Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Table of Contents

Today's Considerations
Recent Posts and Archives
Tools for Realization
Author's eBooks
Author's Paperback Books
Free eBooks

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS

[See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a video which includes a discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj] 

Rather than being "pro-" or "anti-" religion or "pro-" or "anti-" spirituality, the invitation here is to consider becoming doggedly “anti-ignorance” and tenaciously "anti-stupidity" and staunchly “pro-sanity.” 
--fh 
To review: 

The discussion at this point in the series is now focusing on "The Most Influential Obstacles Of All" which have come via dreamed up myths and superstitions and via "religious" and / or "spiritual" sources, including religious and / or spiritual thoughts, ideas, concepts, notions, views, theories, inklings, perceptions, a.k.a., "beliefs." 

Recall the man who approached me after a talk and said, "I was abused as a child by a priest. I've done years of work to try to get beyond that, but where I am today is, I still cringe when people start talking religion to me. So my question is, have you found a way to guide people to realization and freedom without their having to buy into the dogma you talk about?" 

Thus, this: 

REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL” 

Next, this “you,” which is a total misperception, is actually nothing more than what can be called a “composite unity” for the sake of discussion, a composite unity which is made of - and which is circulating - plant food elements, air, and conscious-energy. And science affirms that non-dual pointer, just as Maharaj predicted. 

And when mahasamadhi is taken, what happens? Science explains that as well:

The elements return to the universal pool of elements; the air returns to the universal pool of air; and the conscious-energy returns to the universal pool of conscious-energy which will not be "conscious of" because it must be manifested within a space for conscious-of-ness to happen. 

(Maharaj: “Consciousness is present everywhere, but knowledge of that consciousness is dependent on the form.” See? That's another pointer which is validated by the scientific understanding of the functioning of the universe.) 

So if there is "no form" - that is, no space or elemental plant food body in which the consciousness can manifest - then there can be no "consciousness of" anything. Want to be free of misery and suffering which can only register while the conscious-energy is manifested? Wait not. Take the steps to reach that condition at the only point when it can be reached: right now. 

How else does the abidance unfold here, and how can it also unfold for you if the understanding comes? 

Here, there is no man or men who are feared; there is no woman or women who are feared; there is no devil that is feared or god that is adored; there is no sin that is hated and there is no virtue that is admired; here, there is nobody trying to be somebody, much less trying to be Somebody; 

here, there is neither a believer nor a non-believer, and as the No Belief-er eBook below explains, the closest such term that could be used to point to the condition here, just for the sake of discussion and clarification, would be a "no-belief-er," so to speak. 

Here, there is no “one,” so there is certainly no one with any delusions about power (or Power) or control; abiding spontaneously, there is no “one” here that is deluded into believing that firm plans can be made for any given day, much less for a week or for a month or for a year, much less for years. Nothing except humans believe that they can plan and that events will roll out as planned. 

Here, there has never been the slightest sense that anyone should ever be told to “love what is, including an assault, a beating, a stabbing, a mugging, a battering, or a rape." 

Here, there is neither upgrading nor downgrading, including upgrading or downgrading persons based on race or sexual preference or social position; here, there is no upgrading of "this world" to a grand next world such as “heaven”; there is no upgrading of "this world" to a “higher plane” in “the next life"; 

and there is no downgrading of "this world" to a horrible next world such as “hell” or to a “lower plane” in "the next life.” (Maharaj: "There is no question of elevating to a higher level. Here it is only a question of understanding" and, again, "Both experience and experiencer will disappear.") 

Here, there is no “search for meaning” or for “my life’s purpose.” (Maharaj: “From the Absolute no-knowing state, spontaneously, this consciousness ‘I am’ has appeared. There is no reason, no cause.”) 

Here, too, there are no efforts to meet anyone’s or any culture’s definition of “success.” (Maharaj: “There is no progress," and that includes "now" and "later.") 

Here, therefore, there is no paying of any attention at all to one who talks about “The Spiritual Laws of Success” and about “fulfilling dreams.” (Persons might as well try to fulfill their desire to catch a mirage and keep it in their home for the remainder of the relative existence). 

Here, there are also no "intentions" because the abidance happens spontaneously; there is no effort to “advance a spirit or soul” because there is no spirit or soul and because trying to advance anything involves duality and upgrading. (Again, Maharaj: "There is no progress.") 

Here, there is no effort to find the “Infinite Self” because the only thing infinite is energy-matter and neither energy nor matter involves any Self-ness. (Maharaj said, “Trace the world to its source and you will find that before the world was, you were, and when the world is no longer, you remain.” Was he talking about a literal “you”? No. He made clear that “What begins and ends is mere appearance” and “When you are thoroughly knowledgeable, you will come to the conclusion that this beingness is also an illusion.” Was he talking about a literal “You”? No. Again: He was not identified with a self or with a Self and he remained forever undefined.) 

Also here, there is no effort to find power or a Power, including "Power Now" or a Power to be met later because there is no longer any addiction to the desire for power (or for a Power) in order to be able to control. 

Similarly, being freed from the delusion that humans can control anything eliminates praying because what praying is really about is trying to access a Power which will allow one to avoid whatever one fears and to obtain whatever one desires. 

(Again, Maharaj: “First of all you identify something as being good or bad for yourself. Then, in an effort to acquire good or to get rid of the bad, you have invented a God. Then you worship such a God and . . . you pray to that God for something good to happen to you.") 

Because all fears and desires are rooted in personal identification, neither fear nor desire manifests since belief in all identifications (including self, selves, and a Self) have been discarded; thus, there is no desire to have an "ageless body" or a "timeless mind," the mind having come to an end when the last concept, idea, notion, a.k.a., "belief,” was discarded. 

Next, understand that there is no eternal benefit or reward as a result of being free of personality identifications; nor is there an eternal punishment. Whatever the result of freedom from identifications and from Identification, such freedom can only happen now, can only be known now, and can only be enjoyed now

(Maharaj: “You have some experiences and you try to benefit from them, but remember that whatever is going to be of use to you ultimately is going to harm you” and “Whatever spiritual things you aspire to know are all happening in this objective world, in the illusion. All this is happening in the objective world. All is dishonesty. There is no truth in this fraud.") 

