ANNOUNCING THE RELEASE OF DENNIS WAITE’S NEWEST BOOK ON ADVAITA VEDANTA SUBJECT MATTER, Part Two

Dennis Waite has been a student of Advaita for over 20 years and maintains one of the most visited websites on the subject. He is the present Chief Moderator of the Advaitin group and has published several books, including ‘The Book of One’ and, this month, ‘Back to the Truth: 5000 Years of Advaita’. For information about the books, together with endorsements and many extracts, visit http://www.advaita.org.uk/.

Dennis was an early contributor to this site and has provided support since its inception. [See the Archives for June and July, 2005.] His unparalleled grasp of the Advaita Teachings, combined with his ability to transmit the Teachings in a fashion that allows seekers to actually find, explains why so many have sought out Dennis for his directions along the “path.”

The regular postings on this site will continue tomorrow, but today, "Part Two" of a story written by Dennis will be shared. After reading the entire story and considering the pointers, you will understand why the space is being provided to share its content with the visitors to this site.

“WHAT IS ADVAITA,” PART II
by
Dennis Waite

[Continued from yesterday. If you have not yet read “Part One,” please scroll downward to read yesterday’s post first.]

“The paper aeroplane is an even simpler example. There never was an aeroplane was there? And I don’t just mean that it was only a toy. There was only ever paper. To begin with, the paper was in the form of a flat sheet for writing on. Then, I folded it in various ways so that it took on an aerodynamic shape which could fly through the air slowly. The name that we give to that form is ‘aeroplane’. When I screwed it up, the ball-shape could be thrown more accurately. ‘Aeroplane’ and ‘ball’ were names relating to particular forms of the paper but at all times, all that ever actually existed was paper.

“Now, this sort of analysis applies to every ‘thing’ that you care to think of. Look at that table over there and this chair on which you are sitting. What are they made of? You will probably say that they are wooden chairs?”

He looked at her questioningly and she nodded, knowing at the same time that he was going to contradict her.

“Well, they are made of wood certainly, but that does not mean that they are wooden chairs! On the contrary, I would say that this, that you are sitting on, is actually chairy wood, and that object over there is tably wood. What do you say to that?”

“You mean that the thing that we call ‘chair’ is just a name that we give to the wood when it is that particular shape and being used for that particular function?” she asked, with understanding beginning to dawn.

“Exactly! I couldn’t have put it better myself. It is quite possible that I could have a bag full of pieces of wood that can be slotted together in different ways so that at one time I might assemble them into something to sit upon, another time into something to put food upon and so on. We give the various forms distinct names and we forget that they are ONLY names and forms and not distinct and separate things.

“Look – here’s an apple,” he said, picking one out of the bowl on the table and casually tossing it from one hand to the other before holding it up for her to examine. “It’s round or to be more accurate, spherical; its reddish in colour and it has”, he sniffed it, “a fruity smell. No doubt if I were to bite into it, I would find it juicy and sweet.

“Now all of these – round, red, fruity, juicy, sweet – are adjectives describing the noun ‘apple.’ Or, to use more Advaitic terms, let me say that the ‘apple’ is the ‘substantive’ – the apparently real, separately existing thing – and all of the other words are ‘attributes’ of the apple – merely incidental qualities of the thing itself. Are you with me so far?”

She nodded hesitantly but, after a little reflection, more positively.

“But suppose I had carried out this analysis with the rose that we looked at a moment ago. I could have said that it was red, delicate, fragrant, thorny and so on. And we would have noted that all of those were simply attributes and that the actual existent thing, the substantive, was the rose. But then we went on to see that the rose wasn’t real at all. It was just an assemblage of petals and sepals and so on – I’m afraid I am not a botanist! In the same way, we could say that the apple consists of seeds and flesh and skin. We may not be able to put these things together into any form different from an apple but Nature can.

“If you ask a scientist what makes an apple an apple, he will probably tell you that is the particular configuration of nucleotides in the DNA or RNA of the cells. There are many different species of apple and each one will have a slight variation in the chromosomes and it is that which differentiates the species. If you want to explain to someone what the difference is between a Bramley and a Granny Smith, you will probably say something like ‘the Bramley is large and green, used mainly for cooking and is quite sharp tasting, while the Granny Smith is still green but normally much smaller and sweeter’. But these are all adjectives or attributes. What is actually different is the physical makeup of the cell nuclei.

“But, if we look at a chromosome or a strand of DNA, are we actually looking at a self-existent, separate thing? If you look very closely through an electron microscope, you find that DNA is made up of four basic units arranged in pairs in a long, spiral chain. And any one of these units is itself made up of atoms of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, again arranged in a very specific way. So even those are not separate ‘things-in-themselves’; they are names given to particular forms of other, more fundamental things.

“And so we arrive at atoms – even the ancient Greeks used to think that everything was made up of atoms. Are these the final ‘substantives’ with all of the apparent things in the world being merely attributes? Well, unfortunately not. Science has known for a long time that atoms mainly consist of empty space with electrons spinning around a central nucleus of protons and neutrons. And science has known for somewhat less time that these particles, which were once thought to be fundamental, are themselves not solid, self-existent things but are either made up of still smaller particles or are in the form of waves, merely having probabilities of existence at many different points in space.

“Still more recently, science claimed that all of the different particles are themselves made out of different combinations of just a few particles called quarks and that those are the ultimately existing things. But they have not yet progressed far enough. The simple fact of the matter is that every ‘thing’ is ultimately only an attribute, a name and form superimposed upon a more fundamental substantive. We make the mistake of thinking that there really is a table, when actually there is only wood. We make the mistake of thinking that there is really wood, when actually there is only cellulose and sugars and proteins. We make the mistake of thinking there is protein when this is only a particular combination of atoms. “Ultimately, everything in the universe is seen to be only name and form of a single substantive.

The journalist was transfixed; not exactly open-mouthed but her pencil had not moved for some time. Eventually, she asked in a small voice: “But then where do I fit into all of this?”

“Ah”, he replied. “That again depends upon what you mean by the word ‘I’. Who you think you are – ‘Sarah’ – is essentially no different from the table and chair. You are simply name and form, imposed upon the non-dual reality. Who you really are, however… well, that is quite different – you are that non-dual reality. You see, in the final analysis, there are not two things; there is only non-duality. That is the truth; that is Advaita.”

You may find more information about Dennis and his books—and you may order your copy of his latest book, Back to the Truth: 5000 Years of Advaita—@ http://www.advaita.org.uk/.

ANNOUNCING THE RELEASE OF DENNIS WAITE’S NEWEST BOOK ON ADVAITA VEDANTA SUBJECT MATTER, Part One

F.: Dennis Waite has been a student of Advaita for over 20 years and maintains one of the most visited websites on the subject. He is the present Chief Moderator of the Advaitin group and has published several books, including ‘The Book of One’ and, this month, ‘Back to the Truth: 5000 Years of Advaita’. For information about the books, together with endorsements and many extracts, visit www.advaita.org.uk.

Dennis was an early contributor to this site and has provided support since its inception. [See the Archives for June and July, 2005.] His unparalleled grasp of the Advaita Teachings, combined with his ability to transmit the Teachings in a fashion that allows seekers to actually find, explains why so many have sought out Dennis for his directions along the “path.”

The regular postings on this site will soon be continued, but for the next two days, a story written by Dennis will be shared. After reading the entire story and considering the pointers, you will understand why the space is being provided to share its content with the visitors to this site.

“WHAT IS ADVAITA?” PART I
by
Dennis Waite

“So, Swami-ji, what would you say that Advaita is?” The eager young woman crossed her legs and sat expectantly, pencil poised above a pristine pad of paper.

“It simply means ‘not two’ – the ultimate truth is non-dual,” replied the Sage, reclining in a large and comfortable-looking armchair and not sitting in an upright lotus position, as he ought to have been, for the sake of the photograph that she had just taken, if nothing else.

She continued to wait for further elucidation before beginning to write but it soon became apparent that the answer had been given.

“But is it a religion? Do you believe in God, for example?”

“Ah, well, that would depend upon what you mean by those words, wouldn’t it?” he responded, irritatingly. “If, by ‘religion’, you mean does it have priests and churches and a band of followers who are prepared to kill non-believers, then the answer is no. If, on the other hand, you refer to the original, literal meaning of the word, namely to ‘bind again’, to reunite the mistaken person that we think we are with the Self that we truly are, then yes, it is a religion. Similarly, if by ‘God’ you mean a separate, supernatural being who created the universe and will reward us by sending us to heaven if we do what He wants, then the answer is no. If you use the term in the sense of the unmanifest, non-dual reality, then yes, I most certainly do believe in God.”

The pencil raced across the paper, recording the answer for the benefit of the magazine’s readers but, as the words clashed with previous ideas in her memory, the lack of a clear resolution of her questions was reflected by an increasing puzzlement in her expression.

He registered this with compassion and held out his hand towards her. “Give me a piece of paper from your pad.”

She looked up, mouth slightly open as she wondered why he could possibly want that. But she turned the pad over, carefully tore off the bottom sheet and placed it in his outstretched hand. He turned to the table at his right and deftly began to fold and refold the paper. After a few moments, he turned back and, before she had had time to see what he had done, he held the paper aloft and launched it into the air. It rose quickly and circled gracefully around the room before losing momentum and diving to meet a sudden end when its pointed nose hit a sauce bottle on the dining table. “Could you bring it back over here do you think?” he asked.

“So, what would you say that we have here?” he asked, as she handed it back to him.

“It’s a paper aeroplane,” she replied, with just a hint of questioning in her voice, since the answer was so obvious that she felt he must have some other purpose in mind.

