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.: In this series, you are being invited to see that, among other things, the Direct Path Method of teaching Advaita with the Nisarga Yoga approach can bring to an end not only
a) all belief in duality but also an end to
(b) all of the confusion that had dominated religious and spiritual debate for five millennia or more, namely, the debate about the supposed conflict between “the spirit and the flesh.”
The debate ends here because, post-Realization, there is neither a “Truly Religious One” nor a “Spiritual Giant” that would advocate transcending “the flesh,” that is, that would advocate disparaging the post-Realization Am-ness while upgrading the Absolute in comparison.
Last night, the “flesh” reveled in the sharing of a gourmet dining event with a daughter. The “flesh” here can revel in all of the delights that can only happen while “the flesh” is manifest, including both the sensory and the sensual, "in spite of" having understood that which is beyond the phenomenal.
It must be asked: "Why seek and find an appreciation of the Essence if one is driven to avoid appreciation of…the essence? Why taste the sweet Nectar of Immortality ('I AM THAT') but refuse to taste the sweet nectar of…mortality ('I AM') as well?"
WHO would choose the former only and reject the latter? Only one who has been deceived to believe that there will be some “one” that will be able post-manifestation to know, to understand, to taste, and to enjoy. It is not so. It shall not be.
Why else this planet-wide willingness to upgrade some illusory “life after” while scorning the post-Realization Am-ness? Why a devaluing of “this” while only valuing THAT? Why the rejection of joy, now?
THE ENNOBLING OF SUFFERING
For 4000 years since Abraham endorsed God-induced suffering as part of “His” plan to inspire the Jews to “get closer to Him,” misery has been given lofty status among the members of that group.
For 2000 years since the crucifixion of an Advaitin called Jesus, and for the two billion persons who now call themselves his followers but have not the slightest clue of what he was really pointing to, there has been an elevated status assigned to suffering. ("I am made Christ-like by way of my suffering. I suffer now as He suffered on the cross for me.")
For more than a millennium, certain Muslims have touted the benefits of bloodletting and self-flagellation. One Muslim male explained the practice this way:
Those adults who engage in self-flagellation with knives, chains or blades, do so with a consciousness of the ceremonial nature of the act, keenly watched by onlookers, children and adults alike, who, though they have seen it all before, continue to be mesmerised by the sheer spectacle of it – the display. This excitement is, for most, mixed with an actual sense of profound identification with the suffering of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
Last week, the headlines revealed that Pope John Paul II kept a belt by his side whether at home or on the road, beating himself regularly while depriving himself of a comfortable bed and even food in order to be "more perfect." If the belief is that suffering can make one more perfect, then most certainly the dualistic belief must be that "suffering is good."
For the 6.5 billion who claim to be members of one of those groups or members of groups with similar beliefs, the dualistic message is “Deprivation is good.” [NOTE: Confuse not the sanity of de-accumulation with the silliness of dogma-or-belief-based deprivation in regards to the basic needs of the space or form.]
Add to those the millions more who are members of “self-help” or “step” groups (really just pseudo-religious organizations that reject that fact and claim to be “spiritual”). They spin distortion into dualistic pseudo-truth: “My suffering is now good, for it allows me to help others who are suffering.”
Add in the hundreds of thousands—many drawn from among the ranks of those same step groups, who listen to one of the big names tell them to "Love What Is." One of those charges reported at a retreat here: “She taught me to love my rapist and to accept that it’s all good and that I should love whatever is.”
No, that’s not all good. That's all stupid, all insane. Maharaj: This is our stupidity, verging on insanity.
Why did he point out such insanity as the examples above? Why even mention them here if they might be unpopular? Again, Maharaj: This is the function of the Guru - to make us see the madness of our daily living.
The function of the Advaitin guru is to point out the insanity that is not questioned and to extend the invitation to question, to see, and maybe to conclude: “You know, it may just be that all of these beliefs and practices really are insane!”
THE DENIAL OF SUFFERING
Another obstacle that will prevent persons from enjoying the post-Realization Am-ness is to deny the suffering that exists. Dissociation is often upgraded to “stoic detachment”; “becoming robotic” is subjected to the spin doctor’s distortions and upgraded to “calm acceptance of all”;
and the ego / egotism of taking one’s self to be a “Super Religious Person” or “Spiritual Giant” can easily inspire some—especially the obsessive types—to discount everything in the relative, to claim that they are living in another realm, or to claim that nothing exists.
IGNORING, DENYING, OR UPGRADING SUFFERING
At the extreme, it becomes a short step for some to be sociopathic around their detachment: “Care not a whit about others; have no compassion; what does it matter since they do not exist anyway.”
Do they mean nothing matters once the manifested consciousness is no longer manifested, or do they means that nothing matters even during the currently manifested Am-ness? “Kill, bomb, maim rape, love those who toss babies into fires, and / or love your rapist”? Is that all good? Is all of that in the "Love What Is" category?
You are invited to see this: "They" fooled you, but there is no need for your continuing to take over where “they” left off. There is no need to be fooled by those who reverse the non-duality teachings by twisting “I AM THAT; I AM” back into the realm of duality by believing that THAT is good but that this (Am-ness) is bad.
There are no beliefs here, including the belief that suffering is “good,” that misery and pain can make a person stronger, or that suffering now will be balanced out later with eternal reward.
Some are “saving themselves” for eternal bliss later. The pointer: that is a boat you have already missed. If anything is to be “experienced” and known and reveled in, it can only happen via the manifest consciousness—via the post-Realization Am-ness, NOW.
Waiting for a future time? Futile. Waiting for a “higher level experience” in an “afterlife?” Dream only. Waiting for the “right time” and the “right way” to enjoy what is to be enjoyed now? Oops…missed it.
Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
a) all belief in duality but also an end to
(b) all of the confusion that had dominated religious and spiritual debate for five millennia or more, namely, the debate about the supposed conflict between “the spirit and the flesh.”
The debate ends here because, post-Realization, there is neither a “Truly Religious One” nor a “Spiritual Giant” that would advocate transcending “the flesh,” that is, that would advocate disparaging the post-Realization Am-ness while upgrading the Absolute in comparison.
Last night, the “flesh” reveled in the sharing of a gourmet dining event with a daughter. The “flesh” here can revel in all of the delights that can only happen while “the flesh” is manifest, including both the sensory and the sensual, "in spite of" having understood that which is beyond the phenomenal.
It must be asked: "Why seek and find an appreciation of the Essence if one is driven to avoid appreciation of…the essence? Why taste the sweet Nectar of Immortality ('I AM THAT') but refuse to taste the sweet nectar of…mortality ('I AM') as well?"
WHO would choose the former only and reject the latter? Only one who has been deceived to believe that there will be some “one” that will be able post-manifestation to know, to understand, to taste, and to enjoy. It is not so. It shall not be.
Why else this planet-wide willingness to upgrade some illusory “life after” while scorning the post-Realization Am-ness? Why a devaluing of “this” while only valuing THAT? Why the rejection of joy, now?
THE ENNOBLING OF SUFFERING
For 4000 years since Abraham endorsed God-induced suffering as part of “His” plan to inspire the Jews to “get closer to Him,” misery has been given lofty status among the members of that group.
For 2000 years since the crucifixion of an Advaitin called Jesus, and for the two billion persons who now call themselves his followers but have not the slightest clue of what he was really pointing to, there has been an elevated status assigned to suffering. ("I am made Christ-like by way of my suffering. I suffer now as He suffered on the cross for me.")
For more than a millennium, certain Muslims have touted the benefits of bloodletting and self-flagellation. One Muslim male explained the practice this way:
Those adults who engage in self-flagellation with knives, chains or blades, do so with a consciousness of the ceremonial nature of the act, keenly watched by onlookers, children and adults alike, who, though they have seen it all before, continue to be mesmerised by the sheer spectacle of it – the display. This excitement is, for most, mixed with an actual sense of profound identification with the suffering of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
Last week, the headlines revealed that Pope John Paul II kept a belt by his side whether at home or on the road, beating himself regularly while depriving himself of a comfortable bed and even food in order to be "more perfect." If the belief is that suffering can make one more perfect, then most certainly the dualistic belief must be that "suffering is good."
For the 6.5 billion who claim to be members of one of those groups or members of groups with similar beliefs, the dualistic message is “Deprivation is good.” [NOTE: Confuse not the sanity of de-accumulation with the silliness of dogma-or-belief-based deprivation in regards to the basic needs of the space or form.]
Add to those the millions more who are members of “self-help” or “step” groups (really just pseudo-religious organizations that reject that fact and claim to be “spiritual”). They spin distortion into dualistic pseudo-truth: “My suffering is now good, for it allows me to help others who are suffering.”
Add in the hundreds of thousands—many drawn from among the ranks of those same step groups, who listen to one of the big names tell them to "Love What Is." One of those charges reported at a retreat here: “She taught me to love my rapist and to accept that it’s all good and that I should love whatever is.”
No, that’s not all good. That's all stupid, all insane. Maharaj: This is our stupidity, verging on insanity.
Why did he point out such insanity as the examples above? Why even mention them here if they might be unpopular? Again, Maharaj: This is the function of the Guru - to make us see the madness of our daily living.
The function of the Advaitin guru is to point out the insanity that is not questioned and to extend the invitation to question, to see, and maybe to conclude: “You know, it may just be that all of these beliefs and practices really are insane!”
THE DENIAL OF SUFFERING
Another obstacle that will prevent persons from enjoying the post-Realization Am-ness is to deny the suffering that exists. Dissociation is often upgraded to “stoic detachment”; “becoming robotic” is subjected to the spin doctor’s distortions and upgraded to “calm acceptance of all”;
and the ego / egotism of taking one’s self to be a “Super Religious Person” or “Spiritual Giant” can easily inspire some—especially the obsessive types—to discount everything in the relative, to claim that they are living in another realm, or to claim that nothing exists.
IGNORING, DENYING, OR UPGRADING SUFFERING
At the extreme, it becomes a short step for some to be sociopathic around their detachment: “Care not a whit about others; have no compassion; what does it matter since they do not exist anyway.”
Do they mean nothing matters once the manifested consciousness is no longer manifested, or do they means that nothing matters even during the currently manifested Am-ness? “Kill, bomb, maim rape, love those who toss babies into fires, and / or love your rapist”? Is that all good? Is all of that in the "Love What Is" category?
You are invited to see this: "They" fooled you, but there is no need for your continuing to take over where “they” left off. There is no need to be fooled by those who reverse the non-duality teachings by twisting “I AM THAT; I AM” back into the realm of duality by believing that THAT is good but that this (Am-ness) is bad.
There are no beliefs here, including the belief that suffering is “good,” that misery and pain can make a person stronger, or that suffering now will be balanced out later with eternal reward.
Some are “saving themselves” for eternal bliss later. The pointer: that is a boat you have already missed. If anything is to be “experienced” and known and reveled in, it can only happen via the manifest consciousness—via the post-Realization Am-ness, NOW.
Waiting for a future time? Futile. Waiting for a “higher level experience” in an “afterlife?” Dream only. Waiting for the “right time” and the “right way” to enjoy what is to be enjoyed now? Oops…missed it.
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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