Monday, June 22, 2009

REALIZATION via VISUALIZATION and CONSIDERATION

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An Advaita Vedanta philosophy site, focusing on Realisation, (Realization), enlightenment, nisarga yoga, non-duality, Real Love, peace, freedom, Your original nature, the natural state, and Maharaj.

For the remainder of the month, there are twenty-seven excerpts from a book written by Floyd Henderson; those are followed by twenty-seven considerations, three per day. Please scroll down each day to find the readings and considerations for any given day through June. [All of the entries are extracted from the ADVAITA MEDITATION GUIDES]

Reading 1#: These readings and considerations are level-appropriate for beginners as well as "advanced seekers" that still enjoy the Advaita dance. After studying the pointers offered by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, a vision revealed the Me the Seven Degrees of Separation that hinder knowing one’s True Self. To know one’s True Self is to be freed of all illusions, all ego, and therefore all pain, fear and worry. The two thieves of joy called “The Past” and “The Future” dissolve and one enjoys the perfect peace of “Living Within the Moment,” of “Living in the Eternal Now.” So vital is the understanding for seekers that would stabilize in the peace that you are invited to spend the next few days considering the content of the vision and the understanding that one can gain via the seven levels. You have arrived at the place of opportunity to know Your True Self.
Consideration 1: Look at your thoughts over recent days. Were they about something that happened in the past? Were they focused on some concern about the future? How did either of those make you feel? Do you see that if you could truly live in the moment that you would avoid whatever you felt by focusing on the past or the future? Would it be worth the effort to try to grasp what is coming up in the readings in order to gain that ability? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading #2: [Kirk saw…] …a series of natural, sandstone steps descending to a granite arch twice the height of a man. From the arch shone a pure white light. An illumination this bright should have easily blinded Kirk, but instead it soothed him. (p. 96, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 2: Enlightenment involves the casting of enough light on any ideas, emotions or beliefs that one can no longer avoid evaluating them, can see that they are not one’s own, and can allow one to examine them critically and objectively and cast aside any that are not really benefiting that individual. Are you ready for the light to be thrown on your ideas and beliefs, or more accurately, their ideas and their beliefs? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading #3: It seemed to spotlight the steps, and as he moved down the stones, first his feet and then his legs and then his torso became bathed in the glow. Eventually, by the time he reached the dead-flat area at the bottom of the natural walkway, he stood before the arch, and the luxuriance of the light bathed him fully in its warmth. The clear spring waters from the branch flowed through the archway, and he followed. (p. 96, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 3: Our many readings to this point have had one goal in mind: to prepare you for the truth of the vision that we’ll be discussing during the coming days. Are you ready? Has your mind been opened enough to question all your past concepts and to consider something totally new? Are you ready for a completely new understanding? If not, are you willing to prepare yourself for that? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

THE READINGS AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR 23 JUNE 2009

Reading # 4: Stepping inside, he looked over his shoulder to see that his physical body had remained outside the arch. (p. 96, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 4: First, you are invited to place yourself in the character. As he “steps inside,” you “step inside.” Become the character so that you can have your own first-hand experience. Do not read about him. As of now, read about you…entering the arch, looking over your shoulder, etc. Next, if the vision is going to be the journey to the Real You, what do you think the symbolic message of the action described above might be? What could it mean for You to move forward and to leave your body behind? We are seeking your Real Identity. What must be cast away to find the Real Identity? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading #5: Trees lined either side of the stream, and he began walking through them toward the sounds of the water crashing below. Astonished, he noticed that he was literally walking through the trees. (p. 96, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 5: If one leaves the body behind as happens here, what is walking through the trees? Wouldn’t that really be something that you could only do mentally, imagining that? Is it possible that if you are not your body, you could also be something other than your mind as well? Could the mind and its trapping just be imaginings? Recall the session on images and how much of what we see is not the real? Remember the snake in the rope? What are you realizing now? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading #6: As he progressed, fauna of several species joined him: a black bear rubbed against his leg in the manner of a docile housecat; a cougar did the same on the opposite side, and each playfully swatted at the other as if to proclaim dominion over both legs; a lamb skipped along ahead of the threesome, and a heron brought up the rear. He walked as if on stilts, taking more time than needed, looking rather judgmentally, it seemed, at the wasting of energy by his peers. (p. 96, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 6: Have you been for a walk in the woods lately, alone? Just You? When we are seeking to live naturally, where better could one begin the practice? Are you beginning to see how natural living is a prerequisite for being ready to see the false and being ready to see the Real? In the vision, continue becoming the lead character. Experience the shifts and changes and separation from false identities. Are you willing to participate in order to have a chance at finding out Who You Really Are? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

