IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Thirteen

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS.]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

A review of the main points:

· Understand that everything which you take to be “spiritual” and “noumenal” is really nothing more than an accumulation of relative and phenomenal concepts.

· According to the earliest teachings shared among the Indigenous Peoples, that which is “true” is only the space between exhalation and inhalation. Close enough.

· “True Self” is not “God,” though many who have morphed this philosophy into a religion will adopt and defend that Self-God, false self concept as well.

· Ultimately, to try to support any “identity” alongside “the no-concept, non-dual Reality” is itself contradictory.

· At the “highest level” of understanding, any “identity” is seen to be conceptual.

· "Bliss" is merely an undisturbed, unconcerned vibration.

· The ultimate Advaita understanding is that there need not be any understanding. So relax.

· When a "state" of zero concepts is reached, it is understood that there is no "identity" at all. Nothing from nothing leaves…nothing, not “SOMETHING.”

· “Absolute,” “THAT,” “Brahman,” “God,” “energy,” “energy-matter,” “Consciousness,” “Awareness,” and “SOMETHING” are still man-made labels generated by persons.

· Ultimately, to find out “who or what you are” is useless since there is no who to benefit, no user to use; on the other hand, finding out “who you are not” could eliminate unnatural and supernatural living and allow natural, AS IF living to happen throughout the remainder of the manifestation. That would also allow freedom to happen, and only if free can bliss happen.

· Only when the addiction to the sound and the fury ends can the joy and bliss of the silence begin.

· To look to the universe and to focus on the concept of “SOMETHING” prevents seeing “The Reality of the Emptiness,” “The Reality of the Void,” “The Reality of the Nothingness.”

· Ego always wants more; freedom from the bondage of ego results in giving value to less.

· Ego is about going and doing and zooming in order to collect more; freedom from the love of more allows the non-doingness (the beingness only) to manifest, at least temporarily.

· Persons search for “the divine” and for an understanding of all that is "supernatural" when, in fact, there is nothing that is supernatural at all.

· The result of their having been fooled is an endless stream of desires and fears among persons. Those create a constant sense of longing, and longing generates a constant sense of dis-ease.

· The non-Realized never come to the understanding that it is only from a condition of emptiness (empty of concepts, of identities, of a “mind”) that a sense of fulfillment can happen during the manifestation.

· The Realized can taste what the Italians call il dolce di fare niente—“the sweetness of doing nothing.” The Fully Realized will shift even beyond that and will understand something even simpler than “the sweetness of doing nothing,” namely, il dolce di Niente—“the sweetness of Nothing,” period. Trace your roots. Go beyond self and Self, beyond Consciousness, beyond Awareness, and even beyond the Absolute to the seminal Nothingness. Abide as such.

· All identities are limiting. Limitations restrict freedom. Restrictions of freedom prevent the manifestation of happiness during the relative existence. Preoccupation with finding identities and assigning labels has the same effect.

· If you would be free, align with the nothingness. Reach the space.

· If you/You would be unconcerned, then all of your knowledge must go into liquidation. Has that happened? Have you reached the space?

· “The supreme Absolute…is only a name for communication purposes.” (Maharaj)

· “This is all a big hoax, a big fraud, created out of nothingness.” (Maharaj)

· Ultimately, even “nothing” as a concept is abandoned.

· Advaita (at the purest and most advanced level of the Teachings) endorses...(continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (Tomorrow: The Conclusion)
FOR THOSE STILL ASKING ABOUT THE ORDER IN WHICH THE BOOKS SHOULD BE READ:
AN OVERVIEW--The order in which the books are to be read and how to get them at a package rate:
Consider the Meditation CD, the Meditation Guides, Bullshit, and Spiritual Sobriety to be a “Beginner’s Package,” providing a foundation from which persons can begin to consider realities that are beyond the beliefs which they accept unquestioningly as a result of their enculturation. Used as a group, the works encourage inquiry (which is at the core of the Advaita approach) where questioning has not occurred before. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider Peace of Mind, Liberation, What Happens When I Die? and The Essence of the Teachings to be a “Mid-Level Seekers” Package, each guiding seekers beyond the false identification with body and mind and personality and then explaining the basic terminology that must be understood before moving to the advanced teachings. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider From the I to the Absolute, Consciousness/Awareness, and From the Absolute to the Nothingness to be an “Advanced Seekers” Package. From the I to the Absolute can serve as a guide for earnest and capable seekers, putting the teachings into an orderly context that reveals the exact steps that must be taken in an exact order to move through all of the degrees of separation from Reality, from belief in the false “I” to Realization. Consciousness/Awareness offers the next level of understanding, explaining that which is beyond the beingness and how happiness can manifest each day via the understanding. Finally, From the Absolute to the Nothingness will allow earnest and capable seekers to understand the state that is even prior to beingness and non-beingness, even prior to the Absolute. The seeker who understands the content of this book will realize how it is that—from a state of non-existence or nothingness—everything in this universe (and all universes) came to be. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]
MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE (FOR A LIMITED TIME): 10% OFF if two books are ordered at the same time; 15% OFF if three books are ordered at the same time; 20% OFF if four or more books are ordered at the same time. Visit http://www.floydhenderson.com/

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Twelve

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS.]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

[NOTE: It should now be possible to read, with an expanded view and an even deeper interpretation and understanding, certain pointers. If you review some of the pointers from yesterday’s post as well as pointers offered by other Advaitin Teachers, you can likely apply the considerations in this book and thereby uncover realizations beyond any you’ve imagined so far]:

********************

F. Since neither energy nor matter can be created nor destroyed, and since both can simply “appear” in a vacuum, then all universes began as chance happenings where, in a vacuum of nothingness, “something” spontaneously appeared.

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj: "Prior to taking this form, you were formless; spontaneously the form came, and when the form came there was a natural longing to return to the formless state. When you want to return to the formless, desireless state, then only you come here.”

********************

F.: Just understand that what has always been prior to something has been…nothing. If you were to trace your “roots” (or the “original identity” that now concerns you), the search would lead to…nothing.

Maharaj: “If they come face-to-face with that root, they will be stunned into silence.”

F.: It is stunning to realize that you may have understood the root for years but now find "the root of all roots."

********************

F.: Earlier, the statement was offered that “Not only do I not believe in something, I don’t even believe in nothing…no person, no concept, no form, no nothing. ‘Something’ is temporary and ‘nothing’ is also temporary—all fleeting aspects of an ever-changing universe that wasn’t at first and that later suddenly was.”