To have been fooled into believing that a fraud is not a fraud involves what Maharaj called “learned ignorance” and “insanity.” To be free of those symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness, one must question all objectively with a fearless willingness to doubt anything and everything which has long been believed in order to determine if what has been unquestioningly accepted as the truth might be fraudulent. 

To be free of those symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness, one must also see that a lie is a lie and see, ultimately, that all lies are lies. And one must see that Maharaj was spot on when he said that all accumulated knowledge amounts to nothing more than "learned ignorance." 

If whatever spiritual things you know are all part of the illusion and part of the fraud (which they are) 

and if 

religions generate false identities (which they do) 

and if 

Self-Inquiry can generate a singular false identity (which it can) 

then is it not obvious why an effective means of seeking must be of a type – as Maharaj ultimately concluded - which involves 

(1) something other than spiritual concepts, religious concepts, and concepts about a “Supreme Self” 

and which, in fact, involves 

(2) no concepts at all? 

To be continued.
NEW OFFER: 

Watch an updated seven-hour streaming video of a retreat with Floyd Henderson which can be viewed by anyone with internet access. (In this video; all seven of the steps on "the path" as taught by Maharaj are explained and discussed.) 


If interested; click the button below to pay the fee via PayPal. You will then receive an email which includes the link for you to view the private, unlisted video via an arrangement we have made with YouTube, Inc. You do not have to have a YouTube account to watch this privately streamed video. 

(If you do not receive the link promptly, your computer or email provider may have high filter settings. Check your spam and trash folders because some providers automatically transfer emails containing links to those folders.) 

To access the seven-hour streaming video of a retreat and begin watching right away, click this "Buy Now" button: 

Buy Now 

Please enter into the silence of contemplation. 

[NOTE: The four most recent posts are below. You may access all of the posts in this series and in the previous series and several thousand other posts as well by clicking on the links in the "Recent Posts and Archives" section.] 

In addition to the five non-duality books made available without charge by Andy Gugar, Jr. (see “FREEBIES” above), you can now access nearly 3,300 posts for any topics of interest to you.

Monday, February 26, 2018

THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE WHICH PROVIDES AN UNDERSTANDING OF "NO YOU-NESS," Part Forty-Seven

Table of Contents

Today's Considerations
Recent Posts and Archives
Tools for Realization
Author's eBooks
Author's Paperback Books
Free eBooks

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS

[See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a video which includes a discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj] 

Rather than being "pro-" or "anti-" religion or "pro-" or "anti-" spirituality, the invitation here is to consider becoming doggedly “anti-ignorance” and tenaciously "anti-stupidity" and staunchly “pro-sanity.” 
--fh 
To review: 

The discussion at this point in the series is now focusing on "The Most Influential Obstacles Of All" which have come via dreamed up myths and superstitions and via "religious" and / or "spiritual" sources, including religious and / or spiritual thoughts, ideas, concepts, notions, views, theories, inklings, perceptions, a.k.a., "beliefs." 

Recall the man who approached me after a talk and said, "I was abused as a child by a priest. I've done years of work to try to get beyond that, but where I am today is, I still cringe when people start talking religion to me. So my question is, have you found a way to guide people to realization and freedom without their having to buy into the dogma you talk about?" 

Thus, this:

REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL” 

Is it possible that seeking is probably triggered more than anything else by unmet desires and / or ongoing fears? How many have sought out a God or gods or goddesses in an effort to try to get some additional help at getting what is desired but not yet attained? 

In that regard, Maharaj explained: "You have invented a God and worship such a God and pray to that God for something good to happen to you," be that "something good" the fulfillment of something desired or the avoidance of something feared. 

Note, too, that the "something feared" which inspires the endless flaunting of one's "Super Religious" roles or one's "Spiritual Giant" role often involves the fear that one's "super-good image" might be exposed for what it actually is: a totally bogus, totally inauthentic fabrication. That fear inspires a constant public displaying of, by word and / or by deed, one's supposed devotion to and supposed closeness to God and God's "One True Prophet."

Let's see what that looks like in practice with a recent incident which illustrates the pointer:

Last week, I sent a text to one of those types who is staying with an ill relative in order to check on the status of the sick one. The response from her included three lines.

The first line reported the status as "some improvement," which was all that needed to be said.

But then another line was added, saying, "Thank you Jesus."

Then a third line was added, saying, "I am praying."

(I checked with my attorney, but she said I could not sue for reimbursement of cleaning costs simply because the woman's texts triggered a spontaneous gag reflex which led me to toss my cookies all over my phone. Impartial witnessing really is being called for in every moment on this planet. 😀 ) 

So there came three text messages when only one was called for. The two extra texts were there to reinforce an image, and those extra texts were the inspiration of the subconscious agenda of false ego-states - which are believed by her to be "really good ones" - and which were being typed by one who can only talk / type from a subconscious state (and therefore "in her sleep"), driven as she is by the agendas of her false identities to maintain and constantly show off their supposedly High Holy State. So it is.

What might Maharaj have counseled in that case? 

“All you need is to get rid of the tendency to define your self.”

All fears and all desires begin with the assignment or assumption of an identity because it is each assigned or assumed personality which brings with it a primary desire and a primary fear. Maharaj understood that religions generate false identities, so he kicked out of the loft those who came to flaunt such identities; 

he understood that spirituality generates false identities as well, so he also kicked "spiritual giants" out of the loft and eventually began advising seekers to "stop reading the 'spiritual classic' I AM THAT" and to "give up spirituality"; and he also came to understand that Self-Inquiry - leading to the notion that one is some sort of "Supreme Self" - can generate a singular, but nevertheless false, identity as well. 