THE READINGS AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR 24 JUNE 2009

Reading #7: He saw that a pond was overflowing, part of its waters cascading down the cliff side and pooling in another flat below. That same pattern repeated itself until the waters reached a level valley. He watched the falling waters eventually form a river that wound its way across the desert basin. Along the river had sprung up a variety of shade trees. All else appeared brown and dry. Then in the far distance, hills grew into mountains. In the forefront arose huge columns of stone, cathedral-like, forming spires of varying shapes and heights. The colors vibrated with life, offering images of the blues and oranges and browns and beiges like those of Venetian palazzos when reflected in the waters of the Grand Canal. In the far distance to the left stood even grander mountain ranges. Puffy clouds floated slowly across the sky. (p. 97, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 7: The ancients spoke of a Medicine Place, a place where true healing can begin. All have a vision of that Medicine Place, and one need not travel the world to find its duplicate. It is within, and the journey to the Medicine Place can be experienced there. That place is a natural setting; it is near water, it offers natural sounds but no human or fabricated sounds; it is a place of peace. Once you come to know it, you can go there at any time. Would you try going there now? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading #8: Kirk extended his arms and, with the sides of his hands touching and his palms up, he formed a landing area for the fowl. A raven, the bird of death as most people know, now slowed as it approached even nearer. Why had he not made that association between death and this bird? It swooped upward to curb its flight and, with only a slight, backwards fluttering of wings, settled gently into Kirk’s outstretched hands. (p. 97, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 8: If the raven is the bird of death, what other false identity must die in order for us to shift away from false identities and find the True Self? Do you see that the conditioned, programmed, thinking mind is as little a true identity of Who You Are as is the limiting body identification? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading #9: The bird stared at Kirk, and Kirk at the bird. Kirk sensed the bird drawing something forth, flowing out via Kirk’s eyes and directly into the eyes of the bird. Kirk watched as the bird left, but he felt that he had left and that his mind had stayed behind. A second degree of separation he seemed to detect. (p. 97, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 9: Many who detach from a body identity or a mind identity shift into a spiritual mode and assume a spiritual identity. In the vision, the essence beyond the body and mind leaves your false image behind. Another level of freedom manifests. You are moving closer to identifying Your Real Self. Are you sensing something different in terms of Who You Are versus what you are not? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

THE READINGS AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR 25 JUNE 2009

Reading # 10: The raven soared over the valley, flying high, then flying low, and then flying high again. Soon, it made a direct course for the mountains. Kirk no longer watched from the cliff but saw everything below through the eyes of the raven. (p. 97, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 10: People often soar for a time when they take on a religious or spiritual identity. So be it. But that is merely another stage that must be transitioned. It is a false identity, an ego-state. How do we know that? Because we have learned that if one is emotionally intoxicated, he is in an ego-state, assuming and protecting a false image that he thinks is being hurt, threatened, or interfered with. He still does not know Who He Really Is. We are almost halfway there though. Are you willing to continue? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading # 11: After crossing the mountains, the raven began a fast descent toward an ocean which had come into view just after topping the peak. The raven began to dive lower and lower and lower yet. Suddenly, the spiritual exuberance of the high-flying raven seemed to be unraveling into an eminent and deadly crash against the ocean’s surface. Following a huge impact—one that Kirk took to be the end of him—the waters first splashed upwards from the collision and then fell back into the ocean. Ultimately, the waves settled, and the sea surface smoothed out to a mirror finish. Suddenly, a bird’s head forcefully broke the surface, but it was not the head of a raven. Instead, the head of a gull—the bird of ignorance—came forth, gasping for air. Kirk found that he was no longer observing the gull, but had transitioned into the gull. A third degree of separation from what Kirk had left outside the arch had manifested. (p. 98, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 11: The spiritual identity thinks it knows all, thinks it has all the answers, and thus often becomes a place where people fixate. Never transitioning beyond that stage, one is yet far removed for knowing That Which Is Real. The gull is the bird of ignorance. To progress any further, one must return to the state of the gull, to the state of Child Ignorance. That is the purest state of the manifested consciousness for it has not yet been programmed and conditioned and fed full of superstitions and lies and half-truths and non-truths. Can you imagine what your life would be like if you could enjoy the non-attachment and the freedom from beliefs and concepts that you had as a child? At that age, you knew no worries and had no cares. The consciousness worked with natural instincts to sense danger, but it had no artificial fears or emotions because it had no ideas. Are you getting a glimpse of what true freedom looks like and feels like? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading # 12: The gull surfaced further and then began flapping its wings. Leaving behind the cleansing, baptismal waters, it flew and played and darted. Kirk felt like a child again, flying high, until suddenly crashing into an eagle. More truthfully, the gull felt itself merged into—maybe even dissolved into—the eagle. (p. 98, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 12: Among things living, nothing can witness like an eagle. Gliding from a mile up, able for see something the size of a mouse from miles away, an eagle can see all kinds of actions taking place even though totally removed from them. Can you imagine the peace that could manifest if you lived as the eagle, if you just witnessed and observed without reacting, if you stayed far away from all the chaotic action? Can you imagine the peace that could manifest if you were able to see the insanity of this world but be far removed from this world? Does "free as a bird" suddenly have greater meaning to you than ever before? Could you apply that style of living and make it actually work for you every day? What would that feel like? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