Maharaj: “You are so used to the support of concepts that when your concepts leave you, although it is your true state, you get frightened and try to cling to them again.”

F.: In that “true state,” there are neither concepts about “SOMETHING” nor even concepts about nothing. The consciousness-manifested condition can become the bliss-manifested condition when belief in any and every concept ends.

********************

F.: Those trapped in their limited “minds” will not understand how all possibilities are indeed possible. They will not be able to grasp the fact that, when there is nothing to prevent organizing and disorganizing (and there isn’t), that anything can happen.

Maharaj: "From the Absolute no-knowing state, spontaneously, this consciousness ‘I am’ has appeared—there is no reason, no cause."

F.: And from the no-thing state, the Absolute manifested. In the case of all universes that have ever “formed,” the nothingness has always been antecedent to all. Next, if you understand that "a total absence of concern" can only happen in that no-knowing state, why not enter that state now and forget about knowing self, Self, and all other concepts as well?

********************

F.: Now, some Advaitin sages (and some other philosophers as well) will remind protégés at this point that all possibilities are possible because they are being seen as functionings and happenings in a self-defining reality and in a Self-defining Reality.

Dennis Waite: "Advaita defines 'real' as being that which exists in or transcends all three periods of time (i.e. past, present and future)...."

F.: Yes, there is that which was even prior to “the past.” In the space called “this universe,” prior to Consciousness there was Awareness. Prior to Awareness there was…a vacuum…nothingness…emptiness. If you seek “your roots” or your “origin” or some “true identity,” reach the space. Know the nothingness. If you would be totally free and independent (and thereby happy) throughout the remainder of the manifestation, then be the emptiness now that you were even before there was “a past”...before there was beingness...before there was non-beingness...before there was "a before."

********************

F.: Your effort to find the noble or lofty "SOMETHING" that you are is an exercise being conducted within both a self-defining reality and a Self-defining Reality.

Maharaj: "There is no question of elevating to a higher level. Here it is only a question of understanding" and “Whatever you have tried to understand during your spiritual search will prove false.”

F.: Persons at the third of seven steps to Reality fixate in their religious or spiritual roles, sure that they understand all. Those who complete all seven steps fixate in "Reality," sure that they have reached the final understanding. Those who understand Consciousness/Awareness are sure that they have reached "the height" of understanding and purity.

Now, they are told here that all three assumptions regarding spirituality, Reality, and Awareness are false. They are told that their most cherished understandings are no longer valid. They are told that their spirituality is a fraud. They are told that anything and everything that they think they have found on their "search" should now been seen as a fraud.

That is why persons either reject the “most advanced” teachings outright or are stunned into silence. Realization happened. An awakening occurred. Liberation manifested. It all seemed so joyously “final.” Now this! Just when they were so sure of their “identity,” now this! Just when they thought they were really “SOMETHING,” some space called “maharaj” or some space called “floyd” informs them that they are really nothing:

Maharaj: “From my angle, you are nothing. You have no identity.”

********************

F.: Now it is known that from the nothingness, “something” can manifest. Yet what is pervasive in "this universe"? Not the “something.” Only the nothing. The nothingness precedes all. It is the emptiness that is most pervasive.

[NOTE: How pervasive is the emptiness? If you were to divide the emptiness of the universe into cubes measuring twenty-seven inches on each side, the average density of the universe would be one atom per cube of nothingness. If one argues that he is "x" number of atoms, then he will be told that he is more accurately hundreds of cubic units of nothingness times "x"; of course, no is-ness or Is-ness can be accurately defined at all in a space wherein all is in flux...seemingly "appearing" and then seemingly "disappearing" as manifestations of specks of consciousness try to define self and Self...as they try to "fix" that which is in flux...as they try to guarantee continuity for that which is without continuity.]

Dennis Waite: "Worldly pursuits cannot bring lasting happiness. They are limited while our true nature is unlimited."

My true nature is emptiness…not fullness. I Am not atoms. I AM nothing, yet even that is not fixed. Ignoring the nonsense in your cultures of accumulation, including the accumulation of titles and labels and identities and personas, can you admit that you are nothing to the degree that... (continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

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

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Eleven

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS.]

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: This pointer was offered yesterday:

Physicists who understand the null state can provide insight into the particulars, but the “advanced” Advaitin seeker need not understand all of the particulars to understand “how we got from nothingness to the Absolute,” to use Sim’s words.

For starters, consider two understandings that are referred to as the “Genesis Vacuum” and as “Quantum Genesis.” The “Quantum Genesis” teaching explains that the origin of this universe (and all universes) may be understood in terms of a quantum chance.

Since neither energy nor matter can be created nor destroyed, and since they can simply “appear” in a vacuum, then all universes began as chance happenings where, in a vacuum of nothingness, “something” spontaneously appeared. Just understand that what has always been prior to something has been…nothing. If you were to trace your “roots” (or the “original identity” that concerns you), the search would lead to…nothing.

Related to that understanding is the “Genesis Vacuum”—a scientific principle which has shown how this universe (and all universes) began within a vacuum of nothingness. From that nothingness, energy and matter simply arose in a manner that has now been repeated in the scientific laboratory where a perfectly-sealed vacuum was arranged. Then, within that vacuum, a particle suddenly appeared.

It is now known that within total vacuums of nothingness, something can suddenly arise. Physicists who understand the null state join with philosophers and metaphysicists to explain how—from a state of non-existence or nothingness—everything can be. Without delving too deeply into the science behind the philosophical understanding, here’s what some researchers have to offer by way of clarification:

Mark I. Vuletic: “Few people are aware of the fact that many modern physicists claim that things—perhaps even the entire universe—can indeed arise from nothing via natural processes.”

Paul Davies: “In the everyday world, energy is always unalterably fixed; the law of energy conservation is a cornerstone of classical physics. But in the quantum microworld, energy can appear and disappear out of nowhere in a spontaneous and unpredictable fashion.”

Heinz Pagels: “Once our minds accept the mutability of matter and the new idea of the vacuum, we can speculate on the origin of the biggest thing we know—the universe. Maybe the universe itself sprang into existence out of nothingness—a gigantic vacuum fluctuation…. Remarkably, the laws of modern physics allow for this possibility.”

Finally, both Steven Weinberg and Ya. B. Zel'dovich suggest that "the universe began as a perfect vacuum" and that "all the particles of the material world were created from the expansion of space."

Further, consider the Laws of Thermodynamics, discussed many times on this site, for comparison. All is in a state of flux...dynamic and changing. More specifically, the Law of Entropy says that elements disorganize and organize and can disorganize and organize again.