Eventually his message focused on the point that it is “self”-inquiry which makes clear who you are not; that realizing all that you are not can eliminate the bogus belief in both personal and special identities; and that - since false identities generate all fears and desires - that freedom can come only after all identities are cast aside. 

Should one find all that one is not, and abandon belief in all identifications (including the “good” ones and the “bad” ones and the “common, everyday ones” and the “Special One or Ones”) then only can one abide naturally in an agenda-less fashion - the same way all living things on the planet abide except for humans). 

Should one become who-less and WHO-less and identity-less and Identity-less, then the abidance can unfold as it does here. 

Again, Maharaj: “All you need is to get rid of the tendency to define your self” 

and 

“I really do not see myself related to anybody and anything. Not even to a Self, whatever that Self may be. I remain forever - undefined.” (See why he said “knowing who you are not is enough”? If he eventually gave up all involvement with seeking a Self or knowing a Self or relating to a Self, then why would Self-Inquiry be a requirement for becoming freed from misery and suffering which he said is "the teacher's sole concern"?) 

Next, consider the implications of this bit of syllogistic reasoning: 

Maharaj: 

(A) "The teacher’s sole concern is with ‘suffering and the ending of suffering’.” 

(B) "To me, dependence on anything for happiness is utter misery." 

Ergo, 

(C) the job of the teacher is to eliminate dependence. 

Here, there is no dependence so there is no misery or suffering. The same can manifest during the remainder of "your" relative existence as well. 

Key, though, is understanding this: misery and suffering can only be experienced during the relative existence. Post-manifestation, there will be no “one" to be miserable, no “one” to suffer, and no “one” to be happy or joyous or blissful. (Maharaj: “Both experience and experiencer will disappear.") 

Recall the response from the woman in St. Louis when she was offered these considerations: 

“All is energy-matter. Neither energy nor matter can be created nor destroyed; thus, there can never have been any 'creator' or 'Creator.' All has always been. Babies are not created . . . energy-matter simply cycles. No 'Sustainer-God' has ever existed because there is no 'one' to be sustained. No 'Destroyer-God' exists because nothing can be destroyed. And no 'Creator-God' exists because nothing has ever been created."

Her response: “Floyd, millions of people cannot be wrong about their belief in God.” 

The reply: 

“Right you are. Millions of people have not been wrong. The fact is that billions and trillions of people have been wrong . . . in their beliefs.” 

Such distortion and delusion continue today. Billions of persons are concerned about avoiding misery and suffering in “the next life” or on “the next plane,” having been programmed to believe in such things because they have been programmed to believe, dualistically, in "themselves" and in "lower selves" and in "higher selves" and in "their Supreme Selves." 

There is no Creator-God or Destroyer-God or gods or goddesses, so there has been no creation of either a better world or a worse world which awaits you / “You”; thus, Maharaj abandoned talk about dogma and about spirituality because 

(1) “The teacher’s sole concern is with ‘suffering and the ending of suffering’” 

and because 

(2) misery and suffering can only happen now, never later. 

Therefore, it only makes sense, if the teacher's sole concern involves the elimination of misery and suffering, to discuss the way that the actual relative existence is unfolding rather than discuss the dreamed up way that a imaginary existence is going to unfold later. 

Again, Maharaj: “Both experience and experiencer will disappear." 

To be continued.
NEW OFFER: 

Watch an updated seven-hour streaming video of a retreat with Floyd Henderson which can be viewed by anyone with internet access. (In this video; all seven of the steps on "the path" as taught by Maharaj are explained and discussed.) 


If interested; click the button below to pay the fee via PayPal. You will then receive an email which includes the link for you to view the private, unlisted video via an arrangement we have made with YouTube, Inc. You do not have to have a YouTube account to watch this privately streamed video. 

(If you do not receive the link promptly, your computer or email provider may have high filter settings. Check your spam and trash folders because some providers automatically transfer emails containing links to those folders.) 

To access the seven-hour streaming video of a retreat and begin watching right away, click this "Buy Now" button: 

Buy Now 

Please enter into the silence of contemplation. 

[NOTE: The four most recent posts are below. You may access all of the posts in this series and in the previous series and several thousand other posts as well by clicking on the links in the "Recent Posts and Archives" section.] 

In addition to the five non-duality books made available without charge by Andy Gugar, Jr. (see “FREEBIES” above), you can now access nearly 3,300 posts for any topics of interest to you.

Sunday, February 25, 2018

THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE WHICH PROVIDES AN UNDERSTANDING OF "NO YOU-NESS," Part Forty-Six

Table of Contents

Today's Considerations
Recent Posts and Archives
Tools for Realization
Author's eBooks
Author's Paperback Books
Free eBooks

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS

[See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a video which includes a discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj] 

Rather than being "pro-" or "anti-" religion or "pro-" or "anti-" spirituality, the invitation here is to consider becoming doggedly “anti-ignorance” and tenaciously "anti-stupidity" and staunchly “pro-sanity.” 
--fh 
 To review: 

The discussion at this point in the series is now focusing on "The Most Influential Obstacles Of All" which have come via dreamed up myths and superstitions and via "religious" and / or "spiritual" sources, including religious and / or spiritual thoughts, ideas, concepts, notions, views, theories, inklings, perceptions, a.k.a., "beliefs." 

Recall the man who approached me after a talk and said, "I was abused as a child by a priest. I've done years of work to try to get beyond that, but where I am today is, I still cringe when people start talking religion to me. So my question is, have you found a way to guide people to realization and freedom without their having to buy into the dogma you talk about?" 

Thus, this: 

REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL” 

To be free of the belief in the concept of “Being Somebody” instead of “Not Concluding That One Is Somebody or Something” and thus becoming able to merely be and enjoy that state, Maharaj's point that science can validate and facilitate the understanding can come into play and assist seekers in grasping the truths of beingness and non-beingness and that which is beyond both. 

The man mentioned above - the one seeking an alternative means of seeking from those which are the most popular - was not alone. In the last twenty-nine years during which I've been sharing non-dual pointers for consideration, hundreds upon hundreds has joined him in expressing that same sentiment. 