“Really?” he responded and, in an instant, he screwed up the object and, with a practised, over-arm movement, threw it effortlessly in a wide arc, from which it landed just short of the waste paper basket in the corner of the room. “And now?” he asked.

“It’s a screwed-up ball of paper”, she said, without any doubt in her voice this time.

“Could you bring it back again, please”, he continued. She did so, wondering if this was typical of such an interview, spending the session chasing about after bits of paper like a dog running after a stick. He took the ball and carefully unfolded it, spread it out on the table and smoothed his hand over it a few times before handing it back to her. “And now it is just a sheet of paper again,” he said, “although I’m afraid it’s a bit crumpled now!”

He looked at her, apparently anticipating some sign of understanding if not actual revelation but none was forthcoming. He looked around the room and, after a moment, he stood up, walked over to the window and removed a rose from a vase standing in the alcove. Returning to his seat, he held the rose out to her and asked, “What is this?”

She was feeling increasingly embarrassed as it was clear he was trying to explain something fundamental, which she was not understanding. Either that or he was mad or deliberately provoking her, neither of which seemed likely, since he remained calm and open and somehow intensely present. “It’s a flower,” she replied eventually.

He then deliberately took one of the petals between his right-hand thumb and fore-finger and plucked it. He looked at her and said, “And now?” She didn’t reply, though it seemed that this time he didn’t really expect an answer. He continued to remove the petals one by one until none remained, looking up at her after each action. Finally, he pulled the remaining parts of the flower head off the stem and dropped them onto the floor, leaving the bare stalk, which he held out to her. “Where is the flower now?” he asked. Receiving no reply, he bent down and picked up all of the petals, eventually displaying them in his open hand. “Is this a flower?” he asked.

She shook her head slowly. “It was a flower only when all of the petals and the other bits were all attached to the stem.”

“Good!” he said, appreciatively. “Flower is the name that we give to that particular arrangement of all of the parts. Once we have separated it into its component parts, the flower ceases to exist. But was there ever an actual, separate thing called ‘flower’? All of the material that constituted the original form is still here in these parts in my hand.”

[Part II Conclusion tomorrow] Now, please enter into the silence of contemplation and consider the words offered by the re-purified consciousness which some take to be “Dennis.”
Tomorrow: Details for ordering the newest release, Back to the Truth: 5000 Years of Advaita

ONENESS, PERCEPTION, LIFE, DEATH, CYCLES, AND CLARITY, Part Two

FROM A SITE VISITOR: Here’s what I’ve read or heard throughout my study of Advaita: “Everything is one. Any difference you think exists is just your wrong perception. All just cycles—no death, no life. Do not take the form you see to be what is real.” When I was in college, the more I studied, the clearer the lesson became. The more Advaita lessons I study, the less clear things are. Help! John

[Continued from yesterday. If you did not read the post on 25 February, please scroll downward to read the prior installment first]

Kirk’s unchanged expression conveyed to Chief that his very simple offering was being received as a very complex notion by Kirk. Chief tried to clarify by adding, “What is actually happening is that the conscious-energy force is in motion, thus allowing for the continued manifestation of consciousness in the space which you call ‘heron.’ What happens in the heron’s stomach will happen with no thought on the part of either the heron or the fish. That core element of consciousness-energy, universal to the fish cell and the heron cell and also moving through all so-called ‘living’ things, knows everything that must occur for all those happenings to take place spontaneously.

“Do you not see that there is a common element of energy that moves about this manifestation, moving via flora and fauna from one form to another, taking on the appearance to the naked eye of 'this type cell cluster here' or 'that type cell cluster there'? The energy of the sun arrives on this planet in a form not usable by humans or animals, but via photosynthesis, that energy is converted into a usable form; therefore, it is not the eating of the salad that sustains ‘life’ and consciousness. It is the 'consumption' of that energy that is manifested within the space of the plant that sustains what you call ‘your’ consciousness. Again, it is not really an ‘absorption’ or any ‘conversion.’ More accurately, It Is What It Is, and what is happening is happening, automatically. You Are That. The heron Is That. The fish Is That. It does not change, for It Is The Real. All else is an illusion, perceived as ‘varied forms’ to the eye. Yet the forms with their varied appearances are merely the spontaneous happenings that involve three basics: the elements, the air, and the energy-consciousness.

“You are actually that consciousness-energy that can manifest in forms or spaces with nervous systems. That energy moves from the space of the plant to a space called ‘Kirk’ via consumption of the plant. But isn’t it clear that beyond all the varied appearances in manifest form, that ‘beneath’ all that, is energy? And is it not clear that it is the energy which allows what most call ‘life’ to manifest via forms or spaces? And is it not also apparent that the conscious energy—which knows how to function as it functions automatically—is the common element? And do you not sense, therefore, that whatever is common to All is the Real, and do you not then perceive that all of the manifested forms that materialize and de-materialize cannot be the real part for they do not ‘last’? Were you not told that the cycle is ‘dust-to-dust and ashes-to-ashes’ with different forms ‘in between’?

"Understand that what you call ‘death’ is just the distillation of all that has been attached or ‘added’ since manifestation to the pure consciousness via the teaching of concepts. The distilling (or the cleansing or stripping away of all of that which is not essence-only) is an act of re-purifying consciousness. But you call it ‘death’ as if it were something to be detested. The dirtied ‘mind’—filled with its myths, lies, concepts, beliefs, emotions, ideas, and superstitions—hates the notion of such cleansing and purification. Programmed humans love their beliefs and concepts, defining themselves with those ideas. Don’t dare try to cleanse their ‘minds,’ for they’ll want to kill you. The last thing most want is to be freed of the garbage that is their ‘minds’ which they think is so valued. To challenge their beliefs is to attack them personally, so they think. Filth loves filth. Corruption loves corruption. The familiar is attracted to the familiar.

“But that energy is what You Are and is what I Am. ‘Born in sin?’ Surely they jest. It is at the moment that is called ‘birth’ that one is closest to the pure, to the Real, to the essence because that moment precedes the bastardization of the consciousness that will soon happen via programming. Short of Full Realization, not again until what they call ‘death’ will the consciousness be freed of all the crap and the impurities that this culture pumps into it. ‘Sin’ is the corrupting of the pure consciousness by the so-called ‘leaders’ in any society as they disseminate their self-serving lies. They are the leaders in the corruption process. Their ‘power’ is the power to corrupt. Even the people who have finally realized that all their politicians are liars still cling to their every word on the evening newscasts.

But back to the common element that is All. Modern physicists at first called that smallest building block ‘strings’ until some decided that an even more basic element exists which they call a ‘sparticle.’ Names and labels notwithstanding, there is only one single 'ingredient' to what we call ‘everything’ or ‘the diversity’ or ‘the entire universe.’ I call it ‘That,’ That which is the one and only whatever that is Real, typically Unmanifest, occasionally manifested, or not. ‘Everything’ is really one thing. The term ‘unicity’ is accurate.”

If “blown-away” had a face, it would look like Kirk Wildman at that moment.

So, John, possibly some clarity came from that explanation. If not, you’re invited to continue to submit your questions. Please enter the silence of contemplation.
TOMORROW: “Part One” of a short story written by Dennis Waite entitled, “What is Advaita?” Dennis has been a student of Advaita for over 20 years and maintains one of the most visited websites on the subject. He is the present Chief Moderator of the Advaitin group, has published several books, has been a guest columnist on this site in the past, and is sought regularly for satsanga.

ONENESS, PERCEPTION, LIFE, DEATH, CYCLES, AND CLARITY, Part One

[First, a message to site visitor Gerard. Your e-mail system in returning mail sent to your new address. If you correct the problem, the information requested will be sent.]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: Here’s what I’ve read or heard throughout my study of Advaita: “Everything is one. Any difference you think exists is just your wrong perception. All just cycles—no death, no life. Do not take the form you see to be what is real.” When I was in college, the more I studied, the clearer the lesson became. The more Advaita lessons I study, the less clear things are. Help! John

F.: Hello, John. Consider the following passages from an Advaita novel that was published in 2003. In this exchange, the seeker called “Kirk”—who is actually only seeking peace at this point in the novel—is being visited by a chieftain with the Advaita understanding. This excerpt addresses most of the pointers in your list. The exchange begins with a discussion of the “death/life issue” you raised as Chief Two Hawks guides Kirk through certain Advaita lessons. (The “two” part of Chief’s name is used ironically, as in I AM and I AM THAT, so he could have been named more accurately Chief Not Two Hawks.) While floating on the lake in Kirk’s boat, Chief continues with the dialogue which had been on-going:

“…There is no ‘death’.”

“No death?” Kirk asked.

“No death.”

“Why?”

“Because there is no life. There is only this moment of ‘I-Amness.’ Should you come to know the Real, then the knowingness of That which is beyond the ‘I Am' can happen. And in the moment when the realization happens, you will know That which is forever, and then only shall the peace you seek actually manifest. All the movements of your thinking, conditioned 'mind' will stop. The 'mind' will dissolve. Dis-ease shall disappear. You will know the Real You, which is ‘THAT.’ And nothing will ever appear the same to you again, for you will know that all which is observable with the eyes is illusion, nothing more than movements in consciousness.”

Kirk realized that he might be getting more than he had bargained for from this visit. How could an old Indian, reservation-schooled, come up with this? Without any formal education, the Chief certainly didn’t get this from any advanced academic training. Kirk sensed it coming from within him, or from some wise teacher, or from beyond. But Kirk realized something else about the Chief. Shakespeare had concluded that what might seem like madness can have method to it. Kirk knew the ways of Far Easterners, and he knew Chief’s roots could be traced back there for as many as 35,000 years or more. And he knew that those Easterners and their “Native American” counterparts used a similar technique to the one which Kirk was now witnessing. They seldom came right out and made a point. Rather, they tried to allow their listeners to have an experience with the truth of the point being offered. That indirect, experiential method is the same one Jesus had been schooled in when he studied under some advaitic teacher; thus, like other teachers schooled in the method, he used parables and indirect tales to allow the listeners to come to Awareness.