That is what happens when a particle arises in a vacuum and then organizes with other particles that appear spontaneously and naturally. That is what happens when atoms split and combine and split and re-combine. “Universes” are nothing more than the spaces in which such organizings and disorganizings happen.

Just as the Law of Entropy explains how elements can organize and disorganize and re-organize, so Null State Physics explains how everything can organize, disorganize, and re-organize from nothing...from a state that was originally null and void.

Earlier, the statement was offered that “Not only do I not believe in something, I don’t even believe in nothing…no person, no concept, no form, no nothing. ‘Something’ is temporary and ‘nothing’ is also temporary—all fleeting aspects of an ever-changing universe that wasn’t at first and that later suddenly was.”

Those trapped in their limited “minds” will not understand how all possibilites are indeed possible. They will not be able to grasp the fact that, when there is nothing to prevent organizing and disorganizing (and there isn’t), that anything can happen. And such organizing and disorganizing is all that is happening. Nothing comes or goes, though much "appears" and "disappears." Rather than "cycling," a more accurate description might be that groupings and un-groupings are happening (or not).

Nothing is actually as it is perceived by observers, and all which is supposedly “seen” is only a momentary appearance involving something being mistaken for what it is not. Continuity of anything with name and form is a mental, fictional construct only.

Now, some Advaitin sages (and some other philosophers as well) will remind protégés at this point that all possibilities... (continued in the book)
To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
FOR THOSE STILL ASKING ABOUT THE ORDER IN WHICH THE BOOKS SHOULD BE READ:
AN OVERVIEW:

The order in which the books are to be read and how to get them at a package rate:
Consider the Meditation CD, the Meditation Guides, Bullshit, and Spiritual Sobriety to be a “Beginner’s Package,” providing a foundation from which persons can begin to consider realities that are beyond the beliefs which they accept unquestioningly as a result of their enculturation. Used as a group, the works encourage inquiry (which is at the core of the Advaita approach) where questioning has not occurred before. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider Peace of Mind, Liberation, What Happens When I Die? and The Essence of the Teachings to be a “Mid-Level Seekers” Package, freeing seekers of the false identification with body and mind and personality and explaining the basic terminology that must be understood before moving to the advanced teachings. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider From the I to the Absolute, Consciousness/Awareness, and From the Absolute to the Nothingness to be an “Advanced Seekers” Package. From the I to the Absolute can serve as a guide for earnest and capable seekers, putting the teachings into an orderly context that reveals the exact steps that must be taken in an exact order to move through all of the degrees of separation from belief in the false “I” to Realization. Consciousness/Awareness offers the next level of understanding, explaining that which is beyond the beingness and how happiness can manifest each day via the understanding. Finally, From the Absolute to the Nothingness will allow earnest and capable seekers to understand the state that is even prior to beingness and non-beingness, even prior to the Absolute. The seeker who understands the content of this book will realize how it is that—from a state of non-existence or nothingness—everything in this universe (and all universes) came to be. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]
MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE (FOR A LIMITED TIME): 10% OFF if two books are ordered at the same time; 15% OFF if three books are ordered at the same time; 20% OFF if four or more books are ordered at the same time. Visit http://www.floydhenderson.com/

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Ten

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS.]

NOTE: Now taking pre-orders for the complete version of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. $16.99+ S&H. Go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. Your order will be processed now and will be shipped as soon as the books are ready in about two weeks.

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: A dedicated student of Advaita called “Sim from Kentucky”—upon hearing these Teaching on Nothingness for the first time—said: Now you are going to have to explain how we get from nothingness to the Absolute, which used to be the last stop on the train (or the first, depending upon your direction). A spark from the potentiality of the Absolute was the “old” starting point.

The reply was: an insightful remark at this juncture. It has been noted that the readiness is all. It may be that you are ready for the ultimate piece of the puzzle. It may be that you are ready to move beyond “kindergarten spirituality.” It may be that you are ready to move beyond “high school and college physics and philosophy.” You may be ready to receive your “Specialist Degree in Emptiness” and a “Doctorate in Nothingness.”

You may be ready to understand that which is prior to Consciousness. You may be ready to understand that which is prior to Awareness. You may be ready to understand that which is prior to the functioning of the totality. You may be ready for the explanation of how it is that—from a state of non-existence and non-beingness and nothingness—everything in this universe (all all universes) came to be.

First, your inference is accurate: there is a process whereby, from the nothingness, a particle can manifest. This entire universe began with the instantaneous manifestation of an atom that split and fused and formed another atom. What is called “this universe” can be traced to an event that is similar to what is playing out continuously within what is called “the sun”:

At the core of the sun, four hydrogen nuclei fuse together to form one helium nucleus, and that happens over and over. The part of the energy which that process releases as light travels in particle and wave form. After land plants evolved on earth (not 500 million years ago but closer to 700 million years ago), the stage was set for plants to convert energy that would not be usable by animals and humans into a form that could be usable. Plant photosynthesis, in turn, set the stage for the manifesting of energy-consciousness.

Understand, however, that prior to all that, it was from the nothingness that a manifestation happened spontaneously. Eventually, a manifestation of energy happened, and then even later a movement of energy from the “field” that would come to be referred to as “the Absolute” began (continued in the book)
To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

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

FOR THOSE STILL ASKING ABOUT THE ORDER IN WHICH THE BOOKS SHOULD BE READ:
AN OVERVIEW: The order in which the books are to be read and how to get them at a package rate:
Consider the Meditation CD, the Meditation Guides, Bullshit, and Spiritual Sobriety to be a “Beginner’s Package,” providing a foundation from which persons can begin to consider realities that are beyond the beliefs which they accept unquestioningly as a result of their enculturation. Used as a group, the works encourage inquiry where questioning has not occurred before (which is at the core of the Advaita approach). [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider Peace of Mind, Liberation, What Happens When I Die? and The Essence of the Teachings to be a “Mid-Level Seekers” Package, freeing seekers of the false identification with body and mind and personality and explaining the basic terminology that must be understood before moving to the advanced teachings. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider From the I to the Absolute, Consciousness/Awareness, and From the Absolute to the Nothingness to be an “Advanced Seekers” Package. From the I to the Absolute can serve as a guide for earnest and capable seekers, putting the teachings into an orderly context that reveals the exact steps that must be taken in an exact order to move through all of the degrees of separation from belief in the false “I” to Realization. Consciousness/Awareness offers the next level of understanding, explaining that which is beyond the beingness and how happiness can manifest each day via the understanding. Finally, From the Absolute to the Nothingness will allow earnest and capable seekers to understand the state that is even prior to beingness and non-beingness, even prior to the Absolute. The seeker who understands the content of this book will realize how it is that—from a state of non-existence or nothingness—everything in this universe (and all universes) came to be. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]
MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE (FOR A LIMITED TIME): 10% OFF if two books are ordered at the same time; 15% OFF if three books are ordered at the same time; 20% OFF if four or more books are ordered at the same time. Visit http://www.floydhenderson.com/

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Nine

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS]

NOTE: Several e-mails are arriving, asking about the sequence in which the various books should be read if seekers are to be able—as one said—“to fit all of the pieces of the puzzle together, in order.” An overview will be offered at the end of this post to explain.