A woman wrote to ask if there might be some non-traditional, alternative approach - other than those being used by most seekers - which her nineteen-year-old son might try. After years of seeking in several traditional venues, he shared with her that he felt that the non-dual understanding could possibly lead to some clarity and peace but it was clear that he had "burned out" trying religious and spiritual and mythical and SELF-Inquiry approaches and had found them all to be tiresome and ineffective, at least in his case. 

Should there not be such an alternative, say for those who were abused or molested in a church and cannot seek through that institution? Should there not be an alternative for those types who can see clearly enough to know that, often, “spirituality” - as practiced in many venues nowadays - is little more than another form of religion with a membership who have not been freed from their false ego-states and their egotism but think that they are actually better than, or on a higher plane than, religious people? 

Also, should there not be an alternative for the practical, no-nonsense, matter-of-fact types who cannot relate to “deep philosophical talks” and who cannot relate to the enigmatic and mythical language of such approaches as neo-vedanta (which was structured in a fashion which would allow its key spokesman to tap into profitable Western audiences by blending religion and spirituality in order to come up with what would be a popular message among those people)? 

And what about current Western seekers? Should something not be available for those who are reportedly leaving organized religion but know not where to seek next? During the last few years in the U.S., this is how the religious landscape has changed: in 2014, seventy-one percent of U.S. adults claimed to be Christians (which was the lowest percentage to date with a decline of five million adults and a drop of eight percentage points since a similar Pew survey in 2007). 

More significantly, it has been determined that, among U.S. adults who claim to be Christian, fewer than 28% of those people are actually “active, regular participants” in their religion. 

Many more nowadays are seeming to reach a point where they ask, “Is this all there is?” and when they find that the truthful answer is “Yes, that’s all we have to offer,” they are leaving. Yet what if they should reach a point later on where they feel the urge to seek, to try to find “the rest of the story,” or to try to find what is be understood that has not yet been grasped? 

Many of those were exposed to dogma early on with no lasting results and are now seeking "relief" or "power" or "reformation" via spiritual avenues. How's that working? Some alcoholics try that approach, but a U.S. Government / major university research project spent $22,000,000.00 to study in the U.S. and in many “developed” nations around the globe the actual results achieved by the most popular organization that is offering “a spirituality-based treatment plan for addiction.” 

What they found: the groups only have a “2% to 5% success rate,” and amazingly, they list in the “success” column the members who are able to run up a grand total of . . . “five years of sobriety.” 

"Success"? Really? 

For those types as well, when some of them ask, “Is this all there is?” they eventually find out that the answer is “Yes, that’s all we’ve got for you”; thus, they leave but may well have the urge at some later point to seek via another avenue. Should there be an alternative for those types? 

Maharaj’s conclusion in regards to all of those questions about an alternative was “Yes,” and he acted on that. Seeing that his religious / non-dual version of the Ultimate Medicine was not treating the Ultimate Sickness effectively, and seeing that his next variety of the Medicine – a spirituality / non-dual version – was not treating the Ultimate Sickness effectively, he tried a new version of the Medicine designed to address the roots of the Sickness, namely, the “mental / mind-based / ignorance / insanity” problems of humanity. 

Why did so few accept his shift, and why do so few try that approach nowadays? Because it does not promise to provide that which the masses are addicted to. Which is? It is two-fold, actually: 

The primary addiction of humans is to a desire to control, and the secondary addiction is to the desire for power / Power in order to be able to control. All other addictions come after those two primary and most widespread addictions. 

Contrary to the popular message being shared by many who falsely claim that they are “non-dual teachers,” Maharaj’s final version of the Medicine promised no gaining of power and no merging with a Power whose "celestial muscle" can be tapped into in order to be able to control events and people on planet earth. Maharaj offered instead to take away all desires, including the desire for control and the desire for power / Power. 

So much for those promising that their approach / their latest book / their seminars etc. can give you “power”; can provide you “power by way of intentions”; can provide “power now”; can lead to your “ambitions being met now”; can reveal “the secrets of success”; can assure you “an ageless body and timeless mind”; can lead to “the spontaneous fulfillment of your desires”; can lead to the “fulfillment of your dreams,” yada . . . yada . . . yada. 

For those who want to seek all that, rock and roll. For those who think they need no longer seek because they have “found it all” by way of their religious or spiritual organizations, rock and roll. But for those that would seek, yet have tired of seeking through the traditional approaches which claim "a very high success rate" - though the facts reveal a very high failure rate in terms of delivering what is sought - there is an alternative. Does the alternative promise a high success rate? Hardly. 

Yet it is there to be tried by those who have figured out that they do not need more but need far less than they already have; for those who had wanted to learn more but have finally realized that they need to un-learn all; and for those who have already been programmed and conditioned far too much but have spent decades allowing leaders to program them and condition them even more. 

For them, there is an approach which makes clear that more programming and more conditioning and being re-programmed are not the proper treatment for the Ultimate Sickness and for learned ignorance and for insanity but that de-programming and de-conditioning and de-programming are being called for instead. 

For those who are tired of working to try to “be somebody” and working to try to “be something” or who now believe that they really are “some Supreme Something,” there is an alternative. It is a natural and easily-managed alternative which can allow persons to give up the second job which they have made out of what should be mere living; 

which can allow them to be freed from their religious or spiritual or mythical workaholism; and which can allow them to unwind and calm down and dance lightly and loosen up and lighten up and take a break and chill out and take it easy and sit back every now and then and just relax for a while in what Maharaj called “the cool blue shade.” 

To be continued.
NEW OFFER: 

Watch an updated seven-hour streaming video of a retreat with Floyd Henderson which can be viewed by anyone with internet access. (In this video; all seven of the steps on "the path" as taught by Maharaj are explained and discussed.) 


If interested; click the button below to pay the fee via PayPal. You will then receive an email which includes the link for you to view the private, unlisted video via an arrangement we have made with YouTube, Inc. You do not have to have a YouTube account to watch this privately streamed video. 

