An Advaita forum focusing on Realisation, enlightenment, non-duality, Real Love, peace, freedom, Your original nature, abiding naturally, the Oneness, the Noneness, and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Now available on DVD or downloadable computer file:
seven hours of satsang with floyd guiding seekers through all seven steps (in their exact order) to Realization. See details at the end of this post.
seven hours of satsang with floyd guiding seekers through all seven steps (in their exact order) to Realization. See details at the end of this post.
[Welcome to the eight visitors that have signed up as regular "Followers" of the site]
FROM A SITE VISITOR: [A request that two topics be discussed] Please write about the inner guru . Maharaj talked about "inner energies waking up". The way it is here, these inner energies awoke during the spiritual seeker phase but persist like a homing device long after the seeker persona is observed and discarded. I wonder what it was like for "Floyd." I have seen it as some relative symptoms or experiences.
Also: when simply being still, abiding in awareness, there is the sense that the awareness IS, independent of breathing, and that if the breathing were to cease, this awareness would persist.
F.: Next, as to “I wonder what it was like for "Floyd." I have seen it as some relative symptoms or experiences.”
What You have seen is spot on. The case was this: during childhood, there were “experiences” that played a role in setting the stage for the Realization that would happen later, including, mistreatment in the home; frequent witnessing of neighbors and policemen abusing non-whites; the poor in the city being cast aside;
the use of corporal punishment in church (for doubting or questioning the validity of teachings that could not stand up to rational scrutiny); church authorities abusing children (and their actions being denied or covered up when reported);
and the use of corporal punishment in school when, for example, a version of the history of the U.S. that ignored the reality of the ignoble way the nation was founded was challenged.
Later, there would be a witnessing of governmental abuse of power on the local and state and national level as well as the latter’s penchant for control and interference in the affairs of other nations as well as the theft of others’ resources and a penchant for war. How could any of that possibly set the stage for Realization? Can You Realize in the absence of such?
All of those “experiences” are not necessary for being inspired to seek Realization, but in this case they did result in the required propensity to question authority and its abuse of power. So what resulted from all of those relative experiences that would later trigger a “journey,” that would pave the “path” for an easier-than-usual transition, and that would allow for the rejection of all that blocks the seeing of Truth?
1. When there is no respite from cruelty or nonsense in the home / the school / the church / the synagogue / the temple / the mosque / the lodge / the spiritual group / ad infinitum, there is a tendency to withdraw—at least among those who have not been beaten down completely or among those who are not being driven by blind egotism to be a willing participant in such cruelty or nonsense.
2. Such withdrawal is required, even if not on a physical level; however, in the Far East, that withdrawal has actually shown up at times as a temporary, physical withdrawal that led to “the forest dweller stage”; in the Middle East, to a 40-day retreat (or many retreats of varying lengths); and among the indigenous peoples of South, Central and North America, to a withdrawal from society to enter into a “vision quest.” Maharaj went through that stage with a literal, physical withdrawal from society, and in the case of "floyd," the forest dweller stage lasted for twenty-five months.
3. When it is seen that all of the externals listed in #1 above are incapable of pointing to truth but actually offer myth and deceit as fact instead, then there is a tendency (at least among any who are even partly awake) to (a) abandon a search for truth via those external venues that are places where the masses will continue to seek truth without success and to (b) begin to seek within. Hence, the inner guru's role is activated.
4. If the courage to question manifests as a result of the "experiences" that are required to awaken such boldness, then the “quest” is no longer the culturally-initiated quest to accumulate but becomes a mission to seek something beyond.