This caution is offered again: the content of this series is not for beginners or mid-level seekers. Pointers with broader applicability will continue in a few days.

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: Maharaj said, “This is all a big hoax, a big fraud, created out of nothingness.” Ultimately, even “nothing” as a concept is abandoned.

Maharaj said, “The sum total of my spirituality now is nothing, even the word ‘nothing’ is not there, so there is no spirituality left.” After reaching the point of zero concepts, how could there be such a thing as “spirituality”? It is just another concept, dreamed up by men. The Full Understanding lies far beyond the assumption of any spiritual or religious personas.

Maharaj also said, “The Absolute state cannot be explained by words.” Of course, that pointer cannot be offered to beginners. The functioning of the totality must be understood before “the totality” can be dismissed as just another concept.

Ultimately, it can be asked, "So what is with all this talk—what is with all these words—about the 'anything'? About 'something'? About 'nothing'?" If one sees any part of this spontaneously-happening process as anything more than entertainment during the brief period of manifestation, then one has been fooled. Is this Advaita-heresy? Of course not. It is a pointer toward truth, but then, even "truth" is a concept, is it not?

Why cast aside all concepts, ideas, emotions, attitudes, and beliefs? Because the consciousness, once conditioned, believes in the false. It becomes the supposed knower of concepts, the supposed thinker of ideas, the supposed emoter of emotions, the supposed believer of beliefs. All of that leads at least to unhappiness or to misery and suffering in the extreme. Once even the consciousness is dismissed, what remains to sustain concepts? Nothing. In the absence of concepts, freedom can happen and peace can follow.

Every person, however, is trapped in the belief that his/her mind-flow and her/his thought-life is "the real." What nonsense. All is imagined or seen incorrectly; all concepts were dreamed up by ignorant, controlling men and passed down—generally without any questioning of those concepts at all—from one generation to the next.

Because that has been the case for generation after generation after generation, the planet is now dominated by non-Realized persons who are living their lives under the influence of the most ignorant concepts imaginable—ideas dreamed up millennia ago by men who had no understanding of facts and science and reality but who were driven by their superstitions and their ignorance instead.

Such remains the current status of the masses. To be free of a life driven by the influence of learned ignorance, one must abandon the belief in any belief...including the belief that everything must be labeled...including the labeling of whatever you think you are.

Advaita (at the purest and most advanced level of the Teachings) endorses zero concepts. It invites programmed and conditioned persons to be free of all beliefs and all ideas, recommending not that “minds” should be full but that all “minds” should be emptied, step-by-step, until no “mind” exists at all.

To assume no identity during the manifestation of consciousness will produce the exact same results as abiding as the Absolute or as the Awareness that is unaware of awareness. A relative existence marked by weariness and heaviness is steeped in concepts. A relative existence marked by lightness is burdened with few concepts. One in which total freedom is happening is marked by a belief in no concepts.

A relative existence characterized by complete freedom and peace is marked by emptiness. Meaning? Meaning it is not marked at all. A sense of heaviness results when identities are assumed. A sense of lightness happens when a minimum of identities are assumed. A sense of total freedom and a sense of peace (a sense of the unburdened emptiness) only happens when no identities are assumed.

Why are persons so opposed to these advanced teachings? Because they are driven by desires and fears. Because they have been programmed from early on to accept identities and to accumulate identities. Because they have been conditioned to “be somebody.” Because they want to “be somebody”…to really “be something.”

Yet all of that is based in the duality of “loss-gain.” There has never been any belief held by any person that did not have behind it a notion that some payoff would result from holding that belief. What nonsense when there is no WHO to gain and no WHO to lose…when there is nothing to gain and nothing to lose.

Nothing more is happening in this universe than a series of groupings and ungroupings, nothing more than being and not-being, nothing more than... (continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
AN OVERVIEW
Consider the Meditation CD, the Meditation Guides, Bullshit, and Spiritual Sobriety to be a “Beginner’s Package,” providing a foundation from which persons can begin to consider realities that are beyond the beliefs which they accept unquestioningly as a result of their enculturation. Used as a group, the works encourage inquiry (which is at the core of the Advaita approach) where questioning has not occurred before. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider Peace of Mind, Liberation, What Happens When I Die? and The Essence of the Teachings to be a “Mid-Level Seekers” Package, freeing seekers of the false identification with body and mind and personality and explaining the basic terminology that must be understood before moving to the advanced teachings. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider From the I to the Absolute, Consciousness/Awareness, and From the Absolute to the Nothingness to be an “Advanced Seekers” Package. From the I to the Absolute can serve as a guide for earnest and capable seekers, putting the teachings into an orderly context that reveals the exact steps that must be taken in an exact sequence in order for one to move through all of the degrees of separation from Reality that result from belief in the bogus “I.” Consciousness/Awareness offers the next level of understanding, explaining that which is beyond the beingness and how happiness can manifest each day via the understanding. Finally, From the Absolute to the Nothingness will allow earnest and capable seekers to understand the state that is even prior to beingness and non-beingness, even prior to the Absolute. The seeker who understands the content of this book will realize how it is that—from a state of non-existence or nothingness—everything in this universe (and all universes) came to be. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]
MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE (FOR A LIMITED TIME): 10% OFF if two books are ordered at the same time; 15% OFF if three books are ordered at the same time; 20% OFF if four or more books are ordered at the same time. Visit http://www.floydhenderson.com/

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Eight

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: Maharaj also said, “This knowledge is for those who have no desires.” It is obvious that your desire for an identity inspires your talk of “something.” Since you desire an identity, the content of this book will not likely appeal to you. Are you also desiring life eternal? Then the ultimate understanding is not for you. Because you want to be “something” (and something forever) then the ultimate teaching will likely have no appeal for you.