Still wary, Kirk looked toward the shore, touched the Chief lightly on the arm, and pointed toward the heron standing there. Chief’s head turned. The heron was shaking its head about energetically, trying to maneuver a small fish trapped between its upper and lower bill into a position more favorable for swallowing. In that act, Kirk felt he had found an example to impugn Chief’s ‘no life-no death’ remarks.

“OK, Chief—you see the fish in his mouth? The heron is going to swallow that fish, and eventually in the acids of my buddy’s stomach, that fish is going to die, is it not?”

“Oh, as far as most can see, yes.”

Kirk sensed that the Chief could see farther than most.

“But what, if not the eventual death of the fish, do you see happening?”

“I’m glad you used that word ‘happening,’ for it is accurate. All just ‘happens.’ What is going to happen is that certain combined elements, once exposed to the acids of the stomach of the heron, will un-combine. The LifeForce, which you take to be a rotting fish and which is considered heron food by you, will actually manifest in the space of heron cells. The fish does not ‘die.’ That which it Really is will cycle via another manifestation, wrongly perceived by you as a new 'form' of something ‘living’ as it cycles from ‘living’ fish cells into ‘living’ heron cells. Now that which is ‘living in' the space called 'fish' will be that which is ‘living in' the space called 'heron,' but heron cells and fish cells look enormously different under a microscope. What is Real you cannot see, and it is one and the same in all; what you can see, the form or the cells, is not the real but is an illusory figment of your imagination. Consider, for example, that what looks like a door to you, the scientist with an atomic microscope could prove is instead something quite different, without the slightest similarity to what you think you are seeing and labeling as ‘door’.”

Kirk’s expression told the Chief that more explanation would be required. He continued, “Do you see now, Kirk, that in reality no ‘conversion’ or ‘change’ or ‘living’ or ‘dying’ is taking place with the fish? That force which enables ‘life’ in the fish will now enable ‘life’ in the heron. It is not different, that aspect; it has not changed as it shifts from manifestation in the space of the fish body to manifestation in the space of the heron’s body.”

Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]

THE WORLD IS IN YOU...IN YOUR "MIND"

FROM A SITE VISITOR [Received 23 Feb 2007] Found your blog a few weeks ago and love it! Thank you! Today, when you answered one of Lisa’s question, I finally understood “you’re not in the world—the world is in you.” It’s in my mind, you said. Finally! But now, how to get it out after 38 years of having it “in there?” Please help. Many thanks, Ann

F.: Hello, Ann. Welcome to the site. First, if you were to remove the image of "the world" that is in your “mind,” that would be but a fraction of all that must be purged. That which is to be eliminated includes far more than a worldview. You've undergone thirty-eight years of collecting concepts and ideas, including beliefs about “you,” “others,” “relationships,” “values,” “religion and spirituality,” "them vs. us," "good vs. bad," "right vs. wrong," "punishment vs. reward," ad infinitum. If your approach is to expurgate each concept, one at a time, then Realization will never happen.

Consider: if ten days ago, you served fish for a meal and tossed the leftovers into a garbage bag, your home would be contaminated with the resulting odors by now. If seven days ago, you tossed into the same bag some rotten cabbage, there would be more contaminating odors. If five days ago, you tossed some putrid potatoes into the bag, the level of contamination would be almost unbearable. Soon, you would be overwhelmed and either driven to address the problem or to suffer misery. Weigh the effects of thirty-eight years of such accumulation and then you'll understand how persons (driven by the contaminated consciousness) reach the point where they proclaim, "My life is unbearable! I am being overwhelmed by my problems! I am suffering miserably!"

Would it be a reasonable approach, if your goal is to re-purify the place where you live, to dig through the bag and find all of the pieces of rotten cabbage and dispose of them in the trash bin outside and see if that improved your circumstances? Would it be reasonable, after waiting a few days and deciding that maybe the fish remains should also be tossed, to dig through the trash and gather all of those scraps and throw them away? Or would the logical approach be to toss the bag and all of it contents and then be done with the entire mess, once and for all?

In the book FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE, this pointer is offered on page 164:

Now, if you know that the manifested consciousness lacks that stability, then know that impurities remain. Certain vestiges of conditioning and programming remain. You are not completely out of your mind, which is not your mind at all but is actually theirs. They have co-opted the 'mind' that they created in the first place. The journey does not involve taking back your mind from them. The journey involves seeing there is no mind. There is only a collection of ideas and emotions and beliefs that are all lies. Peace doesn't come when you 'take control of' your thoughts and your mind. Peace doesn't come when you find 'positive' thoughts to replace your 'negative' thoughts. Peace doesn't come when 'right thinking' replaces 'wrong thinking.' All thinking is a lie. Peace comes when you realize that all that you've ever been told is a lie, when you realize that all thoughts and ideas and concepts are lies, and when all the lies are seen to be lies. Then, the 'mind' ends and its influence on your relative existence ends. Peace and stability come when the last belief in their concepts goes."

When does “the search” begin for most persons? Typically, when the level of contamination becomes unbearable. Typically, when they feel overwhelmed and finally driven to address their problems. Yet most only want to give up some portion of their accumulation of ideas or attitudes or beliefs, picking through the garbage and being very selective about what goes and what stays. Maybe you have begun to seek before reaching the unbearable state, but the effects of contamination will continue to multiply if the consciousness is not purged of all bastardizing elements.

If your goal is to re-purify the consciousness completely, then the logical approach is to toss that bag of garbage (a.k.a., the “mind”) and all of it contents and be done with the entire mess, once and for all. There is no such thing as "peace of mind." Just as unattended garbage can result in disease, the "mind" (along with body and personality identification) is at the root of all dis-ease. Complete the entire seven-step "journey" to Full Realization and be free of that "world" that is in you, along with everything else that has been collected in that repository of false concepts known as "the mind." Please enter the silence of contemplation.

ON LABELS, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, ADVAITA AND YOUTH, POWER, ADDICTIONS, SPIRITUALITY, AND “CHANGING THE WORLD,” Part Three

[Continued from yesterday]

SITE VISITOR Lisa asked for responses to certain questions as part of an assignment for a college course in religions and philosophies:

LISA: Do we ever stop growing spiritually?

F.: Yes—when you transition the third of the seven steps to Realization and thereby forfeit all personas (including "The Religious Person" and "The Spiritual Giant"). The book you ordered, FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE, will explain that process to you. What actually happens after transitioning that third step is that the fictional concept behind the false identity of "I am a spiritual person" is discarded; therefore, the illusion that there is some person that has been "growing" comes to an end. Remember always that anything following the “I Am,” other than THAT, is a lie; therefore, “I am spiritual” and “I am religious” or “I am a spiritual person” or “I am a religious person” are lies, nothing more than ego-states. Those are merely assumed personas being "supported" by statements generated by the contaminated consciousness. Understand that there are no “good” personas and “bad” personas. Lies are lies, and all ego-states/personas are false identities…are all lies. Just as “Husband” or “Wife” “grow” into “Super Husband” or “Super Wife” and fall under the influence of ego-defense mechanisms that are used to support false identities, spiritual “growth” results in “The Spiritual One” “growing” into “The Super Spiritual One” and then being sustained by egotism.

That is not “growth” at all. It is the expansion of an ego-state. It is the magnification of a false identity. Understand that persons always take an illusion and either dualistically upgrade the illusion or downgrade the illusion. (EX.: Take the lie, “This world is real.” Believing that, persons over the millennia have upgraded that illusion by promising that “after death, there is another world that will provide eternal continuity for the body-mind-personality.” They upgrade the illusion of “this world” with the promise of another world in heaven for the “good people” and they downgrade the illusion of “this world” with the threat of another world called "hell" that awaits the “bad” people.)

Thus, “I am a man” can be an initial illusion. Egotism can generate the belief that “I am a spiritual man,” which is nothing more than an upgrade of the illusion. Guilt can take the initial illusion that "I am a man" and generate the belief that “I am a bad man,” which is nothing more than a downgrading of the illusion. THAT which You Are is not “a woman,” and THAT which I AM is not “a man.” I AM energy temporarily manifested. So Are You. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, much less “grow.”

LISA: If you could change one thing in this world, what would it be?

F.: There is nothing in the world to change because there is no world to be changed. I Am not in the world. You are not in the world either, but you do not yet understand that. The world is in you--in your "mind"--and since the "mind" is not real, neither are any of the images and mirages that it imagines to be real. (A steel girder is neither steel nor girder, is it?) Simply understand that the “I” is an abstraction, along with what is perceived to be a real, physical world. If you understand that the perceiver is an abstraction, it becomes easy to understand that anything which an abstract “perceiver” thinks it is seeing must also be an abstraction.

Advaita teaches that all is one substance. It is now known that matter (such as something called a “steel girder”) is really a field of energy that is in constant movement; similarly, that which is Real is conscious-energy (that is, energy that has the capacity to "be conscious of" if manifested in a space with a nervous system).

Thus, You are consciousness, manifested via a combination of elements with a nervous system and a brain. Were your every action to be determined by the brain rather than the "mind," you would never do anything destructive or harmful...to self or "others." The "mind" is a collection of false memories, false teachings, and false ideas that make you believe that your roles are who you are and that your personality/personas are real. Those false identities all have their own hidden agendas and will fight for their survival even though they are mirages. Only via finding WHO/WHAT YOU TRULY ARE can you be free of the misery-generating lies that have been offered to you as truth(s) that can be stated. (That in itself is a lie.) Freedom happens when you Realize that You Are neither in the world nor of the world and that there is no world to change and no WHO that needs changing. Best regards, f.