(There may be a time when the movement “against the current” finally beats into submission a potential seeker's inner urging. That acquiescence will often result in such inner turmoil that persons will use drugs, alcohol, sex, shopping, gambling or any combination of the thousands of things persons use or do to try to suppress the misery of separation from Self. The point is often reached where the conclusion is that "I cannot live with myself anymore." That inability to live with the false selves often leads to "self-destructive" behavior, and persons never realize that it is the false sense of separation from "others" and from Self that is driving their behavior; yet even that stage can be transitioned. That stage of accumulating possessions and false concepts which follows stage one programming, and how to move beyond that stage, is discussed in The Essence of the Teachings)
5. By early adulthood, many personalities have been adopted and prevent completion of the “journey” to liberation from happening, and those personalities, those subconscious motivators, show up in these proportions: 50% on the planet will become Type Sixes (that is, blind loyalists who will question nothing and will live an entire existence in fear and in search of external sources that can provide a sense of security);
a large percentage will become Types Nines and will seek nothing; large percentages will be love-seeking Twos and applause-seeking Threes; a large group will become knowledge seekers and never understand that their learned ignorance avails them nothing;
a large group will become power seekers; a large group will be escapists and never seek the Real Self; a large group will try egotistically to reform others and to "change 'the world' "; but only ½ of 1% will be driven by the motivator that can lead dedicated seekers to enter into a search for the Authentic Self.
The case is that one need not “experience” all that “floyd” experienced in order for some seed of revolution to take root, but some degree of rebellion must manifest if one is ever to have the courage to question authority;
if one is ever to reject blind belief in the culture’s widely-disseminated propaganda and untruths; if one is ever to enter into the forest dweller stage (which can happen even as employment continues, even as familial activities continue, etc.);
and if one is ever to return from the forest and thereafter witness purely throughout the remainder of the manifestation of the consciousness to abide in an AS IF fashion…
...that is marked by a pervasive peace; that allows for being totally independent and therefore totally free; that assures abidance in a nisarga fashion that allows for nothing unnatural or supernatural to be required for coping; and that simultaneously assures abidance as the original, natural state. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
FROM A SITE VISITOR: [A request that two topics be discussed] Please write about the inner guru . Maharaj talked about "inner energies waking up". The way it is here, these inner energies awoke during the spiritual seeker phase but persist like a homing device long after the seeker persona is observed and discarded. I wonder what it was like for "Floyd." I have seen it as some relative symptoms or experiences.
Also: when simply being still, abiding in awareness, there is the sense that the awareness IS, independent of breathing, and that if the breathing were to cease, this awareness would persist.
F.: Next, as to “I wonder what it was like for "Floyd." I have seen it as some relative symptoms or experiences.”
What You have seen is spot on. The case was this: during childhood, there were “experiences” that played a role in setting the stage for the Realization that would happen later, including, mistreatment in the home; frequent witnessing of neighbors and policemen abusing non-whites; the poor in the city being cast aside;
the use of corporal punishment in church (for doubting or questioning the validity of teachings that could not stand up to rational scrutiny); church authorities abusing children (and their actions being denied or covered up when reported);
and the use of corporal punishment in school when, for example, a version of the history of the U.S. that ignored the reality of the ignoble way the nation was founded was challenged.
Later, there would be a witnessing of governmental abuse of power on the local and state and national level as well as the latter’s penchant for control and interference in the affairs of other nations as well as the theft of others’ resources and a penchant for war. How could any of that possibly set the stage for Realization? Can You Realize in the absence of such?
All of those “experiences” are not necessary for being inspired to seek Realization, but in this case they did result in the required propensity to question authority and its abuse of power. So what resulted from all of those relative experiences that would later trigger a “journey,” that would pave the “path” for an easier-than-usual transition, and that would allow for the rejection of all that blocks the seeing of Truth?
1. When there is no respite from cruelty or nonsense in the home / the school / the church / the synagogue / the temple / the mosque / the lodge / the spiritual group / ad infinitum, there is a tendency to withdraw—at least among those who have not been beaten down completely or among those who are not being driven by blind egotism to be a willing participant in such cruelty or nonsense.
2. Such withdrawal is required, even if not on a physical level; however, in the Far East, that withdrawal has actually shown up at times as a temporary, physical withdrawal that led to “the forest dweller stage”; in the Middle East, to a 40-day retreat (or many retreats of varying lengths); and among the indigenous peoples of South, Central and North America, to a withdrawal from society to enter into a “vision quest.” Maharaj went through that stage with a literal, physical withdrawal from society, and in the case of "floyd," the forest dweller stage lasted for twenty-five months.
3. When it is seen that all of the externals listed in #1 above are incapable of pointing to truth but actually offer myth and deceit as fact instead, then there is a tendency (at least among any who are even partly awake) to (a) abandon a search for truth via those external venues that are places where the masses will continue to seek truth without success and to (b) begin to seek within. Hence, the inner guru's role is activated.