(If you do not receive the link promptly, your computer or email provider may have high filter settings. Check your spam and trash folders because some providers automatically transfer emails containing links to those folders.) 

To access the seven-hour streaming video of a retreat and begin watching right away, click this "Buy Now" button: 

Buy Now 

Please enter into the silence of contemplation. 

[NOTE: The four most recent posts are below. You may access all of the posts in this series and in the previous series and several thousand other posts as well by clicking on the links in the "Recent Posts and Archives" section.] 

In addition to the five non-duality books made available without charge by Andy Gugar, Jr. (see “FREEBIES” above), you can now access nearly 3,300 posts for any topics of interest to you.

Saturday, February 24, 2018

THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE WHICH PROVIDES AN UNDERSTANDING OF "NO YOU-NESS," Part Forty-Five

Table of Contents

Today's Considerations
Recent Posts and Archives
Tools for Realization
Author's eBooks
Author's Paperback Books
Free eBooks

TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS

[See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a video which includes a discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj] 

Rather than being "pro-" or "anti-" religion or "pro-" or "anti-" spirituality, the invitation here is to consider becoming doggedly “anti-ignorance” and tenaciously "anti-stupidity" and staunchly “pro-sanity.” 
--fh 
To review: 

The discussion at this point in the series is now focusing on "The Most Influential Obstacles Of All" which have come via dreamed up myths and superstitions and via "religious" and / or "spiritual" sources, including religious and / or spiritual thoughts, ideas, concepts, notions, views, theories, inklings, perceptions, a.k.a., "beliefs." 

Recall the man who approached me after a talk and said, "I was abused as a child by a priest. I've done years of work to try to get beyond that, but where I am today is, I still cringe when people start talking religion to me. So my question is, have you found a way to guide people to realization and freedom without their having to buy into the dogma you talk about?" 

Thus, this: 

REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL” 

“Ego” is the Latin word for “I.” In non-duality discussions, “ego” points to the false “I” (and "egotism" is one of the many ego-defense mechanisms which minds use to preserve false identities and appearances). 

[More accurately, the proper term to use would be the false “I’s” because no single identity is ever assigned or assumed. Identities always appear in multiples, so all persons eventually suffer from the Multiple Personality Disorder, and usually that begins early on.] 

Assigned personal identities are those handed down by parents, relatives, etc. Assumed personal identities are those supposedly chosen by persons from a pool of potential identities that have been catalogued within communities and cultures and by governments and religious organizations, etc. 

An “ego” or false “I” as used by Maharaj after he finally began focusing on the psychological / mind-roots of the Ultimate Sickness could refer to a concept, specifically referring to a false self-concept or to multiple "false selves"-concept. 

The “I” or multiple “I’s” are stored in a part of the brain called “the mind.” In that process, humanity loses touch with the original, post-manifestation of consciousness intimations of immortality which are pre-stored in “an inner guru” or “the inner resource” which allows for a sense early on one’s Original Nature and for an understanding of the fact that “who they have told me I am, that is not who I am at all.” Among some that sense that fact early on, questioning begins. 

In the case with Andy Gugar, Jr. and in the case here as well, questions were being raised by the age of 5 or 6. In some, the questioning intensifies by the teen years when angst manifests because of the conflict between “who 'they' would have you be” and the sense that "you are not who they are telling you that you are” along with the awareness that “you do not want to be what they are telling you they want you to be.” 

Is it any wonder that persons reach their early adulthood years without having any clue at all about anything at all? Confusion reigns, and when confusion reigns, chaos follows. [“A dual-minded person is unstable in all ways.”] 

Yet pressure comes from those in positions of influence: “Stop with all the destructive stuff that is preventing you from being a success. Set a course for your life and get a career or go out there and find someone to take care of you and stop with all the feely-feelings and the philosophical questions and all the mental angst and trying to analyze and trying to understand everything. Move on, dammit! Fit in and make something of yourself! Go be somebody!” 

So these sorts of advice take over: 

and 


and 


 And once all of that is accepted as truth, these become the guiding principles: 


 and 


and



Thus the accumulation of an assortment of usually-life-long-distortions begins with "I was born"; continues with the assignment or assumptions of a host of false identities which supposedly identify and label that "I"; then the false selves begin self-upgrading after persons become trapped in the false identities of multiple assigned and assumed ego-states; and then full-blown egotism kicks in and takes over: 

"Since being born, I have really become somebody" and "Now, I am really something, huh?" etc.

Having been robbed of the ability to understand (as a result of programming and conditioning and acculturation and domestication and brainwashing and indoctrination) most eventually just give up, fall in line, and walk in file with those making up the long line of the planet's Night-of-the-Living-Dead”-type zombies. Or, some might march to the beat of the drum of "success," whatever the definition of "success" might be in their culture. 

Because the masses become inundated with the perverted advice offered as “wisdom” from parents and relatives and community leaders, or whatever is being modeled by those in the public spotlight, most will eventually start marching in step with all of the other sleepwalkers and sleeptalkers and will just “play the game,” whichever game they might find and settle into playing. 

Most will become a part of the 97% on the planet who unquestioningly accept the teachings of whichever organized religion their parents introduced them to. A few will be pulled away from dogma and introduced to "spirituality" (which claims to involve things of a far-higher plane than religion). Some will be pulled into groups whose members pass on their mythical and myth-based and superstition-based belief systems. 

All will become "unteachable" except for the few who never got past those original, internal sensations which were emanating from within, from “the inner guru” or “the inner resource.” Thus, all will feel dis-eased (by the effects of the Ultimate Sickness); few will ever even recognize their dis-ease because most have become dissociated as a result of their programming, conditioning, etc.; 

therefore, even the few who were originally engaged in a quest for answers - but who were forced off course by those influencing them - will not return to the "path" which they had only begun to consider during a brief period in the past. 