Please enter the silence of contemplation.

ON LABELS, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, ADVAITA AND YOUTH, POWER, ADDICTIONS, SPIRITUALITY, AND “CHANGING THE WORLD,” Part Two

[Continued from yesterday]

SITE VISITOR Lisa asked for responses to certain questions as part of an assignment for a college course in religions and philosophies:

LISA: How can we help children to access their inner resource?

F.: Actually, Full Realization is not for the young, so to try to teach the youth to tap into the inner resource when they need to be tapping into skills that will allow them to address those basic (relative) needs as listed on the base of Maslow's pyramid would not be advised. If they are to function in their dysfunctional cultures, young adults must play the games of the culture for a time. Otherwise, their parents will be on a Dr. Phil show featuring "Boomerang Kids" about parents who can't get their adult-aged children out of the house. In other words, Pandora's Box of Concepts has been opened, and the freedom from all those concepts and personas that drive the misery of the relative existence on this planet will be their condition until some reach a point in adulthood and begin questioning all of the learned ignorance they have accumulated and then eventually reject it all. Few ever will. So it is.

LISA: Do you have a higher power or have you ever or and can you briefly describe what that is or was.

F.: The master addiction of the planet is a desire to control. That desire drives the secondary addiction: the desire for power (in order to control). That quest for power has led to more destruction and magical-thinking-type nonsense than anything else on the planet. It inspires efforts to accumulate earthly power and also to have an extraterrestrial power (or powers) that can also be tapped into in order to control. (E.g., the desire to control weather generated an imaginary god of rain. The desire to control the outcome of battles generated an imaginary god of war. Eventually, Abraham would take all the various gods of creation, sustenance, and destruction, would tell people that there is only one god, and from that they combined all their former gods into one. That is how then ended up with a schizo god who supposedly creates and sustains but also destroys. The creator god "loves his creations unconditionally" and will sustain them if they believe in him, sacrifice to him, worship him, work for him. Contradictorily, his "unconditional" love has "conditions," and, if they are not met, the sustaining will end and the destruction will begin, along with horrendous, eternal punishments to boot.) To be free of the nonsense of contradictory concepts and inconsistent dogma is to be free of the desire to control. That, in turn, ends the desire for power. As for “higher power,” that implies “lower power” as well, and that would be another duality.

LISA: What would you say is one of the most important lessons you have learned in life.

F.: To unlearn all of the "important lessons about life" that I was taught. One book is entitled, IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (And Why Knowing That Will Set You Free.) Once the learned ignorance of humanity is cast aside, the "path" can be followed that leads to the truth that cannot be stated but that can be understood; thereafter, the functioning of the totality becomes clear and the relative existence can happen in an AS IF fashion, as if any of the stuff of this realm is real or significant, but knowing that it is not.

LISA: What is the way to freedom and inner peace for suffering addicts and alcoholics?

F.: The way involves addressing the cause rather than the symptoms. Since you want these answers short, you may read the postings for Feb 12 and 13 at www.advaitavedantameditations.blogspot.com for more.
TOMORROW, the response to “Do we ever stop growing spiritually?” To all site visitors: Based on the Advaita understanding, what response would the re-purified consciousness provide? Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]

ON LABELS, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, ADVAITA AND YOUTH, POWER, ADDICTIONS, SPIRITUALITY, AND “CHANGING THE WORLD,” Part One

SITE VISITOR Lisa asked for responses to certain questions as part of an assignment for a college course in religions and philosophies:

LISA: Do you have a title or position?

F.: Freedom comes with being free of every title, position, persona, ego-state, false identity, role, or assumed personality.

LISA: Please briefly define Advaita Vedanta. Is that your philosophy and can anyone live by it?

F.: Advaita Vedanta is considered by most to be a philosophy, though nowadays it has been warped into a religion by many. And it is not even a philosophy that is to be "lived by." It is a set of teachings that can shift a person from not having a clue about the real answer to "Who/What Am I?" to the understanding of knowing exactly THAT Which I Am. After that understanding is reached, AS IF living merely happens spontaneously.

"Vedanta" refers to that which is at the end of (or, for some, that which is "beyond") the Vedas, so the philosophy is often associated with Hindus and the Far East. Such associations have distorted the truth since the “Vedanta” part of the title refers to a modern tradition that began with Shankara/Shankaracharya in the 8th century; conversely, the “Advaita” part (meaning "not two," “non-duality”) points toward the ancient, Original Understanding of the unicity, the oneness, the non-duality. Mixing "modern parts" with the "Original Awareness" has resulted in an irony: the original, innate understanding of non-duality has taken on a dualistic aspect itself as many teachers now combine the modern additions with the Original Understanding.

The expression of that unicity may have first happened tens of thousands of years ago, but the sense of the unicity is timeless. Originally, on this planet, non-duality was intuitively understood. There was no language that could be used to bastardize the pure consciousness, but that changed. Those with agendas over thousands of years have introduced concepts steeped in dualities in order to judge and to control people: good/bad, right/wrong, moral/immoral, reward/punishment, heaven/hell, etc. Advaita provides a means by which the consciousness can be re-purified and by which persons/personas can be free of belief in the lies of duality.

LISA: How did you find Advaita and what got you into it.

F.: When on the "quest" described to you in an earlier e-mail, all of the so-called "big-hitters" were being studied. Their seminars were attended, their tapes were watched, their recordings were listened to, and their books were read: Wilde, Tolle, Chopra, Dyer, etc. When it was learned that they had all been exposed to the Advaita teachings, and were all quoting different parts of the Advaita teachings at times, that common source was investigated. It was seen that each had taken one part of the entire teachings and made it a money-making theme. None offered the entire teachings in a fashion that leads to Full Realization. (You can't keep 'em coming back for your concepts if you teach them to be rid of all concepts, right?) When the full teachings were found, the Full Understanding soon followed.

LISA: How has the book of revelations effected or influenced religion?

F.: The Book of Revelation, singular, actually. Its effect or infleunce on religion is to provide one more instance where religions dream up concepts or explanations that are rooted in myths, lies and misunderstandings, disseminate those concepts, and thereby generate more religious or spiritual teachings, (also known as "learned ignorance"). The effect or influence of distorting the original intent of Revelation has been to generate the kind of misinformation that characterizes all movements that are plagued with concepts (Advaita included, nowadays). The book influences, as is often the case, those who claim to live by the precepts of their "special" or "holy" books which they, in fact, have never even read, in most cases. That book was written by a Christian who had been disenfranchised by the Romans and the Book of Revelation was nothing more than his rant.

He was predicting the fall of the Roman Empire, not the end of the world. He was anticipating the end of that Empire with glee and anger and resentment and rage. The content of Revelation was topical, written about events in the author’s day. It has no relevance today at all, but it is a perfect example of why the Advaita teachings suggest that persons ignore all of the so-called “holy” writings, tap into the inner resource or the inner guru, and find the truth within. Yet look at the learned ignorance that interpreting/misinterpretating Revelation has generated among the masses by their misunderstanding of something as simple as “666.”

The number "6" in that day meant "evil," and among Christians the Roman Emperor was called "evil-evil-evil." In order to avoid beheading, the writer coded his rantings about the emperor by referring to him as "6-6-6," the enemy of Christians who was taking their possessions and othewise abusing them. The reference was to an emperor, not to a "Satan" ("satan," Hebrew = "enemy.") Christians in that day knew that the author was referring to the emperor. That message has been distorted so that the masses for centuries have bought into the lies about Revelation predicting the end of the world. Many live their lives under the influence of allowing words that predicted the end of the Roman Empire to affect their entire “worldview” nearly 2000 years later. His predictions about a final battle between the dualities of "good" and "evil" that would defeat the Romans has been distorted into a forecast for a final battle that will see the destruction of Jews, the destruction of "the world" as it is, the return of Christ, etc. A message written for that time has been distorted into a message about some future time. As with all concepts dreamed up by persons and then interpreted and reinterpreted by other persons, Revelation is just much ado about nothing. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "Never have so many been so fooled by making so much of so little for so many years." Thus, you can now see Revelation's effect/influence that you asked about: it has generated religious nonsense and spiritual ignorance, and it have provided "leaders" with the power to control the "minds" and behavior of persons, and that is what religions (based as they are in myth, superstition, and the desire to have power and control over people) have done since they were first dreamed up by men.

LISA: How can a child be raised to avoid buying into beliefs that could eventually harm that child?

F.: Cultures have created systems that now prevent that possibility almost completely. The consciousness will be contaminated and bastardized. The child that is not filled with such nonsense as Santa and a Great Flood and Hell (though Christ spoke of Gehanna, not Hades) will be the oddball. The harm of that contaminating process (relatively speaking) will never end unless the child happens to be one of a small minority that in later years finds a process by which she/he can reject all ideas, emotions (but not feelings), beliefs, concepts, dogma, and all of the other effects of learned ignorance and programming and conditioning and enculturation and becomes free, Realized, enlightened, actualized, or whatever term you prefer to describe the condition of completing the manifestation as the re-purified consciousness. Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]

CATCHING UP ON A BACKLOG OF MAIL

F.: Occasionally, a departure from the typical posting format on the site is taken in order to process a higher-than-usual volume of e-mail. Astute visitors are nevertheless able to find pointers that are relevant:

Direct message to Janice: You are looking for a sense of congruity. The inside is not matching the outside. You are working diligently to maintain a false image, while not really making any concentrated effort to be free of the image that you have developed. You might consider the Advaitan path to Realization, or you might not. Peace and Light, f.

