An Advaita forum focusing on Realisation, enlightenment, non-duality, Real Love, peace, freedom, Your original nature, abiding naturally, the Oneness, the Nothingness, and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Here, there is nothing that is believed, so there is no one here who wants you to believe anything, either. Here, the invitation is to be free of all that you have been programmed, conditioned, acculturated, and domesticated to believe so that you can be free, period.
F.: Recently, a regular visitor to this site asked about a pointer from another teacher who suggests that "nothing exists, despite appearances." Question: Does energy exist? Is it something? Does matter exist? Is it something?
There is such confusion among the masses, and such confusion, too, in the venues that would point the masses away from the confusion. It is fact that, pre-Realization, I am not who I think I am and you are not who you think you are.
However, the “I am not” in “I am not who I think I am” does not mean that I AM NOT should be added to the summative statement of the teachings. Freedom from the relative problems that result from deceptions and misperceptions does not require a denial of the Am-ness nor a belief that things do not exist.
As suggested here before, bend over, lower your head, and run as fast as you can into a brick wall; then, try to convince me, from within the painful state which would follow that collision, that the wall does not exist. Tell me that your head does not exist.
Of course both the wall and your head exist. Of course the entire body exists. The teaching is simply that You are not Your body. Regarding the wall, the Advaitin teaching is not that the brick walls you see do not exist. The pointer is simply that a wall is not really what it appears to be, a fact that can be proved if one were to view the bricks through an electron microscope and see that, at their core, the bricks are a swirling mass of subatomic particles.
Therefore, freedom from the relative problems that are rooted in misidentification with the human body and human mind and personas comes about not by claiming that what exists does not exist.
Freedom (from delusion and misperceiving) comes by understanding that anything that exists is not what it appears to be, is not what you have been told it is, and is nothing close to what persons will take it to be.
To conclude that nothing exists is to deny the Am-ness, and Maharaj often pointed out that You, as the Absolute, are not the Am-ness but that presently you have to abide in the Am-ness. The result of Realization is not that you believe the Am-ness is false (“I AM NOT”) nor that you abide only as the Absolute (“I AM THAT ALONE—FORGET THE I AM”).
Questioner: Can I stop this "I Amness" and be before the "I Amness"?
Maharaj: What natural processes can you stop? Everything is spontaneous. Presently you are in the consciousness, which is stirring, vibrant. Don't think you are something separate from this stirring, vibrant consciousness.
The manifest consciousness—this Am-ness—does most certainly exist; it simply does not exist as perceived / misperceived by persons…a result of faulty programming, conditioning, acculturation, and domestication.
The result of Realization is that the Absolute is overlaid onto the Am-ness so that the no-consciousness, no-belief, no-concept, no-duality, awareness without awareness of peace of the Absolute can manifest during the manifestation; thus, "I AM THAT; I AM."
And, yes, Maharaj did say that “This ‘I Amness’ is otherness; it is an expression of duality”; however, the reference was to the unstable, pre-Realization Am-ness, not to the stable, post-Realization Am-ness.
For Maharaj to point out that all misery is rooted in the Am-ness is referring to the pre-Realization Am-ness. That does not negate the pointer offered here that all peace and bliss and happiness and absence of misery and suffering is witnessed and enjoyed via the post-Realization Am-ness.
Because it is understood today that I am not limited to this Am-ness, then the Am-ness is no longer blocked or contaminated; that understanding allows the Am-ness to happen spontaneously without angst, delusion, misery, suffering, denial, stupidity, or insanity.
Understand that any comment ever made by a Realized Advaitin teacher that might seem to be a critical remark about the Am-ness is referring to the pre-Realization Am-ness, never to the post-Realization Am-ness. The Am-ness which is identified as a sickness, calling for the Ultimate Medicine, is a pre-Realization condition of the Am-ness, not the post-Realization condition of the Am-ness.
The Ultimate Medicine has nothing to do with the Absolute and everything to do with the Am-ness. No “healing” or “treatment” is required for the Absolute. The “healing and treatment” are indicated for the Am-ness alone. It is the blocked or contaminated consciousness that needs unblocking or purifying, not the post-Realization Am-ness.