While most among the masses will march off in their sleep - just as they were programmed and conditioned to do - in order to receive their weekly or daily doses of the mental opiates served up in churches and other sky cults and in synagogues and in temples and in mosques and in communes and, yes, even in ashrams; 

and while others who are following their orders to keep coming back will march off in their sleep to attend their daily meetings - just as they have been re-programmed to do; and while a few will find something mythical or supposedly "extraordinary" which now blocks them from being in touch with reality; only a few will stop seeking along those conventional avenues and move to the road less traveled. 

A few might finally ask the question “Who am I, really?” and then move into what often becomes a lifetime of seeking (driven by magical and deep and philosophical and theoretical and dreamy thinking). Fewer still will reach an awareness of their Original Nature when nothing was known, nothing was thought, nothing was said, and nothing was done because there was no “one” to know or think or say or do anything. 

Only a few with move beyond “I am really something” and “I am really somebody” and reach, via the Self-Inquiry process, the conclusion that “I Am Really Something Special in an Other-Worldly Way” and “I Am Really That Which is Something Supreme.” 

And only fewer still (per Maharaj’s final guesstimate, “one in ten million”) will reach a state that is void of any sense of “WHO-ness” or “beingness” or “non-beingness” and will then, for the remainder of the manifestation, be able to just be, finally being truly free (by virtue of the fact that they have reached a state of “zero concepts,” zero beliefs, zero identities, and a state with no "Identity," either). 

Tomorrow: More on “Being Somebody” vs. “Not Concluding That One Is Somebody or Something” and merely being instead. 

To be continued.
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Friday, February 23, 2018

THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE WHICH PROVIDES AN UNDERSTANDING OF "NO YOU-NESS," Part Forty-Four

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TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS

[See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a video which includes a discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj] 

Rather than being "pro- or anti- religion" or "pro- or anti- spirituality", the invitation here is to consider becoming doggedly “anti-ignorance” and tenaciously "anti-stupidity" and staunchly “pro-sanity.” 

To review: 

The discussion at this point in the series is now focusing on "The Most Influential Obstacles Of All" which have come via dreamed up myths and superstitions and via "religious" and / or "spiritual" sources, including religious and / or spiritual thoughts, ideas, concepts, notions, views, theories, inklings, perceptions, a.k.a., "beliefs." 

Recall the man who approached me after a talk and said, "I was abused as a child by a priest. I've done years of work to try to get beyond that, but where I am today is, I still cringe when people start talking religion to me. So my question is, have you found a way to guide people to realization and freedom without their having to buy into the dogma you talk about?" 

Thus, this: 

REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL” 

[Continuing with Tuesday's post

Next, Cicero said that one of "the six major mistakes of mankind" is “believing that personal gain is made by crushing others.” The concept of "personal gain” is supported by the desires of ego-states to (mentally) upgrade themselves. "Crushing others" is inspired by ego and egotism which are, in turn, driven constantly by the desire of ego-states to (mentally) upgrade themselves (such as upgrading one’s self image to “A Special Self” instead) and the tendency of ego-states to downgrade all others. 

Among those no longer seeking because they think they have found but have not, there is still no freedom from identification. There is merely the assumption of new and improved and upgraded identities which have been assumed in place of formerly-assumed false identities which were deemed to be of a lower grade. The fact: all identities are based in delusion and in self-deception and, yes, even in Self-deception. 

Once again, to review, Maharaj's take on these pointers regarding "self" and "Self": 

"It is enough to know who you are not" 

and 

“Whatever I am telling you is not the truth . . . .” 

and 

“The ‘discovery of truth’ is in the discernment of the false” 

and 

“What the real is cannot be told” 

and 

“You cannot say truthfully about yourself anything except 'I am'” 

and 

“The desire for truth is the highest of all desires, yet, it is still a desire” 

and 

“Once you are convinced that you cannot say truthfully about yourself anything except ‘I am’ and that nothing which can be pointed at can be yourself, you are no longer intent on verbalizing ‘What You Are’.” 

Realize the falseness of all identification / Identification and then you will no longer be intent on verbalizing ‘What You Are’.” 

Once more: In the end, Maharaj advised seekers to stop reading I AM THAT; to give up all of their spirituality and spiritual doingness and spiritual workaholism; to stop talking about "Who You Are"; to focus on reaching a state of “zero concepts” and zero identity; and to focus on being totally free of the mind, and – thereafter – being free, period. 


****** 


Then comes Leg Four: 


To be continued.
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Thursday, February 22, 2018

THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE WHICH PROVIDES AN UNDERSTANDING OF "NO YOU-NESS," Part Forty-Three

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TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS

[See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a video which includes a discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj] 

To clarify, the suggestion to seek facts and truth vs. religious and spiritual concepts does not involve even the slightest hint of an anti-religion / anti-spirituality bias. Maharaj tried both religion and spirituality at varying times early on as key ingredients in his version of the Ultimate Medicine. But he would eventually abandon the use of both. Why? 

He abandoned them both because they proved to be ineffective, long-term, and because he came to understand that any version of the Ultimate Medicine which was to have any efficacy at all called for the use of psychology-based pointers because the Ultimate Sickness, he came to see, is a mental sickness. 

Note the sequence of the awarenesses which came and which led him to the shifts he made: 

I. Maharaj made clear that the sole job of the non-dual teacher is to free his protégés of the learned ignorance which is trapping them in misery and suffering. 

II. He came to see, via his own experiences, that the elimination of learned ignorance and entrapment in misery and suffering had nothing to do with learning more and more dogma or with endlessly engaging in spiritual exercises. 

III. Therefore, his ending the use of both had nothing to do with being anti-religion or anti-spirituality but instead had everything to do with setting aside versions of the Ultimate Medicine which he saw were ineffective in order to use a version which could work. 

IV. When Maharaj advised seekers to forget both religion and spirituality, it had nothing to do with being "anti-" any specific institution or organization but had everything to do with finding a more effective version of the Ultimate Medicine which could free seekers from the key symptoms of the Ultimate (Mental) Sickness, namely, "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity." 

V. He also realized that the two predominant sources of those mental symptoms of "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity" were the very things he had tried to use to eliminate those symptoms.