Direct message to Awinita: You are certainly welcome to “cling to the words of the medicine man and visit him daily,” but that action prevents total freedom and complete independence. As a "grandson of a Cherokee," that path was one that “floyd” followed to nowhere prior to realizing via the Advaita message. Certainly there was a time when the Cherokees and those among other tribal groups comprehended the Original Understanding fully. Today, after being introduced to alcoholic poisoning after the decimation of most of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, the average lifespan for a native male is now 45 years. The message that Grandmother understood has been lost to almost all, most medicine men included. (WHO wants you to keep coming back daily, forever?) What Grandmother understood fully was the same understanding that can come via the teachings which are offered on this site. As "a healer" who used herbal treatments while offering truth and wisdom, she did not want the sick who came to her to stay forever. She offered treatment and truth and then sent them on their way. "Keep coming back" is advice offered via some ego-state that has an agenda. "Go and be free" has a more valid ring to it, does it not?

EXCERPTS FROM A SITE VISITOR: Hey Floyd, I have been working on Self Realization. [After Realizing] what is the reason for staying here and doing anything? Do you have a book or do you offer counseling to help through this stage? Thank you for being on the web search when I was looking for an answer. With love and gratitude, Laurice

F.: Hello, Laurice. An interesting "journey" for you so far, n'est-ce pas? Now to complete it so that you can enjoy AS IF LIVING. (You can search the site for an explanation of that AS IF LIVING term.) As for an appropriate book, you are now ready for FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE which you can order at http://www.floydhenderson.com/. As for “Why go on, once realized?” I recommend that you read the postings to Vigneshwar from November 13, 2006 to November 21, 2006. As for counseling, no counseling is offered, but telephone or face-to-face Advaita sessions are being offered in light of continuing requests. You can see what is available at the “Advaita Vedanta Retreat” link on this page.

Relatedly, to Dan who wrote: floyd I found your site several weeks ago. I was so excited that all of my efforts might finally come to an end as a result of finding what I’m finding on your site. I think I am so close to breaking through the final barriers to realization. I am sure you have obligations and it seems you’ve given up conducting satsanga, except for a few times a year, is that right? Anyway, I have a sense that if I could sit with you for a short time, I could clear the final hurdles. Would it be possible to visit with you? I would cover all expenses of the trip and I would be glad to compensate you for whatever work and income you might lose if you were to take off for a few days to answer my questions and guide me to the end of this path. Please let me know if there is any way that is possible. Hopefully, Dan

F.: Dan, you can also visit the link to the right for information on scheduling an Advaita retreat.

FROM TWO SITE VISITORS: [Two e-mails were received recently that basically asked the same question]: “I ordered one of your books, and I know if I really 'got it,' I would not order any others. But I want to read the rest of what you have to say. What’s the answer?”

F.: As I explained to another site visitor recently, "These books are ‘useful’ to the degree that they present concepts that are intended to remove all concepts (the Advaita ‘use thorns to remove thorns and then discard all the thorns’ teaching.) Where most books are written by authors with the intent of presenting information so that you can accumulate more knowledge, these books have no author and suggest de-accumulation instead. The consciousness speaks and then invites all to be free of all. While consumed with the ‘quest,’ 'i' read until it was seen that the readings were not resulting in Realization. Once it was understood why none of the books which had been read could have ever led to Full Realization, the re-purified consciousness allowed the writing to replace the reading so that proteges can now read a clear-cut set of directions that can facilitate the shift from belief in the 'I' to abiding as the Absolute." Peace and Light, f.

FROM A SITE VISITOR: hey Floyd, I AM really liking your book, FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE. Intent next month is to buy the essence of the teachings, and some others. My question to you is how long in psychological time did it take you too lose all personas, beliefs and see pure truth and does the body and mind ever get invollved with your Self?

F.: As for "time required," decades were wasted in the search for more, inspired by the erroneous belief generated from a conditioned “mind” that concluded, "There's got to be more than this." When Advaita offered a contrary consideration—that less is more—then the "path" began to be followed. In the book you ordered, "the seven degrees of separation from reality" are explained, as well as the means by which those can be transitioned so that abidance as the Absolute can happen. When those "degrees" came into awareness and were transitioned, then, the final "event" happened instantaneously. As for body-mind, those illusions are given no more credibility than any other concepts. As for “does the body and mind ever get invollved with your Self?” first, there is no “your” Self or “my” Self. There is no possessor, no “one” to have a Self. I AM, I AM THAT, period. One might as well ask, “Does a mirage ever get involved with its desert?” Is the pointer behind that question understand? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

WHY ABNORMALITIES ARE NOW THE PLANET’S NORMALITIES, Part Three, Conclusion

[Continued from yesterday]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: I’ve been reading your answers to angie and I’ve reread everything you wrote about MPD/DID. A decade ago, a doctor diagnosed me with MPD.. After years of therapy he kept telling me that I had to keep coming bacvk to him. I thought I was a total defect and might as well kill myself. Finally---after years of my own research and studying the enneagram and also what A.V. teachers have to say about personality---I‘m getting it. No wonder insanity is so widespread! I don’t feel so alone anymore in this struggle. I’m not the only oddball. What hit home was when you showed how so many areas---like finances and relations etc---are affected by each personality I assume. No wonder my mind never stopped! So it starts out causing some trouble and then just gets worse and worse, and this is almost universal, right?. Thanx Beverly

F.: Then you’re told that you are “The Student.” The elections at school show that classmates consider you “The Best Looking”…or not. You become more body conscious. More roles appear, more agendas appear, and more impact in all those areas begins to manifest. Later “The Friend” and “The Girlfriend” are assumed as roles. Later, “The Graduate,” “The Employee,” “The Fiancée,” “The Wife,” “The Mother,” “The Working Mom,” “The Soccer Mom,” or other roles are assumed. Even later, in some case “The Alcoholic” is assumed or “The Divorcee” comes along with “The Single Mom” and “The Failure” and “The Bad Daughter.” A search begins and "The Religious One" or "The Spiritual Giant" roles are played. Now, add in all of the areas where each of those is affected.

The more components that are added to the personality, the more fears and desires are added. Eventually, so many will be added that persons say, “I don’t even know who I am anymore.” Actually, they never did, and if they ever will, it will only happen via Full Realization. Also, notice how each adopted ego-state becomes another obstacle to being consistently happy or content and why, ultimately, being happy becomes an impossibility:

If married, “Husband” might behave in a way which results in “Wife” thinking she’s okay in terms of finances, relations, sex, self-esteem, and security. But at the same time, some teacher has not shown due respect to “Super Mother’s” child, so that role triggers a sense of feeling upset. After a conference in which the contrite teacher restores “Super Mom’s” peace, all seems “good.” “Wife” is fine, “Mother” is fine; “Homeowner” is fine; “Lover” is fine. Then, “Husband” is caught in an affair, and several ego-states feel threatened. Are you beginning to see the way in which each newly-assumed ego-state makes consistent happiness an impossibility?

Two ego-states might think they're happy, but three others become offended. Get two of those three ego-states satisfied along with the first two, and then only one ego-state is unhappy. Get the fears of that one assuaged or its desires met, and then six ego-states seem happy but then something happens that threatens three others. Are you seeing how it eventually happens that so many “stars” have to be “aligned” in proper order for happiness to happen that it becomes an impossibility?

Circumstances just never unfold in a way that allows for all of the areas of all of those false identities to feel that all of their needs are being met and that all of their desires are being fulfilled at the same time. As the number of false roles being played increase, the chances for misery increase not arithmetically but geometrically. At the same time, the sleepwalkers who are totally unaware can have their entire relative existence falling down around them but will claim, "No problems here, floyd...everything is fine, so you really don't have a clue what you're talking about."

Are you seeing that it is belief in multiplicity that sets the stage for so many opportunities to feel threatened, angry, hurt, interfered with, unfulfilled, unhappy, and/or miserable? What is the answer? Realization. Knowing the unicity preempts any false belief in multiplicities. If you Realize that you are not all those things--all those personas--then you might find THAT Which You Are. And THAT is one thing only which is not personal, which has no attributes, and which, therefore, cannot be impacted financially, relationally, sexually, or in any other relative fashion.

Then, whatever happens…happens. No do-er is assumed to be present. No false identities are taken as real. No images are assumed to be authentic, so only that which is witnessed by the “Authentic Self” is given any credibility. Believing the nonsense of parents and teachers and preachers or priests or gurus or medicine men and politicians and all of the other authority figures in various cultures led to the nonsense of believing in your roles and false identities. Then, the nonsense generated by all of those phantoms led to the nonsense of accepting personas as identities. Finally, the nonsense of accepting those roles as defining who you are led to all of the nonsense that followed.

Realized, you will not accept the nonsense of your culture and its authority figures. You will be free of their nonsense and the nonsense they passed onto you as their legacy. And only freed of nonsense can you be free, Fully Realized, and consistently stable for the remainder of the manifestation. Please enter the silence of contemplation.

WHY ABNORMALITIES ARE NOW THE PLANET’S NORMALITIES, Part Two

[Continued from yesterday]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: I’ve been reading your answers to angie and I’ve reread everything you wrote about MPD/DID. A decade ago, a doctor diagnosed me with MPD.. After years of therapy he kept telling me that I had to keep coming bacvk to him. I thought I was a total defect and might as well kill myself. Finally---after years of my own research and studying the enneagram and also what A.V. teachers have to say about personality---I‘m getting it. No wonder insanity is so widespread! I don’t feel so alone anymore in this struggle. I’m not the only oddball. What hit home was when you showed how so many areas---like finances and relations etc---are affected by each personality I assume. No wonder my mind never stopped! So it starts out causing some trouble and then just gets worse and worse, and this is almost universal, right?. Thanx Beverly

F.: So notice why “it starts out causing some trouble and then just gets worse and worse,” “it” being the “mind” that (a) is the collection of all warped programming and conditioning and enculturation and that (b) accepts personas as being real identities and that (c) expands from assuming one personality to assuming multiple personalities as identities. Each assumed role brings with it the belief by a person that his/her persona is being affected in the multiple areas mentioned earlier: finances, relations, sex, self-esteem, security, etc., so when an ego-state is threatened, the “mind” perceives that as a multi-pronged attack in many areas.

