded as well. The Realized teacher is here to remove the blindfolds…that is all.
As noted in the May 4th post, and as Maharaj pointed out, once the teacher removes the blindfolds, then you can go out and conduct your own experiment using the tools provided and have the opportunity to know what You know first-hand...that is, what You have always known but could not see.
Persons haven't a clue that they are trapped in false identities and ego-states and egotism and—if they would be free of all that nonsense—they must see what living in a non-Realized, nonsensical manner "looks like" in terms of their faulty thinking, nonsensical talking, and perverted (unnatural) behaviors.
Because of the normalization of such warped thinking and talking and behaving by those plagued with a twisted "mind," how many are likely to realize suddenly that their thinking is abnormal? Almost none.
The ignorant do not know they are ignorant, and the crazy do not know they are insane. Those still asleep haven't the slightest clue that the things they say or some of the things that they write in an e-mail to this site would inspire a therapist to invite them into long-term counseling.
And even if some were to see that they are being driven by illogical thoughts and are making irrational claims (which most won't) few would have even the slightest inclination to be free of their abnormal thoughts and talk and behaviors. And those consorting with the insane who are claiming that they have been restored to sanity when they have not will be re-programmed, as well as re-conditioned, to normalize insanity.
Furthermore, even if moved to seek freedom from all that is illogical and irrational and insane, few would have even the slightest clue about how to go about finding a set of teachings that would bring about an understanding that would allow them to abide thereafter in a natural fashion.
You have noted the "easy part" for some...specifically for those willing to question and discard the tales told that were used to program them; yet such types form about 1/2 of 1% of the entire population of the planet. 50% are programmed to be unquestioningly loyal, and another 25-35% exhibit varying degrees of being "wired" in like fashion.
For those who can move beyond that point, as you have, there have been more and more requests for some "gauge." Thus, the April 28 posting offered a gauge that can be used (in the style of Jeff Foxworthy: "You might not be Realized if....")
What was being led up to next was a gauge that could reveal the opposite…that could reveal "You might be Realized if...," but that process was delayed with an obvious need for further clarifications before moving on. Eventually, a list as complete as the April 28th list will be posted that can be used as a “Realization gauge.”
See, it became obvious from much of the e-mail being received that there is still considerable misunderstanding among some site visitors about what happens post-Realization when “choosers” and “persons showing preferences” disappear and all begins to unfold naturally and spontaneously without any “one” being personally attracted to "this" or being personally repelled by "that."
Yet here's a pointer that drives to the heart of what you are asking: when you mention "training yourself" or "complying" or "wanting," then those will be indicators to the Realized listener that indeed Ashley still has a ways to go before Full Realization happens.
That is not a criticism. It is merely a fact that once the peripetia happens, all that follows will happen spontaneously and in a totally mindless fashion. Talk of “training self” or “retraining itself” (“self being a key word there) is mind stuff; trying to “comply” is the stuff of persons; and still “wanting or desiring” is the stuff of persons as well.
(That pointer answers your last question about what "wanting" reveals to the Realized teacher...yes? The very fact that “wanting” is still happening is a giveaway.)
One indicator that signals evidence of Full Realization—especially Realization of the “Nisargan variety”—is the total absence of beliefs, of desiring, of fearing, of reaching for, of seeking, etc. But you have hit upon the very reason that a Realized teacher is required, via one means or another, and the reason involves four stages that each seeker must be guided through. The stages will be discussed tomorrow. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
The “path” from identification with the false “I” to abidance as the Absolute has seven steps that must be taken in an exact order. The book below is a step-by-step guide to Realization.
(Click the pic for more information)
THE FOLLOWING NON-DUALITY BOOKS ARE IN THE STORE IN LIMITED SUPPLY AND WILL BE OFFERED AT 50% OFF WHEN BOUGHT AS A PACKAGE:
While quantities last, the following package deal is being offered: Receive all nine (9) of the paperback books listed below for $88 total with free shipping in the U.S. and ½ price shipping internationally.
NOTE: Only one full set remaining. The offer will become an eight-book set after the next order.
NON-DUALITY BOOK SET:
From the Absolute to the Nothingness
Consciousness/Awareness
From the I to the Absolute (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
It's All Bullshit (and Why Knowing it Sets You Free)
Self-Transformation Meditation Guide I
Self-Transformation Meditation Guide II
There's No Such Thing as ''Peace of Mind''
Spiritual Sobriety (Recovering What Religions Lost)
The Essence of the Teachings
To order, click
Non-Duality Book Set
then add the package to the shopping cart and follow the checkout procedure to the secure pay site.
FIVE WAYS TO PAY:
Or, OPTION TWO:
THE “ADVAITA STUDY GROUP” PACKAGE
Host an Advaita Study Group in your home.
Enough paperback copies remain in stock to provide the following for you and three other seekers:
4 copies-From the I to the Absolute (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
4 copies-Consciousness / Awareness
4 copies-From the Absolute to the Nothingness
Take turns reading passages and then discussing the pointers.
All 12 books for $120.00 (equal to $30 each) + free S&H in the U.S.
To order this set, you must use
the Contact link to make arrangements for payment—VISA or MC only—and to provide the address for free U.S. shipping.
ONLY ONE SET OF THESE TWELVE BOOKS IS LEFT IN THE STORE
Finally,
most titles are also available as eBooks
Visit
The Official Website of Floyd Henderson
(Click the pic for more information)
THE FOLLOWING NON-DUALITY BOOKS ARE IN THE STORE IN LIMITED SUPPLY AND WILL BE OFFERED AT 50% OFF WHEN BOUGHT AS A PACKAGE:
While quantities last, the following package deal is being offered: Receive all nine (9) of the paperback books listed below for $88 total with free shipping in the U.S. and ½ price shipping internationally.
NOTE: Only one full set remaining. The offer will become an eight-book set after the next order.
NON-DUALITY BOOK SET:
From the Absolute to the Nothingness
Consciousness/Awareness
From the I to the Absolute (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
It's All Bullshit (and Why Knowing it Sets You Free)
Self-Transformation Meditation Guide I
Self-Transformation Meditation Guide II
There's No Such Thing as ''Peace of Mind''
Spiritual Sobriety (Recovering What Religions Lost)
The Essence of the Teachings
To order, click
Non-Duality Book Set
then add the package to the shopping cart and follow the checkout procedure to the secure pay site.
FIVE WAYS TO PAY:
Or, OPTION TWO:THE “ADVAITA STUDY GROUP” PACKAGE
Host an Advaita Study Group in your home.
Enough paperback copies remain in stock to provide the following for you and three other seekers:
4 copies-From the I to the Absolute (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
4 copies-Consciousness / Awareness
4 copies-From the Absolute to the Nothingness
Take turns reading passages and then discussing the pointers.
All 12 books for $120.00 (equal to $30 each) + free S&H in the U.S.
To order this set, you must use
the Contact link to make arrangements for payment—VISA or MC only—and to provide the address for free U.S. shipping.
ONLY ONE SET OF THESE TWELVE BOOKS IS LEFT IN THE STORE
Finally,
most titles are also available as eBooks
Visit
The Official Website of Floyd Henderson