Questioner: How can I remain in the "I Am"?
Maharaj: It is a stupid question. You are ALREADY that. Are you not already the "I Amness"?
Q: I can't be free from that?
M: A jnani has transcended the "I Amness" and only witnesses it.
To say “For now, I AM” is as close as anyone can ever come to expressing truth. Yet that does not negate the accuracy of this pointer from Maharaj:
When you are the pure I Amness only, there is no fear. Presently you are this I Am, but this I Am is not the truth [that is, it is not the ultimate truth that is to be understood]. Whatever you are prior to the appearance of I Am, that is your true nature.
To abide as one’s true nature is to understand that the Am-ness Is and that THAT Is; is to reject the traits of the Am-ness as exist among the non-Realized; is to overlay on the Am-ness the traits of the Absolute; and, as a result of that overlaying, to abide for the remainder of the manifestation in the peace of those Absolute traits, including…
…abidance with a sense of wholeness and complete-ness rather than a sense of being broken into many pieces (that is, abiding as the One rather than as the many roles that had been assigned or adopted);
...being contaminated no longer;
...being no longer driven by the effects of conditioning;
...being contaminated no longer;
...being no longer driven by the effects of conditioning;
...being influenced no more by the effects of programming;
...being unlimited rather than limited;
...being certain and sure (but with legitimate grounds at this point);
...being unadulterated;
...being awake and aware;
...being in a state where, after having been made aware of THAT, no longer being occupied with THAT, or with searching, or with seeking, or with wanting to know;
...being free of all beliefs, including belief in any concept or idea;
...being free of identity;
...being free of thoughts;
...being absorbed into the silence;
...being fully stabilized;
...being unambiguous;
...being free;
...being light;
...being in a state where AS IF living happens, living AS IF anything in the relative matters, understanding that it does not, feeling without emoting, witnessing whatever happens to meet the basic needs of an organism without believing that there is some do-er involved in the process;
and then...
...just…being.
Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
Now you can receive for $40 a downloadable computer file version of the same 7-hour satsang that seekers receive when they visit for the Advaita Retreat with Floyd. You will be guided through the seven steps from identification with the false "I" to the Absolute (and beyond).
For more information or to order, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
SIX WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:
1. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk Video (DVD) Set, or the same retreat available as a downloadable file. Either will provide an entire seven-hour retreat / series of satsang sessions showing three seekers being guided through all seven steps by Floyd and can provide viewers with an “experiential,” step-by-step series of satsang meetings that will move the viewers from identification with the I to abidance as the Absolute and then to abidance as That Which Is beyond
Some seekers are already using the computer file version and the DVD sets for meetings in groups in homes, playing the retreat, pausing for discussion, etc.
To find out more or to purchase the DVD set or the downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
Option “A” is for the downloadable file version, Option “B” is used to order the DVD set for delivery inside the U.S., Option “C” for international orders.
For the download, Paypal will send me a notice that payment has been received and then I will send by e-mail the downloading instruction, password, etc.
[It is recommended that you watch the video with pen and paper in hand. Write whatever you need clarified. You'll see that there are constant reviews and you might find an answer later in the seven-hour presentation. Then, after you watch it all, there will be a common ground for discussion. Purchase of the DVD’s or the file will include the right to clarifications and answers to your specific questions via e-mail.]
2. BY READING these books in this exact order:
IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (And Why Knowing It Sets You Free)
SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (Recovering What Religions Lost)
[Those two prepare the seeker to question it all]
THE MEDITATION GUIDES
[Provide a broad overview of the understanding]
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?
[Begins to free the seeker of body identification and the desire for body continuity]
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (There Is Only Peace if You're Out of Your Mind)
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of the false content of the “mind”]
LIBERATION
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of personas]
THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS
[Provides the final preparation for the seeker to be directed along the “path”]
FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
[Directs the seeker along the “path”]
CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS: The Nature of Reality Beyond Self-Realization (Peace Every Day When Abiding as The Absolute)
[Allows the seeker to understand the functioning of the totality, the manifestation, and what is involved with the un-manifestation]
FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS
[Provides the seeker the wisdom to understand the Noneness as well as the Oneness]
Purchase an e-Book now and begin reading it in minutes (except with e-checks that can take 7-10 days). Trusting our clients as we do, all e-Books are provided to you in printable form.
