THE LIGHT MUST PRECEDE THE LIGHTNESS, Part Seven

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.

Furthermore, for those who have developed a preference for any non-nisargan yoga or who prefer Traditional Advaita Vedanta, Neo-Advaita, Neo-Vedanta, or Pseudo Advaita: here you will only find the use of the Direct Path Method of teaching along with the Nisarga (Natural) Yoga.

Also, you will find here very few of the teachings offered by Maharaj in his earlier talks and far more of the message that he offered in his ultimate talks. Why? During his last years, he said of I AM THAT: "That book and whatever was expounded at that time was only relevant for that period. I am speaking differently today" and am "emphasizing different aspects." His final understanding, which was completely different from what he offered early on, is the basis of pointers here. Maharaj made clear at the end that the pointers in I AM THAT will take you to the midpoint of "the race"; only the pointers in his final talks point the way to "the finish line."

F.: If the light is not received, then there can be no lightness, much less a relative existence marked by an incredible lightness of being. Yesterday it was noted that the light is always there, though blocked on occasion by the clouds.

The clouds that block the masses from seeing the light - and, therefore, from knowing the lightness - include personality-driven fears and desires; emotional intoxication and / or feeling-intoxication that triggers motion (i.e., actions and reactions and over-reactions);

distortion and mis-perceiving; a sense of entitlement that is rooted in ego-states and egotism which eventually bring about the feelings of anger and depression that come when one does not have what is thought to be deserved; anxiety and desperation and even panic that is generated by perceived needs that are not being met; and a host of other relative-existence-bonds that bind.

Yet the light and the lightness await all:

Maharaj: "If the seeker is earnest, the light can be given. The light is for all and always there, but the seekers are few, and among those few, those who are ready are very rare."

How to find that light and lightness. "Surely," many believe, "finding takes motion / action." For a time, yes, but the action to be taken is not of the type that most take.

It is true that Maharaj did say, "There is an action required," but he referred not to an action taken by an act-er or a do-er. Understanding the composite unity (which is nothing more than elements, air, and conscious-energy) makes clear that there cannot be in that mix any do-er at all that could be capable of taking action. So?

So, it is harmony that must be in action. The will of the True Self - that Pure Witnessing which sees and knows the Oneness - is the only source of harmony during the manifestation of consciousness. For most, harmony has to do with a sense of congruity that happens when various parts synchronize one with another to produce what seems to be a singular whole.

A sense of incongruity will be generated when the Self is forgotten and when a variety of not-selves drive whatever actions are taken; furthermore, among the Realized where there is no belief that there are separate parts that can come together as one, the already-existing harmony - which like the light, always is - need but be recognized. This "not-two" version of harmony is that which is Real, that which is the unity beyond the perceived, unreal multiplicity.

Yet note: just as seekers must find all that they are not before they can know Who / What They Truly Are, so all of the sources of disharmony must be seen and understood if the non-dual state of harmony - and therefore lightness - is to prevail. And what will disrupt one from seeing and understanding? Always, the not-self ... the not-selves.

Always, the emotion-driven motions, movements, actions, reactions, and over-reactions that happen on the planet are driven by personality / personalities, all of which are false, all of which are as much a false illusion as a mirage in the desert during the heat of the day. Imagine what an existence will always be like when driven by so many illusions.

Driven by such an assortment of illusory influencers and motivators, there can only be a prevailing sense of disharmony. That is always the state of the not-self or not-selves, abiding in the fiction-filled "mind" and driven by the chatter of the thousand monkeys therein.

Those "monkeys" are the screeching voices of each ego-state that has its own agenda and which is affected in multiple ways by things relative. Past posts have recalled what happened with "Dave" who came for a retreat and was given the assignment to list every false role he had played over the last decade.

After some struggling, he arrived at a total of 87. He was shown how each of those had cares and concerns that numbered no less than seven in every case, concerns ranging from the financial impact that some ego-states took to be real to sexual or personal "relationship" problems that other false identities took to be real.

A quick calculation (87 x 7) showed him how throughout any given day, he could easily hear over 600 voices within. He then understood the pointer offered here which explained to him why, even while driving down the highway alone, he was in group therapy.

How could any harmony possibly manifest in such an existence where scores of not-selves are all inserting a multiplicity of cares and concerns into the mix? How, when living under the auspices of the ever-in-motion consciousness, could any sense of harmony and peace possibly manifest? What is required for a sense of harmony and peace to be enjoyed is abidance as the original nature:

Maharaj: "Awareness, being lucid harmony (sattva) in action, dissolves dullness and quietens the restlessness of the mind and gently, but steadily changes its very substance. This change need not be spectacular; it may be hardly noticeable; yet it is a deep and fundamental shift from darkness to light, from inadvertence to awareness."

Why hear the blowing of the still? Why stop rather than go? Why be quiet rather than shift into chatter overdrive?

Maharaj: "If you do not disturb this quiet and stay in it, you find that it is permeated with a light and a love you have never known; and yet you recognise it at once as your own nature. Once you have passed through this experience, you will never be the same ... again; the unruly mind may break its peace and obliterate its vision. but [the peace] is bound to return, provided the effort is sustained until the day when all bonds are broken, delusions and attachments end and life becomes supremely concentrated in the present."