4. If the courage to question manifests as a result of the "experiences" that are required to awaken such boldness, then the “quest” is no longer the culturally-initiated quest to accumulate but becomes a mission to seek something beyond.
(There may be a time when the movement “against the current” finally beats into submission a potential seeker's inner urging. That acquiescence will often result in such inner turmoil that persons will use drugs, alcohol, sex, shopping, gambling or any combination of the thousands of things persons use or do to try to suppress the misery of separation from Self. The point is often reached where the conclusion is that "I cannot live with myself anymore." That inability to live with the false selves often leads to "self-destructive" behavior, and persons never realize that it is the false sense of separation from "others" and from Self that is driving their behavior; yet even that stage can be transitioned. That stage of accumulating possessions and false concepts which follows stage one programming, and how to move beyond that stage, is discussed in The Essence of the Teachings)
5. By early adulthood, many personalities have been adopted and prevent completion of the “journey” to liberation from happening, and those personalities, those subconscious motivators, show up in these proportions: 50% on the planet will become Type Sixes (that is, blind loyalists who will question nothing and will live an entire existence in fear and in search of external sources that can provide a sense of security);
a large percentage will become Types Nines and will seek nothing; large percentages will be love-seeking Twos and applause-seeking Threes; a large group will become knowledge seekers and never understand that their learned ignorance avails them nothing;
a large group will become power seekers; a large group will be escapists and never seek the Real Self; a large group will try egotistically to reform others and to "change 'the world' "; but only ½ of 1% will be driven by the motivator that can lead dedicated seekers to enter into a search for the Authentic Self.
The case is that one need not “experience” all that “floyd” experienced in order for some seed of revolution to take root, but some degree of rebellion must manifest if one is ever to have the courage to question authority;
if one is ever to reject blind belief in the culture’s widely-disseminated propaganda and untruths; if one is ever to enter into the forest dweller stage (which can happen even as employment continues, even as familial activities continue, etc.);
and if one is ever to return from the forest and thereafter witness purely throughout the remainder of the manifestation of the consciousness to abide in an AS IF fashion…
...that is marked by a pervasive peace; that allows for being totally independent and therefore totally free; that assures abidance in a nisarga fashion that allows for nothing unnatural or supernatural to be required for coping; and that simultaneously assures abidance as the original, natural state. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
SIX WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:
1. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk Video (DVD) Set, or the same retreat available as a downloadable file. Either will provide an entire seven-hour retreat / series of satsang sessions showing three seekers being guided through all seven steps by Floyd and can provide viewers with an “experiential,” step-by-step series of satsang meetings that will move the viewers from identification with the I to abidance as the Absolute and then to abidance as That Which Is beyond
Some seekers are already using the computer file version and the DVD sets for meetings in groups in homes, playing the retreat, pausing for discussion, etc.
To find out more or to purchase the DVD set or the downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
Option “A” is for the downloadable file version, Option “B” is used to order the DVD set for delivery inside the U.S., Option “C” for international orders.
For the download, Paypal will send me a notice that payment has been received and then I will send by e-mail the downloading instruction, password, etc.
[It is recommended that you watch the video with pen and paper in hand. Write whatever you need clarified. You'll see that there are constant reviews and you might find an answer later in the seven-hour presentation. Then, after you watch it all, there will be a common ground for discussion. Purchase of the DVD’s or the file will include the right to clarifications and answers to your specific questions via e-mail.]
2. BY READING these books in this exact order:
IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (And Why Knowing It Sets You Free)
SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (Recovering What Religions Lost)
[Those two prepare the seeker to question it all]
THE MEDITATION GUIDES
[Provide a broad overview of the understanding]
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?
[Begins to free the seeker of body identification and the desire for body continuity]
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (There Is Only Peace if You're Out of Your Mind)
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of the false content of the “mind”]
LIBERATION
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of personas]
THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS
[Provides the final preparation for the seeker to be directed along the “path”]
FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
[Directs the seeker along the “path”]
CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS: The Nature of Reality Beyond Self-Realization (Peace Every Day When Abiding as The Absolute)
[Allows the seeker to understand the functioning of the totality, the manifestation, and what is involved with the un-manifestation]
FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS
[Provides the seeker the wisdom to understand the Noneness as well as the Oneness]
Purchase an e-Book now and begin reading it in minutes (except with e-checks that can take 7-10 days). Trusting our clients as we do, all e-Books are provided to you in printable form.