SAVE IF YOU BUY ALL ELEVEN AT ONCE:
(You may order the books one at a time or you may use the following link to acquire the entire 11-e-Book set on sale for $99 if ordered at one time with the “Buy Now” button below. For this option, there will be no download links provided; once the near-instant notice of payment is received from PayPal, your e-Books will be sent to you as e-mail attachments. All are printable for your convenience.)
For more information or to order, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
SIX WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:
1. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk Video (DVD) Set, or the same retreat available as a downloadable file. Either will provide an entire seven-hour retreat / series of satsang sessions showing three seekers being guided through all seven steps by Floyd and can provide viewers with an “experiential,” step-by-step series of satsang meetings that will move the viewers from identification with the I to abidance as the Absolute and then to abidance as That Which Is beyond
Some seekers are already using the computer file version and the DVD sets for meetings in groups in homes, playing the retreat, pausing for discussion, etc.
To find out more or to purchase the DVD set or the downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
Option “A” is for the downloadable file version, Option “B” is used to order the DVD set for delivery inside the U.S., Option “C” for international orders.
For the download, Paypal will send me a notice that payment has been received and then I will send by e-mail the downloading instruction, password, etc.
[It is recommended that you watch the video with pen and paper in hand. Write whatever you need clarified. You'll see that there are constant reviews and you might find an answer later in the seven-hour presentation. Then, after you watch it all, there will be a common ground for discussion. Purchase of the DVD’s or the file will include the right to clarifications and answers to your specific questions via e-mail.]
2. BY READING these books in this exact order:
IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (And Why Knowing It Sets You Free)
SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (Recovering What Religions Lost)
[Those two prepare the seeker to question it all]
THE MEDITATION GUIDES
[Provide a broad overview of the understanding]
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?
[Begins to free the seeker of body identification and the desire for body continuity]
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (There Is Only Peace if You're Out of Your Mind)
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of the false content of the “mind”]
LIBERATION
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of personas]
THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS
[Provides the final preparation for the seeker to be directed along the “path”]
FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
[Directs the seeker along the “path”]
CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS: The Nature of Reality Beyond Self-Realization (Peace Every Day When Abiding as The Absolute)
[Allows the seeker to understand the functioning of the totality, the manifestation, and what is involved with the un-manifestation]
FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS
[Provides the seeker the wisdom to understand the Noneness as well as the Oneness]
Purchase an e-Book now and begin reading it in minutes (except with e-checks that can take 7-10 days). Trusting our clients as we do, all e-Books are provided to you in printable form.
SAVE IF YOU BUY ALL ELEVEN AT ONCE:
(You may order the books one at a time or you may use the following link to acquire the entire 11-e-Book set on sale for $99 if ordered at one time with the “Buy Now” button below. For this option, there will be no download links provided; once the near-instant notice of payment is received from PayPal, your e-Books will be sent to you as e-mail attachments. All are printable for your convenience.)
You may visit The Official Website of Floyd Henderson for information on each book.
3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes
For information, visit Information on the Advaita Classes on the Internet
To enroll visit Enroll in the Advaita Internet Course
4. BY ATTENDING an Advaitin retreat for satsang with floyd and being guided through all seven steps. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
5. BY ARRANGING satsang by telephone in the U.S. or by Skype internationally:
Use the Contact link for details or for information on making arrangements for a session
6. BY ARRANGING for floyd to travel to your location and meet with you or your group. Use the contact link above to discuss details.
3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes
For information, visit Information on the Advaita Classes on the Internet
To enroll visit Enroll in the Advaita Internet Course
4. BY ATTENDING an Advaitin retreat for satsang with floyd and being guided through all seven steps. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
5. BY ARRANGING satsang by telephone in the U.S. or by Skype internationally:
Use the Contact link for details or for information on making arrangements for a session
6. BY ARRANGING for floyd to travel to your location and meet with you or your group. Use the contact link above to discuss details.
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