Then, multiply all of those areas that are impacted by the number of personas being assumed and you’ll have an understanding of why the “mind” can produce hundreds of thoughts around a single event that rob you of peace and trigger fear and a sense of loss. Take the man who thinks he is “The Husband.” His wife says she leaving him, taking the children, and preparing to “clean him out.” Having assumed a role (which always depends on another person for its “completion” and its very sense of "being"), notice what wife’s words will trigger:

First, “The Husband” thinks he is dying; then, “The Homeowner” thinks he dying; “The Father” feels threatened; “The Lover” feels threatened; “The Big Man in the Community” feels he’s being threatened; “The Retirement Fund Owner” feels his existence is ending; “The Property Owner” who shares ownership of a house that is full of his accumulated “stuff” senses that it is ending; “The Savings Account Man” knows that those funds are going to be dispersed and so his end is near; “The Investment Property Owner” knows that his other properties will be liquidated, so that ego-state feels that it's being killed; and the list could continue. Then, consider how many areas (finances, relations, sex, self-esteem, security) are being impacted by each of those false identities and you see the impact when multiple personalities are adopted and then when each of those feels threatened in multiple areas. Agenda after agenda after agenda triggers a series of reactions that often end is destructive and/or self-destructive actions in the relative existence of duality.

So, in your case, Beverly, you began with one agenda: to be “The Good Girl” and not “The Bad Girl.” Being “The Good Daughter, The Good Granddaughter, the Good Niece” and not “The Bad Daughter or Bad Granddaughter or Bad Niece” soon evolved. Then, lessons in duality gave you another agenda: to avoid punishment and to gain reward. By the age of two, you were already completely steeped in duality and false identities.

The ego-states were being impacted in many of those areas mentioned: finances (do you get your allowance or gifts for being good, or do you lose out because you’ve been bad?); relations (do your relatives applaud you for your goodness?); self-esteem (are you hearing more often that you’re “good” or more often that you’re “bad”?); security (are you being punished for your “badness” or getting threatening looks of disapproval?) Are you seeing how you have become trapped in that which is believed to be personal and how you came to believe that there is some “Beverly” that has attributes? Are you getting a glimpse of that which is transpersonal and that which must be transcended if you are ever to know Who/What You Are and thereby enjoy a sense of stability and peace? Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]

WHY ABNORMALITIES ARE NOW THE PLANET’S NORMALITIES, Part One

FROM A SITE VISITOR: I’ve been reading your answers to angie and I’ve reread everything you wrote about MPD/DID. A decade ago, a doctor diagnosed me with MPD.. After years of therapy he kept telling me that I had to keep coming bacvk to him. I thought I was a total defect and might as well kill myself. Finally---after years of my own research and studying the enneagram and also what A.V. teachers have to say about personality---I‘m getting it. No wonder insanity is so widespread! I don’t feel so alone anymore in this struggle. I’m not the only oddball. What hit home was when you showed how so many areas---like finances and relations etc---are affected by each personality I assume. No wonder my mind never stopped! So it starts out causing some trouble and then just gets worse and worse, and this is almost universal, right?. Thanx Beverly

F.: Hello Beverly. Thx for writing. Indeed, the curse of personality is universal, you are not alone in suffering the effects of MPD, and you are not an oddball. Billions of insane persons roam the planet. In fact, much of what you have taken to be your oddballism might be explained by chemistry and certainly by some of the Advaita teachings. And yes, the problem begins when duality is taught and when the first persona is assigned.

In the early going, you were not told that you are conscious-energy manifested in a set of elements with a nervous system. Obviously, those who took the label of “parents” did not have The Understanding, so they labeled you a “girl.” Then, they introduced you to the distortions of their dualistic minds and told you at times that you were a “Good Girl” but at other times that you were a “Bad Girl.” Instantly, that introduced you to the chaos and instability of fluctuations between feeling happy at times and feeling unhappy at other times, depending on whether the “good” or the “bad” descriptor was assigned to your adopted label.

That drive to have persons apply the "good" descriptor to every assumed identity will be carried into adulthood and will never be lost unless Realization happens. The next duality of reward/punishment came forth: if you were the “Good Girl,” you got a reward (or at least avoided punishment for the time being); if you were a “Bad Girl,” you may have been punished. Later, you would see that even your own parents did not always agree as to exactly what should be considered “good” and what should be considered “bad.” Confusion set in and joined the fear and chaos and anxiety which traps children by the age of two at the latest.

The confusion became worse when you saw that the next door neighbor said that his son was “bad” when he did the same things that earned you the “good” label. Soon, you would be exposed to the dualities being taught by teachers who each had a different set of criteria that had to be met for you to be considered “good.” One instructor might laugh at your in-class joke and the next might send you to the office for punishment for the same “offense.” The inconsistencies seemed maddening at times, and they were. Ignorant adults drive children insane with all of the adults’ dualistic nonsense. By the time you reached high school, the rules of the game were reversed again, and if you became interested in boys, many of them sent a contradictory message of duality: the “Bad Girls” are the “Good Girls” to have as “girlfriends.” Confusion and insanity grew.

To control you, the reward/punishment duality in “this life” was likely extended to the eternal reward/punishment duality in an afterlife. You got away with being “bad” at home and did not get caught? You later got away with being “bad” at school and did not get caught? You took a cookie from a store and did not pay but did not get caught? There was still no peace around any of those instances because you were taught that there’s a Man-God watching you on some kind of celestial CCTV and you were going to get punished even if a parent, teacher, or store clerk did not see what you did and did not punish you at the time. And if you did not do certain specific things regarding those “sins” in a “holy” place with a “holy” man, then your punishment after death would be eternal. So you carry the fear and the guilt with you, and the mental-emotional load accumulates. As you have desires, more and more guilt piles on, and all of that is based in the illusions and the distortions and the magical, supernatural, dualistic beliefs that dominate the “minds” of persons on the planet.

Now, all of that is the case with a child raised in what is taken to be “normal” circumstances. What is the result when so many children are exposed to the extreme insanity that adult egomaniacs generate in the relative existence: poverty; ignorance; malnutrition; lack of health care; drugs; murder; physical, mental and emotional abuse; wars, ad infinitum. The oddity would be if anyone reached the age of twenty-one on this planet and was not frustrated, confused, either unhappy or walking about in a dream state, and plagued with MPD. Are you seeing that you are not an oddball at all? Are you seeing that “The Oddball” was just another label assigned or accepted in lieu of understanding how MPD/DID comes about, in lieu of understanding Who/What You Truly Are, and in lieu of understanding why insanity is now the “norm” on planet earth? Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]

YOU CANNOT STOP THE “MIND,” SO YOU MUST ELIMINATE IT COMPLETELY, Part Three

[Continued from yesterday]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: Hi Floyd, Angie here. I read your blogs from time to time and although I have some difficulty understanding the concepts you speak of, I am definitely interested in some of the ideas. The thing is, I have been thinking about the self/Self for a while now and asking a lot of questions. For the last few days, I have had some images running through my mind. The first includes the words \"look\" and \"see\", and the second is only a question...\"What do I ask now?\" I usually find that the answers come, but I\'ve walked into the hallway of a building full of closed doors. I think sometimes I lose my mind in the best way, but now...she\'s back in gear. Any insights? THank you for taking the time to read this. Angie

F.: Now, regarding your other comments and question:

ANGIE: “For the last few days, I have had some images running through my mind. The first includes the words \"look\" and \"see\"…

F.: Maybe after yesterday’s pointers, it is more obvious why the vestiges of pure consciousness from deep within are suggesting that You “look” and “see.” Now, note that “look” and “see” are invitations to witness. That means you have to stop so much doing that you finally pause long enough to realize that there is no do-er at all…that all the personas/do-ers that have been inspiring all of your doing are not real. If you moved through the first four steps of the seven-step “journey” to Reality, you would enter two stages of “witnessing”: subject-object witnessing and then Pure Witnessing, the latter happening via the Pure Self or the True Self which you can only come to understand if you discard all of the false selves/personas/identities/ego-states and all of their doership and doingness. The beingness awaits.

ANGIE: …and the second is only a question...\"What do I ask now?\"

F.: Hopefully, after yesterdays’s pointers, you now know to ask (at least while at your current point on the “path”) “What persona thinks it is being hurt or threatened or disrespected and is therefore ‘gearing up’ the ‘mind’ again?”

ANGIE: I usually find that the answers come, but I\'ve walked into the hallway of a building full of closed doors.”

F.: If the doors are all closed along the hallway you’re traveling, that might facilitate your “journey.” It might be that those doors, if opened, would take you to that which you are familiar with. It could be that at the end of the hall is an exit out of the “world” that you imagine to be real, out of the “building” that you’re familiar with, and into a "realm" of understanding beyond anything that your overly-busy “mind” might imagine. (And if it’s from your “mind,” it will be an imagining.)

Next, understand the difference in pure-consciousness-inspired visions and “images running through your mind.” Visualizing the suggestion to “look” and “see” could be pure consciousness inspirations. By contrast, any “image running through the ‘mind’” is going to be part of the refuge that makes up that fictitious “mind,” implanted therein by cultures past and present and by programmers and conditioners.