SAVE IF YOU BUY ALL ELEVEN AT ONCE:
(You may order the books one at a time or you may use the following link to acquire the entire 11-e-Book set on sale for $99 if ordered at one time with the “Buy Now” button below. For this option, there will be no download links provided; once the near-instant notice of payment is received from PayPal, your e-Books will be sent to you as e-mail attachments. All are printable for your convenience.)
1. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk Video (DVD) Set, or the same retreat available as a downloadable file. Either will provide an entire seven-hour retreat / series of satsang sessions showing three seekers being guided through all seven steps by Floyd and can provide viewers with an “experiential,” step-by-step series of satsang meetings that will move the viewers from identification with the I to abidance as the Absolute and then to abidance as That Which Is beyond
Some seekers are already using the computer file version and the DVD sets for meetings in groups in homes, playing the retreat, pausing for discussion, etc.
To find out more or to purchase the DVD set or the downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
Option “A” is for the downloadable file version, Option “B” is used to order the DVD set for delivery inside the U.S., Option “C” for international orders.
For the download, Paypal will send me a notice that payment has been received and then I will send by e-mail the downloading instruction, password, etc.
[It is recommended that you watch the video with pen and paper in hand. Write whatever you need clarified. You'll see that there are constant reviews and you might find an answer later in the seven-hour presentation. Then, after you watch it all, there will be a common ground for discussion. Purchase of the DVD’s or the file will include the right to clarifications and answers to your specific questions via e-mail.]
2. BY READING these books in this exact order:
IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (And Why Knowing It Sets You Free)
SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (Recovering What Religions Lost)
[Those two prepare the seeker to question it all]
THE MEDITATION GUIDES
[Provide a broad overview of the understanding]
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?
[Begins to free the seeker of body identification and the desire for body continuity]
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (There Is Only Peace if You're Out of Your Mind)
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of the false content of the “mind”]
LIBERATION
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of personas]
THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS
[Provides the final preparation for the seeker to be directed along the “path”]
FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
[Directs the seeker along the “path”]
CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS: The Nature of Reality Beyond Self-Realization (Peace Every Day When Abiding as The Absolute)
[Allows the seeker to understand the functioning of the totality, the manifestation, and what is involved with the un-manifestation]
FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS
[Provides the seeker the wisdom to understand the Noneness as well as the Oneness]
Purchase an e-Book now and begin reading it in minutes (except with e-checks that can take 7-10 days). Trusting our clients as we do, all e-Books are provided to you in printable form.
SAVE IF YOU BUY ALL ELEVEN AT ONCE:
(You may order the books one at a time or you may use the following link to acquire the entire 11-e-Book set on sale for $99 if ordered at one time with the “Buy Now” button below. For this option, there will be no download links provided; once the near-instant notice of payment is received from PayPal, your e-Books will be sent to you as e-mail attachments. All are printable for your convenience.)
You may visit The Official Website of Floyd Henderson for information on each book.
3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes
For information, visit Information on the Advaita Classes on the Internet
To enroll visit Enroll in the Advaita Internet Course
4. BY ATTENDING an Advaitin retreat for satsang with floyd and being guided through all seven steps. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
5. BY ARRANGING satsang by telephone in the U.S. or by Skype internationally:
Use the Contact link for details or for information on making arrangements for a session
6. BY ARRANGING for floyd to travel to your location and meet with you or your group. Use the contact link above to discuss details.
3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes
For information, visit Information on the Advaita Classes on the Internet
To enroll visit Enroll in the Advaita Internet Course
4. BY ATTENDING an Advaitin retreat for satsang with floyd and being guided through all seven steps. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
5. BY ARRANGING satsang by telephone in the U.S. or by Skype internationally:
Use the Contact link for details or for information on making arrangements for a session
6. BY ARRANGING for floyd to travel to your location and meet with you or your group. Use the contact link above to discuss details.