If you still desire to know who you are (and that is appropriate at the earlier levels), these highest level teachings will not be for you. It can be asked legitimately, “Then what is any of this about? Why are the teachings happening? Why does the consciousness continue to speak?”

Maharaj was asked that very question and he answered, “What is the worth of all these activities of human beings? It is all entertainment, just to pass the time. You get pleasure only when you forget yourself.” So for ultimate pleasure, forget your self, and forget Your Self.

He said, “Liberation means what? It is no more there. [Flicking his cigarette lighter off and on.] This cigarette lighter is the body; the consciousness is the flame. Now it isn’t there anymore; it is liberated. Where is the need to label it…?”

“First I thought I was the body, then I experienced that I was not the body but I was the consciousness, then I got the experience that this consciousness is not really me, and there is no form, no individuality, no nothing.”

It has been asked even by more advanced seekers during satsanga sessions and Advaita Seminars and Advaita Retreats, “Isn’t there something that you believe in?”

The reply: “Not only do I not believe in something, I don’t even believe in nothing…no person, no concept, no form, no nothing. ‘Something’ is temporary and ‘nothing’ is also temporary—all fleeting aspects of an ever-changing universe that wasn’t at first and that later suddenly was.” (More on that in a later chapter.)

Wherefore your desire for permanence? Wherefore your desire for an “identity” when even before the “SOMETHING” you reference, there was nothing? Ultimately, either your view of Reality involves no concepts and no duality, or your false sense of reality involves concepts (which, in turn, support duality and falsehoods).

Far more pervasive among persons who will never find a “true identity” are their distortions regarding all of the false, assumed identities which they are not but which they think they are. (And those are the “identities” that have a far more influential impact, relatively speaking).

If persons would be free of the suffering that is rooted in the ignorance of their ego-states—and the egotism that always accompanies their false identities—then (continued in the book).

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
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IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Seven

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

and received yesterday, regarding a pointer in the September 23rd post:

“Easy for you to say that ‘a sense of loss is illusion,’ but if everything you worked for and earned during your adult life was taken away by an egomaniac, something so flippant might not be stated.”

F.: [Insert: Actually, most of the material things that were worked for and paid for during a twenty-year period were taken away by an egomaniac. The money and those possessions are now being shared with another man by that person, so the pointer that you reference was not offered from within a vacuum. More to the point, though, is the fact that the bitterness that is implied in your message might be dispelled if you were able to understand this pointer from Maharaj:

Suppose somebody abuses you and you find out who it is. Is it the body? It is not the body. Then what could it be? Finally you come to the conclusion that it is spontaneously happening out of whatever that body is. You will not attribute it to any individual. When your individuality is dissolved, you will not see individuals anywhere, it is just a functioning in consciousness. If it clicks in you, it is very easy to understand. If it does not, it is most difficult. It is very profound and very simple, if understood right.

A thorough investigation of the background of whoever you think to be the most abusive person that you’ve ever dealt with will usually reveal that person to also be the most abused person you’ll ever meet. Since there are no individuals, however, what you and “floyd” were really dealing with were highly warped specks of consciousness. An honest and objective look at what inspired you and "floyd" to attach for a time to those warped specks of consciousness would reveal equally warped specks of consciousness that were being driven to try to satisfy a desire or a fear. Also, an honest and objective look at what you think you've lost would reveal that you haven't lost a thing. To the degree that you cast aside your self, to that same degree will both your illusory sense of "loss" and your bitterness be cast aside as well.

Some functionings in consciousness are entertaining. Some functionings in consciousness are not. So it is. If you shift beyond your identification with body, mind, personality and beliefs, you will be able to witness your feelings rise and fall without attachment and therefore without such bitterness. Freedom from emotional intoxication follows freedom from identification with body, mind, ego-states, and ideas. By the way, the excerpts from this book are not for you. The invitation for now is to read, and re-read, only these first four paragraphs that are in brackets.]

Now, to continue with the extracts from the book:

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj explained to a seeker who was preoccupied with finding an identity, “You are asking, ‘Who am I?’ and you are not going to get an answer, because the one who will get the answer is false. You may have an idea, a concept, and you will think you have found yourself, but it is only a concept.”

Understand that “the Self” is as much a concept as “the self.” Both can function only during the relative manifestation, the self being the false identity that can only see the false and the Self being that which can see Reality. Yet all seeing—be it “True” Witnessing or “false” witnessing—can happen only during this manifestation. All labels—whether labels dealing with the phenonenal or labels dealing with the noumenal—are contained in...(continued in the book)

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Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
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IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Six

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: All identities are limiting. Limitations restrict freedom. Restrictions of freedom prevent the manifestation of happiness during the relative existence. Preoccupation with finding identities and assigning labels has the same effect.

Nothing other than space is limitless. Should you identify with anything other than the limitless nothingness, then you will never enjoy the happiness that can only happen NOW, during the manifestation. If happiness is to happen, you must reach the space.

Bodies are limited; minds are limited; planets are limited; galaxies are limited; the boundaries of the universe, though expanding, are nevertheless limited; the self and the Self are limited. Even the Absolute is infinitesimal when compared with the limitless space. You may have reached the Absolute, but have you reached the space?

Planets are finite and their form will end; all stars and suns are finite and their forms will end; galaxies are finite and their forms will end. Only space is limitless. Only nothingness is pervasive. Emptiness abounds, and during the relative manifestation, you will never feel “more full” than when you are truly empty: empty of identities…empty of preoccupation with self…empty of preoccupation with Self.

Yet that can be understood only after years of being imprisoned as a result of having been programmed to accumulate; after years of accumulating; after seeking “something” beyond the emptiness of collecting “stuff”; after years of serving self; after years of seeking Self; after de-accumulation; and after enjoying the freedom of less-ness. Only then can one understand the irony of this paradoxical teaching: the bliss which manifests after being aware of the fullness can only happen after understanding the reality of the emptiness.

Consider the moon and the surrounding space. Is the moon suspended in darkness and emptiness? Not at all. There is as much light surrounding the moon as is reflected from its surface. The surrounding light is not seen because it is not being reflected off a surface. That which appears to be the emptiness is really the fullness.

So it is during the manifestation: the non-Realized miss out on understanding the reality of the fullness, focusing as they do on their nagging sensation of misconceived emptiness. The sense of "emptiness" that they think they are experiencing results when their false selves believe that they have not gained something they have always wanted or when their false identities think that they have lost something that they wanted to have forever. Meanwhile, both gain and lost are illusion; therefore, their misery is illusion-based as well.