VI. Most significantly, he realized that such an approach made no sense at all. 

He may as well have been trying to treat persons with tuberculosis by moving them into the ward of a hospital where scores of TB patients were isolated and instructing his listeners to spend the entire day every day bending over and placing their noses near the mouths of the sickest TB patients and inhaling their diseased breath. 

One cannot be rendered free of "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity" by taking in more "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity" from the persons who are already spreading more "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity" than any others. 

Yet even then, keeping one's distance from those spreading more "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity" than any others does not imply that those persons or their venues are to be hated. 

In my youth, I spent many months each year with Grandmother, and some days I would play with the children of one of her nearest neighbors, a fellow named Josh. When I arrived one summer at the end of May, one of the first things Grandmother said was "This summer, you must stay away from Josh's house and his children. He has TB now and I don't want you to get sick." 

In the city where I lived with my parents, Mr. Kerley across the street had recently bought the first TV in our neighborhood and he would let us watch one thirty-minute program a week. With that experience fresh in the consciousness, it was easy for me to misunderstand Grandmother, so I said, "I watch thirty minutes of TV every week. Is that going to make me sick?" She smiled and replied, "I said 'TB,' meaning tuberculosis, not 'TV'." 

(It would be years later before I came to understand that TV in some cases can make parts of a population very sick, such as when a station transmits and passes along the symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness to its viewers.) 

But to continue with the point that Maharaj's later warning to his visitors - that they should ignore both dogma and spirituality because neither addresses the symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness - was not evidence of any anti-religion or anti-spirituality prejudice. 

If Maharaj's experiences had shown him clearly that no place was spreading more ignorance, stupidity, and insanity than the farsan snack shops in Bombay (Mumbai), then he would have advised seekers to stay away from farsan snack shops. If a seeker wanted to go inside and try one of the salty snacks, he may have said, "Rock and roll. Visit that place if you like, but do not stay there. Move beyond." 

It so happened, however, that he came to understand not that the most ignorance, stupidity, and insanity was being spread in farsan snack shops but that, in fact, the most ignorance, stupidity, and insanity was being spread in religious and spiritual venues. And that is the sole reason he advised seekers to seek elsewhere rather than in religious and spiritual venues.

And, yes, he eventually admitted that one such venue where ineffective religious and spiritual pointers had been shared was in a loft in an upper floor near Grant Road at Khetwadi 10th Lane in Bombay. 

Thus he said: "Stop reading the talks in I AM THAT. Listen to my later talks." Were there some pointers in that collection of transcripts of earlier talks which provided a glimpse into his later mind-and-psychology-focused message? Yes, but they were buried beneath far too many dogma-and-spirituality-based diversions for most readers to find. 

That is why he would later advise, “Give up spirituality” and “follow your normal inclinations" and "forget spirituality." Focusing eventually on the psychological roots of the Sickness, he advised, “There is no such thing as a mind” and “I have no mind.” He advised seekers to go to the “no-mind” state, to reach a state of “zero concepts.” Why? 

Because the Ultimate Sickness is not about having too little religion; it is not about having a “spiritual malady” or a “sick spirit.” Humankind’s main problem, he came to see, is a mental problem marked by what he called an excess of “ignorance and stupidity and insanity.” 

Religion does not cure ignorance and magical thinking. It contributes to them. Spirituality does not cure ignorance and magical thinking. It can contribute to them. Nor can either eliminate the insanity of distorted thinking, delusions, personality disorders, neuroses or psychoses. 

No, the problem with humans is not rooted in widespread agnosticism and atheism. Neither agnosticism nor atheism is widespread, evidenced by the fact that 97% of all persons claim an affiliation with one religion or another; additionally, the problem with humans is not rooted in their ignoring things spiritual. Millions upon millions are presently reporting, and reporting proudly, that they “are spiritual” or that they "are spiritual creatures presently having a human experience.” 

No, it should be clear that the problem with humanity has nothing to do with too little religion or too little spirituality because both are plentiful - and have been for thousands of years - yet the problems of humanity continued - and continues - alongside an abundance of "religious" and "spiritual" beliefs. 

Obviously, therefore, neither religion nor spirituality nor any mythical procedure offers a solution or the answer or a cure or any effective treatment for what ails humankind, namely, the preponderance of ignorance-and-stupidity-and-insanity-filled minds.

So Maharaj was not “anti-religion” and was not “anti-spirituality.” That is not the case here, either. It’s just that he came to see that both are irrelevant for those who are trapped in (and would be free of) . . .

personality and personality disorders and mind-based neuroses and psychoses

and 

misery and suffering 

which are all rooted in

the “ignorance and insanity” of the Ultimate Sickness. 

Thus, rather than becoming “anti-religion” or “anti-spirituality,” Maharaj became doggedly “anti-ignorance” and tenaciously "anti-stupidity" and staunchly “pro-sanity.” 

And that is the invitation offered here as well, specifically, to become doggedly “anti-ignorance” and tenaciously "anti-stupidity" and staunchly “pro-sanity.” 

To be continued.
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Wednesday, February 21, 2018

THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE WHICH PROVIDES AN UNDERSTANDING OF "NO YOU-NESS," Part Forty-Two

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TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS

[See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a video which includes a discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj] 

"Science will one day advance to the point that it will prove all of the non-dual teachings to be true." 
--Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj 

THE RATIONALE FOR CHOOSING SCIENTIFIC FACTS OVER THE EMOTIONAL INTOXICATION GENERATED BY RELIGIOUS / SPIRITUAL FANATICISM: 
While Religion and Science Are Not Always Incompatible, Logic and Reason and Wisdom Make Clear That If a Choice Between The Two Is To Be Made, Only One Choice Is the Sane Option 

As noted yesterday, often nowadays there are only two types of explanations offered for almost every event on the planet: 

A. Religious / and or spiritual (rooted in myths, superstitions, ancient tales, magical thinking) 

or, 

B. Scientific (rooted in evidence and facts). 

With 97% of all persons claiming a religious affiliation plus millions more claiming a spiritual status, explanation "A" is certainly the most popular and far more prevalent than "B." 