THE READINGS AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR 26 JUNE 2009

Reading # 13: For a time, the eagle soared, glided, and mainly just witnessed. He felt the remnants of the gull; he sensed the remains of a raven; he looked at Kirk seated at a fire and saw only a mental image; he looked through the arch and saw a figment of a body imagined. Another degree of separation. (p. 98, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 13: If you have reached the eagle stage, can you now look back over your life and witness all the roles you played? Can you now see from the distance all of the ego-states you were cast into…via programming? Can you witness all of the false identities that you assumed in order to try to define who you were? Can you separate from the body identity, the mind identity, and any religious or spiritual roles? Can you give up all your learned knowledge, which in many ways has failed you if your case if typical, and then see clearly all of the things you are not? You were told early on that it is enough in the beginning simply to see the false. Actually, you could stay the witness until you die, seeing all the false roles and abandoning them. You could be free of the fear, worry and lack of peace that all false roles bring. But should you want The Truth as well, then you can turn. You can turn away from all in this world and get a glimpse of your Real Self. And from that state, you can see That. Remember “I Am” and “I Am That”? The body and mind and spiritual roles—and even the witness—are all part of the I Am, the manifestation of That. Now, you are within striking distance of seeing That. Do you have the courage to move on if it requires casting aside all your mind stuff, all your/their ideas, all your/their emotionalism, all your/their beliefs, all your/their attitudes and especially all of your/their conditioning? How free do you want to be? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Consideration # 14: But now Kirk the Eagle had no time to contemplate, for he felt himself being pulled deeper into the universe through a clear-walled tunnel in the remotest part of the heavens. He felt himself accelerating at the speed of light. In fact, at the end of the tunnel, he could see nothing other than light. (p. 98, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 14: What did Einstein say happens to mass times the speed of light squared? What does it equal? So what is it really? In Aramaic, Christ the Advaitic Teacher did not said, “I Am the Light.” In the original, he said, “I Am Light.” He said, "When you speak of me, speak of me as I Am.” He said, “Before Abraham was, I Am.” He said that no one shall ever observe heaven for it is within. The pope at the time of this writing has said that heaven and hell are not geographic places but are states of mind. He said that “you are in one or the other right now.” Christ said “Gehanna,” not “Hell.” Are you willing to see the true depth of the message that was being offered as opposed to the watered-down version that most hear on Sabbaths or Sundays or whatever other days men decide to call “holy”? How much truth do you really want? Enough to find out what some key teachers like Christ were really talking about? Are you ready to have all the light cast on all that can be considered so that You can find the Truth of Who/What You Really Are? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading #15: His speed now nearly doubled, and just as he reached that point of mach two, with the deafening sounds of the winds racing by his ears, he crashed through a veil of sorts and found himself in a mostly dark, crystal cave. (p. 98, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 15: You are approaching the True Self. Are you willing to sit in the quiet and see how far you’ve come in only a few days? Do you literally feel yourself being pulled away from false states and false identities? Do you feel yourself separating from all the lies of humankind? If you are feeling uncomfortable, it is because you are being torn. You are being torn away from the false identities that you took to be you but that were not You. Your ego will do all within its power to encourage you to fight for the continued existence of the false, imagined identities, to fight for the continuing existence of ego-states in your programmed notion about who you are. But the identities are false and the ego is false. We are now looking for Truth, so are you willing to let the false go? Aren’t you really experiencing how much was false that has been passed down from preachers and priests and teachers and politicians and Medicine Men and killers of virgins and all those involved with such manipulative nonsense over the ages? Aren’t You finally ready to get free of all that stuff they put into your head? Hasn’t your journey moved you farther along than all the rest of your life combined? Don’t you feel how close to the Truth You Are? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