When the inner resource - the inner guru - is tapped into, then the mis-perceptions about things that are "outer" will be seen to be distortions and illusions, not even slightly real, not even slightly threatening, not ever slightly harmful. In touch with the Self, one cannot be in touch with the outer not-selves that mistake delusions for truth and attachments as potential sources of freedom.

On occasion, an external guide is required to blow the still and point to the Real:

Maharaj: "Either you live with somebody who knows the Truth and submit yourself entirely to his guiding and moulding influence, or you seek the inner guide and follow the inner light wherever it takes you."

Tomorrow: The problem with the latter.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)

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THE "ADVANCED SEEKERS' SET"

FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)

CONSCIOUSNESS / AWARENESS

FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS

THE FINAL UNDERSTANDING

THE SEVEN STEPS TO REALIZATION ESSAY SERIES

A Series of Essays Discussing THE FIRST STEP on the Seven-Step Path to Realization

A Series of Essays Discussing THE SECOND STEP on the Seven-Step Path to Realization

A Series of Essays Discussing THE THIRD STEP on the Seven-Step Path to Realization

A Series of Essays Discussing THE FOURTH STEP on the Seven-Step Path to Realization

A Series of Essays Discussing THE FIFTH STEP on the Seven-Step Path to Realization

A Series of Essays Discussing THE SIXTH STEP on the Seven-Step Path to Realization

A Series of Essays Discussing THE SEVENTH STEP on the Seven-Step Path to Realization

THE "NO-DEATH" SERIES

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?

The Myth Of Death

THE "BLISSFUL ABIDANCE" BOOKS

The Ultimate Sickness, The Ultimate Medicine

I AM THAT (vs. "This Is Who I Think I Am")

Freedom From Shifting Between States of Happiness and Unhappiness

LIBERATION

Why You Must Be Empty If You Would Be Full

What BLISS Is and What BLISS Is Not

When Reality Is Overlaid Upon the Relative

There Is Nothing That Is Personal (Including You and Including God)

Overcoming the Fear of Being Totally Independent

The Essence of the Teachings

SELF-Transformation Meditation Guide, Volume One

SELF-Transformation Meditation Guide, Volume Two

THE "RELATIONSHIP" SERIES

Casting Light on the Dark Side of Relationships

Finding REAL LOVE in an Unreal World

The Path to Freedom vs. The Path to Misery


THE "FREEDOM FROM DELUSION" SERIES

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (There Is Only Peace If You're Out of Your Mind)

THERE IS NOTHING THAT IS PERSONAL (Including You and Including God)

SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ and HIS EVOLUTION

IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (And Why Knowing It Sets You Free)

SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (Recovering What Religions Lost)

Jesus Christ the Advaitin

William Shakespeare the Advaitin

THE "FINANCIAL SANITY" SERIES

LIVING WITHIN YOUR MEANS

Ending Financial Problems by Understanding Your Personality

ADVENTURE / MYSTERY FICTION
(WITH A BLEND OF NON-DUALITY POINTERS)

The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders [E-BOOK]

The Board of Directors of Wars [PAPERBACK]

RECOVERY

A Twelve-Step Journey to SELF-Transformation [E-BOOK]

A Twelve-Step Journey to SELF-Transformation [PAPERBACK]

Much of what Louise has shared has resonated with many site visitors. to that end, some have inquired recently if Louise offers the online Advaita Internet Course. The answer is, "Yes."

Whether taking the course with Louise or Floyd, the price of the course includes all 11 of the Advaita eBooks, questions sent after completion of the assigned readings, replies to your answers, and follow-up as required.

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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).
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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.
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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]
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NOTE: When you order this package, you receive three additional ebooks free: CASTING LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE OF RELATIONSHIPS, FINDING REAL LOVE IN AN UNREAL WORLD and THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS (offering the Advaita teachings in a fictional novel format)

You may visit The Official Website of Floyd Henderson for information on each book.

3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes

Received 19 August 2010 from one that just completed the entire course:

I would like to extend deepest appreciation towards you for these teachings that you have offered. It has been most valuable towards what may not have been revealed throughout this manifestation labeled "anthony." Understanding Truth and finding words for gratitude are one as is all. Thank you again for pointing "me" to THAT and the understanding that came as well. Hopeful for future "contact"! Sincerely, Anthony M. W.

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The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders offers the non-duality message by way of a mystery-adventure novel, discussing the movement from pain to healing to awakening to peace.
From Dr. R.F. Maley, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus and former Head of the Department of Psychology, University of Houston: "Floyd Henderson's book, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders, is a fun read and an interesting mystery, but perhaps more importantly it serves as a vehicle for blending Eastern Philosophy and Native American Spirituality to make an intellectually challenging novel. The book's insights into both relationships and authoritarian conditioning of people in our society make it a must read, tracing the roots of narcissistic, sociopathic and psychopathic behaviors to the very core of the culture. This truly witty and politically-incorrect study of the aggressive nature of 'the American character' offers not only a diagnosis but also a treatment plan, making the book an excellent supplemental reading in courses such as psychology, anthropology, philosophy, sociology and counseling."

You may purchase your copy of the ebook version of THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS then start reading within minutes:

The Sequel to The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders:
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS

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The Board of Directors of Wars

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Please enter the silence of contemplation.