In contrast, the Realized enjoy a sense of fullness though there is no longer any body or mind or personality that is reflecting anything. Being emptied of the false, the fullness of being unencumbered and free results in a sense of freedom (as exhibited by the man mentioned in the post yesterday who was going to be free over the weekend because he had nothing lined up).

If you would be free, line up with the nothingness as well. Reach the space.

Next, "If there is no post-manifestation self or Self," some ask...(continued in the book)

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Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
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IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Five

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: Egotism drives persons to want to “be something” and to "be somebody." Programming and conditioning and enculturation and domestication convince the non-Realized that they “are something”…that they are, in fact, “many things.” (Hence, "duality.") Desires drive persons to seek states of rapture; fear, combined with a desire for power and control and continuity, drives persons to seek “the divine.”

Ego always wants more; freedom from the bondage of ego results in giving value to less. Ego is about going and doing and zooming in order to collect more; freedom from the love of more allows the non-doingness (the beingness only) to manifest.

Thus, persons search for “the divine” and for an understanding of all that is "supernatural" when in fact there is nothing that is supernatural at all. That which is thought to be supernatural is contained entirely within the warped consciousness. Though the only style of living that makes sense in the relative is natural living, the fact is that persons either live unnaturally or think that they are living supernaturally as a result of their having been fooled.

The result of their having been fooled is an endless stream of desires and fears that create a constant sense of longing. A constant sense of longing generates a sense of emptiness…of not being full…of a lack of fulfillment. The desires and fears generate the adoption of one false self after another, so the non-Realized end up being "full of themselves"—meaning, mentally full of their false selves.

Since those selves are illusions without substance, the sensation of emptiness among persons seems ever-present throughout the manifestation. They think that they are experiencing that sensation when, in fact, there is no one to experience anything. That sensation saddles "emptiness" with a negative connotation among the non-Realized. Few of them will ever understand the joys of de-accumulation. Few of them will ever come to the understanding that it is only the emptiness that can be fulfilling during the manifestation.

Yesterday, after securing the lines on the boat and then leaving the harbor, this exchange was overheard as one man asked another: “What have you got lined up for the weekend?” The second answered, “Nothing. Not a GD thing. Isn’t that great?”

If an empty schedule for two days can be considered “great,” imagine how wonderful such emptiness could be 24-7 for the remainder of the manifestation.

Yet who that has been programmed to accumulate more could possibility prefer de-accumulation and less? The answer is, “Only those who have tasted even the slightest bit of that sweetness of less…of nothingness.”

A pointer that has been shared before will be repeated here since it is relevant to this discussion:

The Realized can taste what the Italians call il dolce di fare niente—“the sweetness of doing nothing.” The Fully Realized will shift to a level even beyond that and will understand something even simpler than “the sweetness of doing nothing,” namely, il dolce di Niente—“the sweetness of Nothing,” period.

It has been asked, “If nothingness is the real deal, then why are words gathered into books or posted on a site? Someone is doing that gathering and posting.” That comment indicates delusion. Consciousness speaks, but consciousness is without personal attributes or individuality or doership. Here, there is no person or being or consciousness choosing anything. All happens spontaneously. Words come automatically, without thought...without thinker.

Consciousness has neither body nor mind nor personality. It assumes no identity if pure or if re-purified. No matter how dedicated you are to finding an identity and "being somebody" and thereby "being fulfilled," the fact is that whatever you might claim your permanent identity to be, it cannot be any part of a non-permanent relative existence. You really aren't anybody.

Thus, whatever you would claim as your real identity must be void of self existence and void of SELF existence. Whatever you might think you are is actually...(continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
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IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Four

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: In response to the pointer that

“advanced” seekers can reach a “state” of zero concepts and thereby understand that “Absolute,” “THAT,” “Brahman,” “God,” “energy,” “energy-matter,” “Consciousness,” “Awareness,” and “SOMETHING” are nothing more than man-made labels

and that

since Awareness is not even aware of awareness, then there is no reason to be “concerned” with any labels at all

some will say, “How dare you discount spirituality.” Others will ask, “How can you dare to minimize the Pure Absolute that I AM?” Some will exclaim, “How dare you close the door to immortality by suggesting that there is no eternal reward…or punshment,” or “How dare you suggest that all of my good works here will not be rewarded there.”

Even among those who claim to be “Advaitins” and who claim to have “cast aside their ideas and concepts,” many begin to cling to their newly-discovered Advaita concepts. They refuse to cast aside the thorn called “the Advaita Teachings” even after all other thorns have been removed.

The pointer has been offered that “to look to the universe and to focus on the concept of ‘SOMETHING’ prevents seeing ‘The Reality of the Emptiness,’ ‘The Reality of the Void,’ ‘The Reality of the Nothingness’.”

In fact, "the entire universe"—no different at all from "this world"—is contained in consciousness as well. Many will reject the no-concept, no duality, no identity pointers being offered in this book. Some will claim that to even discuss “emptiness” is an affirmation of consciousness (and proof that consciousness is their true identity).

Those making that claim will suggest that denying consciousness as one’s ultimate identity requires consciousness to be a true identity because the refutation itself proves that consciousness is present to make the denial. At the conceptual level, their argument is accepted.

Yet what of the “no concept” level? For a philosophy that invites seekers to find out all that they are not, an inordinate amount of energy is being expended in seeking the answer to “Who am I?” instead (even though the ones asking the question—or answering the question—are still assuming false identities: “The Spiritual Giant,” “The Seeker,” “The Religious One,” “The Advaitin,” “The Realized One,” “The Guru,” “The non-Doer,” ad infinitum).

The question ignores the simple fact that “there is no who to discuss or to find anything.” At best, only a “what” can be legitimately discussed, and it could be asked, “Why discuss even that?”

[INSERT: At the seminar this week, seekers asked such questions as the following:

“So who am I, really?” and “What is love?” and “What is permanent?” Another made the comment, “I’m sick of trying to ‘get this.’ I understand that I’m not those roles I’ve played all my life. Why is that not enough?”

The consideration was offered: "Maybe it is enough. If you were never to find the answer to questions regarding who you are, but you were able to discover everything that you are not, then the course of events in your relative existence would turn 180 degrees. If you were never to find the answer to questions regarding what love is, but you were able to discover everything that love is not but that is driving you nevertheless, then the course of events in your relative existence would turn 180 degrees.]

Persons are driven by what they are not. That Which They Are will have no effect whatsoever on the only existence that they will ever be cognizant of, namely, the relative existence. (Again, the post-manifestation Awareness has no awareness of itself.)