THE READINGS AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR 27 JUNE 2009

Reading # 16: He was stopped abruptly and then was swooped into an upright position, floating near the ceiling of the cave. He felt at that moment as if he were exactly between nowhere and . . . nowhere. (p. 98, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 16: Ah. The peace of the Void. There, one can rest. There, one is in a place of peace, squarely between the nowhere and the nothing that you were before manifestation and the nowhere and nothing that You Will Be after manifestation. Living in the moment, you can enjoy the benefits…Now. Today, would You be willing to go all day and just enjoy the peace? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading #17: Never had he known such peace. Sensing himself in the vestige of a human-like form again, he drifted toward a lake below that covered most of the bottom of this huge cavern. Kirk experienced a fifth degree of separation—as if estranged from all illusionary roles, as if removed from a phony world left behind, as if moving closer to a degree of connection with the Real. (p. 98, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 17: What about You? Have you ever known before such a degree of peace as where the revelations of these recent days have taken You? You Are so far removed from the false images. The snake is gone and you see the rope for what it is. That is the end of fear. That is the end of worry. That is the start of peace. Are you feeling it? See what a Real Feeling is like? See how different this is from emotional intoxication or spiritual intoxication? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading 18: To his left and to his right drifted millions of forms, and on closer inspection, Kirk saw that they were . . . Kirks! Each looked to be a clone—maybe a transparent clone but a clone nevertheless—of him! (pp. 98-99, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 18: Are You now relating totally to Kirk, the symbol of Your True Self? Can’t you sense the One that he’s feeling? The state of True Atonement had been attained. He is in a state of At-One-Ment with All. He knows that He is All of Them and that They Are He. Do You think for a micro-second that in that state He could even consider harming another? Do You think for a micro-second that in that state He could even consider harming himself? How much harm have you done to yourself in this life? Could you have possibly done it from this state of awareness, from this state of consciousness? Become Kirk. Become One. See that You Are All and that All Is You. Can You feel it? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

THE READINGS AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR 28 JUNE 2009

Reading #19: Sinking shoulder-deep into the water, he felt his feet rise. His entire body stiffened momentarily, his feet rose, he floated onto his back, and then bobbed on the surface of the water. Now relaxed, he began to be moved along, gently propelled toward the opposite side of the cave. His movement just happened, no effort on his part required. The music of the organ—ethereal and heavenly—sounded softly, beautifully; the waters were now calm and warm. (p. 99, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 19: Is it possible that when You live in the Understanding of Who You Really Are that You become so free of the ego-states, the body identification, the mental games and all the other roles being played that You just seem to move along through life effortlessly, as if floating? Remember from an earlier reading the observation, “The leaf moving along the stream decides nothing. It merely goes with the flow.” Are you getting a sense that You could really pull this off and live that way? So many have, I suspect that You can, too. What are You feeling? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading #20: He began to ascend the steps, leaving the water behind. He and millions, walking in exactly the same fashion, moved toward the narrowing peak that led to the door of the dome. He wondered, How could so many be entering the dome? … As each neared the door, each seemed to dissolve into a form of light being drawn inside. As Kirk approached, he felt the last remnants—remnants of whatever he had formerly thought himself to be—gradually fading away. The dissolving seemed to be occurring in slow motion, and he felt ecstatic. (p. 99, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 20: So there is something even beyond the recognition of the True Self? The first two states of body and mind were of “that” world. The second three were shifting away from attachment to that world as the birds—the raven, the gull, the eagle—broke free of the bonds of body-mind identification and even transcended spirituality, programming and witnessing. Then the True Self is Realized, but something yet remains. Are You sensing That? Could the 30,000 to 40,000-year-old teachings, repeated by Christ, be true? Could the I Am existence of body-mind be the states of I-Amness that Christ spoke of in his "I Am" talks? Could You be spoken of as the I Am while manifested on earth, while wrapped up in body-mind identities? Could all the “spiritual or improvement work” that people do fail to free them from the body-mind trap and leave them like the birds, still in “that world” and far from knowing the True Self and Who We Really Are beyond? Are you sensing That which is beyond? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading 21: Finally, he merged with all, into the light, and it seemed . . . it seemed over. It seemed as if everything was over, was finished, was very near complete. Then some degree of consciousness seemed to linger after this sixth degree of separation. (p. 99, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 21: Vestiges of the subtle body remain even after the True Self begins to return to the Absolute, that region or “Field of Awareness” that is the repository of potentialities which are not manifest. Call it the Unmanifested, if You like. You are not going there; instead, You Are That. I Am That. And for now I Am, and for now You Are, too. I Am That; I Am. Same applies to You. Now we are in the I Am state, but truly…You Are That. For now, speak of me as I Am. For now, speak of You as I Am. But even before Abraham was, I Am. And even before Abraham was, You Are. Ultimately, I Am That. You Are That. We Are That; thus, we Are and always have been, One. Only That is Real, whether manifest or unmanifest. Are You understanding You? Do You now know the answer to the statement “I do not even know who I am”? Can you now say, “I Know”? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