EXAMPLE #1: 

The Dalai Lama's explanation cited yesterday of why hurricanes go where they go and, specifically, why Hurricane Katrina had landfall at New Orleans, Louisiana, USA (religious, spiritual) 

vs. 

the explanation offered by scientists about why hurricanes go where they go and make landfall where they make landfall, namely, ocean temperatures, low pressure systems, high pressure systems, beta drifts, trade winds, other stirring global winds, etc. (scientific, factual). 

The stunning fact is that, in 2018, a religion vs. science debate is even happening, but google the topic and you'll find over 4.5 million current references to discussions and writings on the subject. 

EXAMPLE #2: 

"My child died because God was ready for her / him to be with Him in heaven" (religious, spiritual) 

vs. 

"Your child died because he / she had a simple infection which could have been cured by administering a round of antibiotics but your fanaticism-and-ignorance-and-insanity-based religious belief that if anything other than prayer is used to treat a sick child, it will show a lack of faith in God's healing power and He will be displeased with you" (scientific, factual). 

Parents in Oregon were charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminal mistreatment in the death of their 15-month-old daughter who would have survived had she received antibiotics, rejecting their argument that prosecution would violate their religious freedom and parental rights. 

Religious objections to medical treatment have historical roots which can be traced back to the late 1800s in England when a sect called "the Peculiar People" ended up on trial for allowing generations of children to die as a result of their decision to reject doctors and medicine. 

Today, many religious groups routinely reject some or all mainstream health care on theological grounds, including Christian Scientists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Fundamentalist Mormons, the Pentecostal Followers of Christ, the Amish, Scientologists, the members of the Unleavened Bread Ministries, and hundreds of other groups and religious cults. 

In 2008, 11-year-old Kara Neumann of Weston, Wisconsin suffered waves of nausea as she lay motionless on her deathbed, too weak to walk or speak. Kara's parents — both followers of the Unleavened Bread Ministries, an online church which shuns medical intervention — knelt in prayer beside their dying daughter. They did not call a doctor for help. A few hours later, Kara died of diabetes, a relatively common — and treatable — condition. 

Discussed earlier on this site were Herbert and Catherine Schaibles. In 2009 they let their two-year-old die from pneumonia rather than allow doctors to treat and heal the child. They were sentenced to ten years probation for involuntary manslaughter for that death. Part of their probation stated that they must seek medical care if another one of their children became sick. 

In 2014, the same two parents were still practicing faith-healing and were sent to jail that year for causing the death of their eight-month-old son Brandon in 2013 - once more, from pneumonia - by refusing to take him to the doctor. So Brandon was the second of Herbert and Catherine Schaible’s children to die because of their lack of care which was rooted in their rejection of scientific progress in treating childhood illnesses and in their religious fanaticism and their belief in religion over science. 

In the case of the second child whom they killed, the Schaibles pled no contest to third-degree murder, and as he sentenced them to between three and a half and seven years behind bars, Philadelphia Judge Benjamin Lerner told the couple, “You’ve killed two of your children . . . not God, not your church, not religious devotion — you.” 

Despite alarmingly-high child mortality rates among religious groups in the state of Idaho, U.S.A., that state is among others which offer a faith-based shield for felony crimes. 

The right-wing legislators there are basically saying, "Choose to kill your child? Then you'll be sent to prison. Choose to kill your child because of your religious beliefs and your willingness to turn your back on science and medical treatment which can save your child's life? No problem." 

One 43-year old recalled that when he was 12, he broke his ankle during a wrestling tryout. “I ended up shattering two bones in my foot,” he said. His parents approached the situation with the usual Followers' remedies – rubbing the injury with “rancid olive oil” and having him swig on Kosher wine. 

Intermittently, they would have him attempt to walk. He said, "Each time, my body would just go into shock and I would pass out.”

“I would wake up to my step-dad, my uncles and the other elders of the church kicking me and beating me, calling me 'a fag' because I didn’t have enough faith to let God come in and heal me, while my mom and my aunts were sitting there watching. And that’s called 'faith healing'.” 

Ultimately, an objective witness could come to understand that the issue is far more complicated than a "religion vs. science debate." 

An objective witness could come to understand that the issue involves (to use Maharaj's terms) . . . 

a. "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity" which are rooted in ignorant, stupid, and insane programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, indoctrination, and brainwashing 

vs. 

b. sanity and wisdom.

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Seeking

In “PART ONE” it will be seen that most persons on the planet are not seeking, and most will never seek, but for those who are seeking, most will face several obstacles:

In “PART TWO” of this book, it will be seen why many criticized Maharaj for “changing his message in his later talks.” It will be seen that the changes were not about changing the message per se as much as about changing his methodology as he experimented with one version of the Ultimate Medicine after another in order to try to find an effective means for addressing the Ultimate Sickness.

He tried a religious version of the Medicine, a Spiritual version of the Medicine, and finally settled on a version which addressed to Sickness at its core . . . at the mental and emotional level.

V.
"THE MOST DANGEROUS BELIEF OF ALL"

“Dangerous” is a term that can only apply during the relative existence, but of those who do commit suicide, for example, how many shoot themselves in the foot over and over until they “bleed out”? None. They shoot themselves in the head. Why? In order to try to stop the noise - to try to stop the chatter of a thousand monkeys – to stop the noisy mind which is the area that stores the ideas, notions, concepts, mind-stuff, etc. which drives them into the depths of insanity.

And what are those ideas, notions, concepts, etc. called, collectively? "Their beliefs." The irony? They are not their beliefs at all. They are the beliefs of “others” that were set in place via programming, conditioning, etc. and which persons then think are their own.

And what are those beliefs rooted in, and what reinforces those beliefs and convinces persons that they are sacred and worth fighting over and even sometimes worth dying for? Blind faith.

This 337-page eBook discusses those issues in detail.

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