Maharaj predicted that only one in a million will ever Realize That Which They Are. That miniscule percentage has never impacted the planet, has never "made the world a better place," and it never will. However, were all of the non-Realized on the planet to abandon belief in all of the personas which they have assumed as identities...(continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

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

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AN ADVAITA VEDANTA-BASED SHORT STORY by DENNIS WAITE

F.: [While out of town until Friday to conduct A Seminar on the Advaita Teachings, the short story below is being reprinted and its pointers are being offered for consideration.]

Dennis Waite has been a student of Advaita for over twenty 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 Back to the Truth: 5000 Years of Advaita. For information about all of his 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.”

[PLEASE NOTE: The excerpts from the book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS will continue on Friday, but for now, the story generated by that speck of consciousness called "Dennis" will be shared. After reading the entire story and considering the pointers, you will understand why space on the site is being provided to share its content with visitors.]

“WHAT IS ADVAITA?”

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.”

“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/.

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Three

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: Most who read pointers dealing with zero concepts (as offered by some Direct Path Advaita Teachers and by some “Neo-Advaitins”), will feel as if they are dying or being robbed of their “true identity.” Some will feel that their “true identity” is being minimized and not recognized for the glorious post-manifestation "SOMETHING" that it is...all “heavenly” and “celestial” and “splendid”…maybe even “saintly” or “godly” or “cherubic” or “spiritual” or “divine” or “holy” or "something" which they believe will be "even above and beyond" all of that.

Some resent the implication that their relevance, either during the relative manifestation or after the relative manifestation, is being decreased or diminished or underestimated. They hate the suggestion that to have taken themselves and their beliefs seriously for so many years was all nonsense. They hate hearing that their years of fighting for their causes were uselessly passed in vain and were steeped in egotism and efforts to support their false identities/ego-states.

They hate hearing that their entire existence is all much ado about nothing. They despise being told that they have been fooled. They hate pointers dealing with purposelessness and meaninglessness. They hate pointers which suggest that all of those times when they made mountains out of molehills was pure foolishness. They hate the notion of "nothingness" and thrive on all their concepts that deal with "somethingness." They hate hearing their their beliefs and their concepts are fiction.

They hate when their dualistic belief in their own eternal reward is exposed as a fraud or when their belief in an eternal punishment for their enemies is debunked. They bristle when it is pointed out that their "life-long" attempts to defend their various concepts have amounted to nothing more than a waste of breath.

They hate to hear that the energy spent in trying to make their views understood and accepted was for naught. They can become livid when it is noted that their actions (which earned applause from the masses who considered those actions to be “accomplishments”) were for nil. They despise the pointer that no one has ever "made the world a better place" as a result of any action.

They are offended when it is suggested that the naming of streets after them, that the building of statues in their honor, and that the construction of libraries built to laud their "achievements" amount to just so much rubbish. They reject any suggestion that the desire to extend in perpetuity the memory of them and their “identity” is mere tripe.

Similarly, the following pointer was offered to the seeker who raised the issue of “SOMETHING” in defense of his “identity,” desiring as he does to verify it and to be assured that it will be extended in perpetuity:

Whether your identity is of a phenomenal nature or a noumenal nature in your “mind,” your preoccupation with it is evidence of the fact that you hold in esteem either that which you currently believe you are, or that SOMETHING which you think you shall be forever, or both. In fact, when a "state" of zero concepts is reached, it is understood that there is no "identity" at all. It is also realized from that "state" that there is nothing deserving any esteem at all, contrary to the tendency among the non-Realized to demand that they be shown “the honor they deserve.”

The pointer offered earlier was that “there's no identity to be concerned with at all.” Another pointer is offered for those seekers who would reach the "next level" of understanding and who are capable of reaching the zero concepts "state":

“Absolute,” “THAT,” “Brahman,” “God,” “energy,” “energy-matter,” “Consciousness,” “Awareness,” and “SOMETHING” are still man-made labels generated by persons; however, since Awareness is not even aware of awareness, what justification can be offered for being “concerned” with any of those labels, if Fully Realized?

The concept of “SOMETHING” blocks the understanding of what is most pervasive in this universe (and in all universes). What is most pervasive? Not something but…no-thing. The physical body of a human is neither “primarily energy” nor “primarily matter.” It is primarily space, primarily a void, and can thereby serve as a microcosm of the universe which is primarily space, primarily nothingness, primarily no-thingness.

Similar to every bridge that will eventually be reduced to rubble, a couple of hundred pounds of “floyd” will be reduced to a few pounds of ash. That which is mainly “space” is misperceived by the non-Realized as being “something.”

Typically, "the nothing" is neither seen nor understand as persons show deference to, and preference for, “something.” Only for "the most advanced" is this pointer offered: if the nothingness is understood, then not an iota of attention is wasted with concern about the “SOMETHING” the seeker mentioned.

At "the peak" of understanding, it is realized that “concern” with a post-manifestation identity is just so much silliness. Persons who focus on “SOMETHINGS” become “concerned,” and "concern" about anything will generate unnatural or supernatural thinking and living. All “concerns” prevent peace and natural living from happening. If an excess of energy is available, employ it to realize all that you are not if you would eliminate insane-like thoughts and words and deeds and relative destructiveness from an otherwise ego-dominated existence.

To focus on the concept of “SOMETHING” prevents seeing “The Reality of the Emptiness,” “The Reality of the Void,” “The Reality of the Nothingness.” All “mind”-stuff attached to “somethingness” will preempt any understanding of the no-concept, non-dual, no-thing Reality.

Peace and happiness only happen...(continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued on Friday)
READINGS RELATED TO TODAY’S POSTING:
WORKING ON LEARNING TO QUESTION IT ALL AND BEING FREE OF THE FALSE (BUT HONORED) CONCEPTS AND BELIEFS OF YOUR CULTURE?

Click IT’S ALL BULLSHIT

WORKING ON BEING FREE OF RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING AND DOGMA?

Click SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY

WORKING ON BEING FREE OF BODY AND MIND IDENTIFICATION?

Click WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?

WORKING ON BEING FREE OF MIND AND PERSONALITY IDENTIFICATION?

Click THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS “PEACE OF MIND” (There Is Only Peace If You’re Out of Your Mind)

and

Click LIBERATION

WORKING ON “THE FINAL PIECES” AND PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER?

Click THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS

and

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

and

Click CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Two

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: Again, the postings in this series are not for the beginner. Beginners cannot move from some point that is even before step one of a seven-step “journey” to Realization (that Realization coming at the seventh step) without understanding many paradoxes that are presented at each of the steps in between.