If the images are traces of visions that are generated from the pure consciousness and not the “mind,” then this might be happening: it might be that a previously-blocked awareness is trying to break free of the subdued pure consciousness, is trying to break through the filters of contaminated consciousness, and is thus trying to offer an opportunity for You to visualize that which You are already aware of—deep within—but that has been suppressed by all the garbage of enculturation.

To receive the full message, you might consider using a tool that is offered at http://floydhenderson.com/spiritjourney.htm. As an alternative, you might receive at least part of the message that is trying to break into your full awareness by reading the description of the vision at http://floydhenderson.com/article1.htm. If you read that description, see if you can find the seven degrees of separation that block persons from being in touch with reality. The “path” is available for those ready to complete the entire “journey.” Please enter the silence of contemplation.

YOU CANNOT STOP THE “MIND,” SO YOU MUST ELIMINATE IT COMPLETELY, Part Two

[Continued from yesterday]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: Hi Floyd, Angie here. I read your blogs from time to time and although I have some difficulty understanding the concepts you speak of, I am definitely interested in some of the ideas. The thing is, I have been thinking about the self/Self for a while now and asking a lot of questions. For the last few days, I have had some images running through my mind. The first includes the words \"look\" and \"see\", and the second is only a question...\"What do I ask now?\" I usually find that the answers come, but I\'ve walked into the hallway of a building full of closed doors. I think sometimes I lose my mind in the best way, but now...she\'s back in gear. Any insights? THank you for taking the time to read this. Angie

F.: So, observe the mind-personality trap: the assumption of all personas is inspired by the thinking “mind,” and the thinking “mind” is occupied with the fears and desires of assumed personas. That circular dilemma creates a deadlock…a closed system…an inescapable trap. Only if the “mind” and assumed personas are discarded can peace happen as the dilemma ends. So, in light of the understanding that the “in gear mind” generates belief in personas and that belief in personas gears up the "mind," you might now understand the cycle in which you're trapped: there is peace for a period when it seems you've lost the hold of the "mind," but then "she's back in gear" and it is peace that is lost. For you to be free, it is necessary to find who the “she” is. (In fact, a thorough self-inventory will reveal that there are many “she’s,” each with “her” own agenda and each with “her” own imaginary fears and unmet desires and, therefore, all of the manifold annoyances experienced by all of those "she's.")

Begin by finding just one of those assumed identities. To find the most recent “she” (false identity) that surfaced, find the last time you felt hurt, threatened, interfered with, or angry. Then ask, “What ego-state felt as if it were being attacked or disrespected?” Was "Super Employee" not being shown proper respect? Or was “Super Employer” not receiving the respect it felt entitled to? Was “Super Wife” or "Super Lover" angry? Was some other “Special Person” cut off in traffic or did some “Super Person” have a parking space stolen? Was the opinion expressed by “Super Smart Person” questioned by someone who seemed inferior?

Find the WHO that was gearing up the “mind” and inspiring the thinking that disrupted the peace. What was the thought about that "geared up" the "mind," really? Did some slight occur? Was there some offense? Was some resentment triggered? Was a fear inspired? Was some desire not being met? Probe to find out what ego-state thought that it was being hurt, threatened, interfered with, or angry and you will find a persona that should be discarded as an identity. Why? It has just been shown that it was some "offended" persona that “geared up” the “mind” and robbed you of peace. Since no persona is real, is it now obvious why all disharmony is rooted in illusion...in the illusion that assumed identities are real and can be interfered with?

Then, take out pen and paper and list every role that you have played in your life, starting with the earliest roles that were duality-based, such as: “The Good Little Girl”; “The Bad Little Girl”; “The Good Little Student”; “The Bad Little Student”; “The Good Daughter”; and “The Bad Daughter.” Then, expand the list to include “The Acceptable Girlfriend”; “The Unacceptable Girlfriend”; “The Good Wife”; “The Bad Wife”; “The Good Mother”; “The Bad Mother”; or "The Good Religious/Spiritual Person" vs. "The Not Always Good Religious/Spiritual Person." If one is honest, the list can grow to a considerable length.

Next, you report that lately you have been focusing on “look” and "see." Fine. Use those. LOOK at all those roles and SEE that there are multiple areas where each of them interrupts your peace (self-concept, self-esteem, image, finances, relations, sex relations, etc.) Next, SEE that each of those affected areas has a voice. LOOK at how those voices are manifesting as thoughts in your geared up “mind.” SEE why your “mind,” when it “gears back up,” sounds like the chatter of a thousand monkeys. SEE why there is no such thing as "peace of mind."

LOOK at the ways in which thoughts generate assumed personality/personalities and how personality/personalities trigger thoughts. SEE the circular trap. SEE that the assumed identities/personas are lies; then, it should be obvious why, if you would be free, you must SEE the truth. Take the seven-step "journey" and you will understand that (a) seeing the entire truth, (b) Realizing Fully, (c) being in touch with Reality, and (d) being out of touch with false personas and the fictitious “mind” all amount to only one (simultaneous) happening.

The “journey” to Realization, therefore, is a “journey” of moving away from the lies of past cultures, away from the lies of your current culture, and toward the truth. The contaminated consciousness has an astonishing degree of tolerance for lies and distortions; the pure consciousness has no capacity at all to suffer any nonsense. Are you ready for the "journey"? Only if you are really tired of being trapped in cycles. Only if you are really tired of the fluctuations which you referenced. Only is you are really tired of all of the nonsense of the imaginary "world." Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]

YOU CANNOT STOP THE “MIND,” SO YOU MUST ELIMINATE IT COMPLETELY, Part One

FROM A SITE VISITOR: Hi Floyd, Angie here. I read your blogs from time to time and although I have some difficulty understanding the concepts you speak of, I am definitely interested in some of the ideas. The thing is, I have been thinking about the self/Self for a while now and asking a lot of questions. For the last few days, I have had some images running through my mind. The first includes the words \"look\" and \"see\", and the second is only a question...\"What do I ask now?\" I usually find that the answers come, but I\'ve walked into the hallway of a building full of closed doors. I think sometimes I lose my mind in the best way, but now...she\'s back in gear. Any insights? THank you for taking the time to read this. Angie

F.: Hello, Angie. Thx for visiting and for writing. First, if you “have some difficulty understanding the concepts” on the site, feel free to submit requests for clarification about any specific pointers that you need explained in more detail.

Next, if you’re giving consideration to the self/Self, and if you can expand (a) “asking a lot of questions” into (b) questioning it all, then you will have set the stage for the “journey” to Full Realization. Complete that seven-step "journey" and you will be freed from being jerked around by the influence of a "geared up mind" and by the nonsense in your culture that was accepted as truth thousands of years ago by ignorant people and that the masses are still blindly accepting as truth today. You cannot be truly free until you reject all externals that would control you. And what have they concocted to use as an instrument to control you? A “mind.” You can be freer than you’ve ever imagined if you can be freed from the machinations of that “geared up” mind that you mentioned.

So, about that “mind” that seems to be "lost at times" but then returns in high "gear" and starts generating thoughts that are likely too numerous to number. Ask first, “Why is that mind so valued by most?” It most certainly does not deserve to be valued, and the reason can be found by answering this question: “If the most primary of all thoughts generated by the 'mind' is inaccurate, how accurate could the rest of the thousands of thoughts per day be?”

And how is the most primary of all thoughts inaccurate? The primary thought deals with what you think you are, and since you are not what you think you are, how accurate can any of the other thoughts be which are generated by that “mind”?

The invitation is to understand how the body-mind-personality functions in order to understand how they prevent sustained happiness and stability. It is the body which provides the nervous system that is required for the consciousness to manifest. Once manifested, the body automatically performs its functions under the auspices of the brain. However, adult persons will soon begin to corrupt the newly-manifested consciousness with lies, programming, conditioning, and enculturation.

As the lies, programming, conditioning, and effects of enculturation are stored in memory, a “mind” begins to form and its influence begins to supersede that of the brain. For example: an adult might use alcohol in excess to try to cope with stress being generated by the machinations of the “mind.” The next morning, that person might feel awful and the brain might inspire him to say, "I'll never do that again"; however, later that evening—after the “mind” has been “back in gear,” as you say—the person might use alcohol in excess again, might have the same miserable result, but will continue in that cycle. The “mind” is superseding the brain in determining behavior.

So the body allows for the manifestation of the conscious-energy, the culture bastardizes that consciousness, and then the “mind” and personality become the forces that work in tandem to determine what persons do and how they feel. Here’s how that works: suppose the culture convinces a woman that she must marry in order to be happy. After she is pronounced “wife,” her “mind” convinces her that she is "different." Another seed of duality has been planted. She assumes a persona, a false role, and allows that to define her. As soon as a role (an ego-state) is assumed as an identity, ego-defense mechanisms are triggered and immediately elevate that persona’s status in her “mind.”

So the “mind” takes the personality to be real and the ego elevates that personality to super status. “Wife” almost instantaneously is elevated to “Super Wife.” And what must “Super Wife” have to exist and be happy? A “Super Husband.” Since both are illusions, “husband” will never be "super" consistently. Very soon, the honeymoon is over as “Super Wife” is disappointed time and again, not getting the attention deserved, the degree of respect deserved, or the reinforcement of her “Super” status which she wants all to recognize.

When “Husband” is "super" and meets those perceived needs or desires, wife is happy; when he fails, she is unhappy. Co-dependency at that point is in full bloom. Her mood is then determined by another person. She has empowered another person to determine how she feels, and both parties that are playing that game are nothing more than personas. The stage for co-dependency was set when the roles were assumed. The stage for chaos was also set because desires are met sometimes and not met at other times. The same happens with the male. “Super Husband” must have “Super Wife” to exist. If the super status level of his ego-state is not matched, he will be miserable.