THE READINGS AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR 29 JUNE 2009

Reading 22: Even without a physical body or an earthly mind or a spiritual body, he detected a series of chambers, leading to other universes. (p. 99, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 22: The subtle body is losing consciousness, just as the physical body lost consciousness. Yet enough of the subtle body remains to see the final vestiges of the final stage. That seeing allows the Knowing. I ask You again: do You now Know? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading 23: All then faded into light. He sensed that nothing represented in the vision was the Real. He understood that only by peeling back all the layers of false identities—including the body, the mind, the spiritual identity, the child ignorance, the witness, even the True Self—could he ever know what he Really Is. (p. 99, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 23: “I Am Light.” You Are Light. You are the Energy-Consciousness. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed. Even before Abraham was, You Are. Get it? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading 24: He understood that what he Really Is is That, that which is often removed from awareness through seven degrees of separation. (p. 99, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 24: You are getting it, aren’t You? What is “it”? “It” is The Understanding of all that you are not and All of That Which You Are. It may come to You and it may go, but deep inside You always knew, and never again will the truth be inaccessible. Consciousness senses its own presence. Truth is inaccessible when living in body-mind identification, in the trap of all their programming and conditioning and, dare I say, their lies? Maybe their “misunderstandings” would be more accurate. Liars know they are lying, usually. Those who told us the non-truths actually believed them. Are you seeing that the only way by which peace can come is by escaping the “misunderstandings” and attaining this Understanding? You can get this. Sense the dissolving of the false. Will you try that now? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

THE READINGS AND CONSIDERATIONS FOR 30 JUNE 2009

Reading 25: He came to know that He Is that common building block of all in this universe, in all universes. (pp. 99-100, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 25: You Are That? Do You understand? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading 26: No wonder some can say, “I don’t even know who I am.” He finally realized how far removed most are from the knowledge of the original unicity as a result of conditioning, programming, and dogma. (p. 100, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 26: You get that now, don’t You? Do you see why one must use this guide as a progression? Do you see why someone starting at this point could not benefit in the least? All the preparation was to open the mind to all the false in order to see this singular Truth. You see it, don’t You? Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Reading #27: The vision’s ending and his awakening marked as well the beginning of a restored sense of peace. (p. 100, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders)
Consideration 27: Now, You too can awaken from the vision and live Your daily life in the Understanding. You won’t be the same. You will be living AS IF, AS IF any of this is important or real, but knowing it is not. You’ll live without fear, without being trapped in their concepts. You’ll finally be able to cast aside all of their ideas, emotions, and beliefs. Those prison bars are actually already gone, gone with the false images, gone with the snake-in-the-rope illusion. Gone. Do You feel lighter, having given up all that? You can spend all of Your remaining days now, flowing with the fantastic lightness of just being. Enjoy. Please enter the silence of contemplation.

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