They will first see what they think they see; they must next understand that everything that they have ever thought they were seeing was not that at all; afterwards, they must see all of the false in order to prepare for seeing the Real; and then only can they finally fixate firmly in the no-concept, non-dual Reality.

Thereafter, they can be truly free while abiding as the Absolute; can abide as Awareness that is not even aware of awareness; and can thereby live in a natural, AS IF fashion…at peace for the remainder of the manifestation. The exhaustion of living unnaturally ends, as does the toil of trying to live in a supernatural fashion. Only if abiding as the Awareness that is not aware of awareness can natural (nisarga) unencumbered living happen, spontaneously. Disciplines and considerations end. Toiling and working and searching and seeking end.

Ultimately, to try to support any “identity” alongside “the no-concept, non-dual Reality” is itself contradictory. At the “highest level” of understanding, any identity is also seen to be conceptual. Preoccupation with identifying “what the generic THAT is” becomes another concern that can continue to disturb even those who have transitioned kindergarten spirituality, who have understood the I AM, and who know the True Self but are not functioning as the unaware Awareness.

"Bliss" is merely an undisturbed, unconcerned vibration. Preoccupations and concerns activate a disturbance when the natural vibrational pattern of anything is forced to shift. Apply what is happening to the phenomenal planet to grasp what can happen to the phenomenal body-“mind” under those conditions: because ice caps are melting as a result of global warming, a slight tilt is happening along the axis of the globe. That is triggering not only all of the physically-observable results on the planet but is also generating mental and emotional effects on life forms as well.

When vibrational patterns shift from natural to unnatural movements, phenomenal effects result because of the disturbance of that which is natural. Only the natural vibrational pattern of Awareness will allow “bliss” to happen (again, “bliss” being nothing more than that undisturbed, unconcerned vibration mentioned earlier).

At the “highest level,” having understood the no-concept, non-dual Reality completely, WHO/WHAT remains to be concerned with any “identity” or to be disturbed by not being able to apply another man-made label to the man-made pointer called "THAT"?

Persons are so sure of all they believe. After being challenged to question it all and not being so sure, they nevertheless return to that state of being certain at the third step on the "path" after assuming religious or spiritual roles. Many at that point think that they have found the “Advaita Understanding.” They have not. They have substituted one egotism-generating belief system for another. They are mistaking the dawn for high noon.

The ultimate Advaita understanding is that there need not be any understanding. (Again, that pointer is not for the beginner.) Yet AS IF living (based in the no concept, non-dual Reality) is seldom modeled among “humans”; thus, one need not look there to find examples of such "living." Look to nature instead.

True AS IF living is a mode of natural living, modeled in nature by...(continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
READINGS RELATED TO TODAY’S POSTING:
WORKING ON LEARNING TO QUESTION IT ALL AND BEING FREE OF THE FALSE (BUT HONORED) CONCEPTS AND BELIEFS OF YOUR CULTURE?

Click IT’S ALL BULLSHIT

WORKING ON BEING FREE OF RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING AND DOGMA?

Click SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY

WORKING ON BEING FREE OF BODY AND MIND IDENTIFICATION?

Click WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?

WORKING ON BEING FREE OF MIND AND PERSONALITY IDENTIFICATION?

Click THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS “PEACE OF MIND” (There Is Only Peace If You’re Out of Your Mind)

and

Click LIBERATION

WORKING ON “THE FINAL PIECES” AND "PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER"?

Click THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS

and

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

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No Thing? Part One

[Excerpts from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: [Today’s post is again for those seekers who have completed, or almost completed, the “journey” to Full Realization. Some pointers will not be relevant for beginners.]

First, the way in which you use the word “identity” would need to be clarified, and there are likely some additional subconscious usages that you are not even aware of. Do you mean “the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity”? Realized Advaitins understand that there is no personality and that no entity persists.

Or do you mean, “the individual characteristics by which a thing or person is recognized or known”? Realized Advaitins know that “the individual” is a bogus concept, that “characteristics” are fiction since they deal with personality, and that persons/personas are nothing more than assumptions generated via corrupted consciousness.

Or do you mean, “That which describes objects in a manner that distinguishes them from other objects”? Realized Advaitins understand that “one as opposed to others” is dualistic and thus false.

You likely are not referring to “the individual sense of importance in a social context,” but might you be referring to “self-knowledge about one's characteristics or personality,” that is, to “a sense of self”? Surely not.

So consider: if you are referring to “True Self-knowledge or to “a sense of True Self,” then you are still dealing with a false identity. How could that possibly be false? Because the terms “True Self” or “Real Self” are frequently misused (even by many Advaitins or would-be Advaitins). Many now use the terms to point to the noumenon or to the Absolute in an effort to support the existence of a Self-cum-continuity even while agreeing that no self can have continuity.

Likely, your stance is that, while the phenomenal is that which is physically manifested and observable by one or more of the five senses, some other sense is employed to recognize that an identifiable Self exists beyond physical manifestation. At the elementary level, when a protégé is taking the first steps on the “path” to Realization, that idea is often allowed by teachers.

At the more advanced level, though, it is understood that the True Self is merely the second of two witnessing modes, the pure or re-purified consciousness that knows ItSelf and knows the Oneness (as opposed to subject-object witnessing). That Pure Witnessing Consciousness sees no “others” and is incapable of any dualistic misperception, yet it’s entire functioning is still dependent upon its manifestation. Thus, even that “True Self” is limited and is not an "eternal identity."

Further, that “True Self” is not “God,” though many who have morphed this philosophy into a religion will defend that Self-God concept as well. Instead, the True Self is merely that pure consciousness which can look to the phenomenon and know that it is not as perceived, which can know that no self is real, and which can understand that no noumenal “Self with identity” exists either.

The pure consciousness understands that when the pronoun “I” is employed as the pure consciousness speaks, it refers to that which is beyond beingness and beyond non-beingness; therefore, it is beyond “I-ness” and identity as well. Krishna was very direct in stating that any who do not understand that are “fools.” That which is beyond beingness and non-beingless must also be beyond self, Self, self-ness, Self-ness, no-self-ness, and even no-Self-ness.

Of course, that pointer about "fools" is misunderstood by most, understood by few, and hated by many. For those still trapped in the egotism that is generated by accepting and defending an identity (whether that might be an identity “now” or an identity “later”), let it be said that they have at least been fooled and continue to function from within that condition. The primary consideration must be, "How can the state of zero concepts...(continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
READINGS RELATED TO TODAY’S TOPIC:

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

and

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

and

Click SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY

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