And all unhappiness or depression or misery is generated from the interplay of the “mind” that “gears up” and that generates thoughts about how assumed personas deserve to be treated. Those thoughts convince persons to believe that their culturally-assigned roles/personas/multiple personalities are actual identifiers, so persons will defend themselves--the false self--to the end. That is how the “mind”/personality delusions work to foster belief in duality, and duality—in turn—functions like a cancer that produces more and more personas and more and more of the chaotic fluctuations between being happy and being unhappy. Eventually, the unhappiness dominates the entire relative existence because the “mind” cannot be stopped. So, what is the alternative? Realization, marked by the end of the mind-personality and the beginning of peaceful, AS IF living. Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]

REALIZATION AND ADDICTIONS, Part Two

[Continued from yesterday]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: [Received 11 Feb 2007] “You mentioned today that 95% or more are addicted to something. Is it possible that Realization can treat addiction? I’ve tried off and on for years to cut back on my drinking, and a lot of what you talk about is what I’ve heard in treatment. Of course, a lot of it is different cause I’ve been told only a higher power can help me and you don’t seem to believe in Him.”

F.: Now, to expand on your comment that “of course, a lot of it is different cause I’ve been told only a higher power can help me and you don’t seem to believe in Him.” Yes, in the early chapters of the book which serves as the primary source for many treatment options, it is suggested that persons come up with their own concept of “the power” whereas Advaita suggests being free of all concepts. If you read to the end, though, that same source book reports that (even though words such as “Him” were used) most of the founders of that program considered “the higher power” to be an “inner resource.”

That "inner resource" is no different from what Advaita teachers call “the inner guru.” And what is that “inner resource / inner guru”? It is the consciousness which had been pure, which has been corrupted via programming and conditioning, and which can be re-purified if one completes all seven steps of the Advaita “journey” from (a) identification with the false “I” to (b) abiding as the Absolute. Of course the consciousness, if fully re-purified, sees "higher" and "power" as nothing more than concepts as well.

Have some who have completed that seven-step “journey” reported that they no longer use substances to escape since they no longer have anything to escape and since there is no longer an “escaper”? Yes. Have some who have completed that seven-step “journey” reported that they no longer use substances to try to cope since there is no longer any persona, any “one,” that is trying to cope? Yes. Those who are trapped in the addictive personality want to control; therefore, they seek power so that they can control. Have some who have completed that seven-step “journey” been freed of all of their illusions about “power” and “control,” which are nothing more than concepts rooted in myth and egoism and delusion? Yes.

So, can Realization treat addiction? Full Realization certainly frees personas from the master addiction of the planet (to control) and from the secondary addiction of the planet (to have power in order to be able to control). It certainly removes all identification with personality, including the false concepts that are rooted in the addictive personality. Since you have “tried off and on for years to cut back on” your drinking—and have evidently failed—you might be interested in taking the seven steps from the “I” to the Absolute and then find out for yourself/YourSelf what the result is. Or, you might not. So it is. Please enter the silence of contemplation.

REALIZATION AND ADDICTIONS, Part One

FROM A SITE VISITOR: [Received 11 Feb 2007] “You mentioned today that 95% or more are addicted to something. Is it possible that Realization can treat addiction? I’ve tried off and on for years to cut back on my drinking, and a lot of what you talk about is what I’ve heard in treatment. Of course, a lot of it is different cause I’ve been told only a higher power can help me and you don’t seem to believe in Him.”

F.: First, thanks for writing. Next, it should be no surprise that some estimates suggest that close to 100% of all people on the planet suffer from the addictive personality to some degree, considering everything that persons can become addicted to—including alcohol, drugs, sex, shopping, spiritual programs, crack, computer games, gambling, eating, “love,” heroin, gurus, nicotine, work, power, religion, control, ad infinitum. The addictive personality is multi-faceted, and treatment often requires a plan that is holistic in its approach. Recent research proves that childhood trauma almost always precedes adult addiction, so treatment for PTSD is now included in the more comprehensive treatment approaches.

As for “Realization treating addictions,” the pointers offered on this site are not presented as a treatment for any illness or disease other than “The Disease of the Planet”: the corrupted consciousness. (Is the corrupted consciousness a major element of the addictive personality? Definitely.) That said, the content of many treatment plans for the addictive personality share some commonalities with the Advaita message. Why? Because addicts—trapped as they are in their particular personality—are exactly like the other persons on the planet who are also trapped in personality: all of them are almost always mistaken but never uncertain. In fact, all of them are quite sure that their thinking is "right" and that their beliefs are true and that their perspectives are clear when nothing could be farther from the truth.

So first, see that personality—including the addictive personality—is at the root of all personal problems. Furthermore, getting in touch with reality and being restored to sanity is common to both the Advaita teachings and to the treatment of the addictive personality (and the sane would never suggest that sanity can be restored merely by the asking). Also, both speak of regaining the ability to differentiate true from false; both speak of casting aside ideas, emotions and attitudes/beliefs; and both concur with the Advaitan poet’s advice, “To thine own Self be true.”

Also, the teachings contained in treatment plans and in the Advaita teachings are being offered to a similar audience, namely, those who lack awareness, those who have lost reason, and those who are staggering through this existence as a result of corrupted consciousness while (1) thinking they know exactly what they are doing and while (2) convinced that their perspective is totally accurate (when, in reality, it is totally inaccurate, twisted, warped, and distorted).

Furthermore, as with the Advaita teachings, many treatment plans for the addictive personality point out that ego / the false self / the phony “I,” is at the root of the selfishness, the self-pity, the self-destruction, the self-centeredness, and the self-absorption that typifies persons trapped in the addictive personality (which, again, includes almost every person on the planet). All of that attachment to self prevents being restored to sanity—to being in touch with reality—and prevents knowing the True Self and that which is beyond. Of course, “personality” is also common to those assuming false roles as well as to those ensnared in the addictive personality. Please enter the silence of contemplation. [To be continued]

WHY MOST PERSONS WILL NEVER REALIZE, Part Three

FROM A SITE VISITOR: Dear Mr. Henderson, Re; your am post of this date.[8 Feb 2007] Can you speak about how to move beyond the fear of losing \"this\" to embracing \"That\". When I think about \"Why not Realize\". It is fear. Fear of losing parts of the little self that I have allowed to define me. Peace,Peace,Peace Virginia

F.: [Continued from yesterday]

DENIAL
When persons read the February 7th and 8th postings that describe the insanity that marks the relative existence of the non-Realized, most will deny that anything in those two postings applies to them. Even as validated research confirms that 95% of people in “developed nations” suffer depression to some degree and that most persons suffer from MPD/DID and that bi-polar disorders have reached an all-time high and that 95% or more are addicted to something, most persons will deny that they are depressed or that they have any really significant problems. The ego always reports to itself that “it is doing just fine” and then reports the same to any who would question that delusion.

Among persons, the case is usually that denial and distortion re-frame miserable experiences as “normal” or as “OK, really” or as "That's just the way it is." It is also usually the case than unbelievable pain—of the mental and emotional and physical varieties—must manifest before persons will take action. When people are asleep, they must be shaken to be awakened, and who that is sound asleep would want to be shaken or awakened? Even those who are having nightmares usually prefer that their nightmare-filled sleep continue as opposed to taking the seven steps that are required in order to be fully awakened.

GREED
Finally, persons are controlled by greed. At the root of that greed is, once again, the desires of false personas and the fear that there will never be enough or that they will not always have enough to sustain all the images that the non-Realized adopt. Whereas Realization is about not wanting and about de-accumulating, body-mind-personality identification is about wanting and accumulating. “Giving up” rather than “getting” is anathema in the planet’s cultures of accumulation. Simplification, therefore, is also scorned, so complications ensue. Trapped within those conditions, the corrupted consciousness will usually remain corrupted throughout its manifestation. (Relatedly, the question that triggered your question was, "Why not Realize?" That could as well be stated as, "Why not clean up the corrupted consciousness that you have become and be restored to the state of pure consciousness that You Were?" or "Why not get free of all the myth-based lies that you've been taught?" or "Why not take out the garbage rather than letting it stay inside and contaminate your home and infect your very being?")

If the consciousness were re-purified enough to understand that “this” is a mirage and that THAT is all that’s real, Full Realization would happen. That understanding happens only after seeing how many lies have been told to humanity for thousands of years. Yet most persons—driven by fear, desire, arrogance, denial and greed—will continue to take lies and myths and superstitions to be true. Furthermore, in cultures where fear, desire, arrogance, denial and greed are now taken to be “the norm,” little inspiration to be free of any of those will manifest.

Thus, most will never Realize because fear, desire, arrogance, denial, greed and chaos have become preferable among the persons of the planet; therefore, the results of Realization—namely, an awareness that there’s nothing to fear, that there are no real requirements that should trigger desires, that having less lightens the load, and that awareness of truth results in peace—have no appeal at all. Because persons have such low tolerance for self-awareness and for self-inventory that reveals their relative-existence liabilities, they automatically have no interest in self-awareness, in Self Awareness, in relative shortcomings and abnormalities, or in truth.

Therefore, most will remain trapped in their body-mind-personality identification. If one would hate to lose even one single finger, think how much more he/she would hate to give up the body. If one is proud of her/his learned ignorance and "mind," why would the person consider giving up the lie-filled mind as the path to peace? If a person is so proud of the roles being played, why would he/she even consider discarding those phony roles and stop playing all the phony games? Most never will, and so it is. But anyone reading this post certainly has the opportunity to begin the seven-step “journey” to Full Realization. Please enter the silence of contemplation.