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.
Here, there is nothing that is believed, so there is no one here who wants you to believe anything, either. Here, the invitation is to be free of all that you have been programmed, conditioned, acculturated, and domesticated to believe so that you can be free, period.
F.: Birds live. They do not work at living. Fish live. They do not work at living. Deer live. They do not work at living. Neither birds not fish nor deer work at finding peace of mind, work at being better, nor work at trying to be something they are not.
“Don’t humans have to work to survive, Floyd?" Most do, yes, but work can happen as naturally as the “work” that happens among the deer that must graze and keep on the move and scratch a bed of leaves together for a night’s rest.
A bird with a brain the size of a pencil eraser manages to function throughout the entire manifestation more efficiently than persons (the non-Realized) who have a brain the size of 3-1/2 cups. Why these disparities?
Because the non-Realized do not function via the auspices of the natural, elemental brain. They are driven, instead, by the content of an unnatural / supernatural “mind.” Because the “mind” is never restful, the non-Realized try all kinds of diversionary tactics to focus on something other than the maddening noise generated by all of the traffic that constantly moves between their ears.
Some will go into and out of samadhi, but to paraphrase Maharaj: here, there is no going into or out of the samadhi state. It is the natural, uninterrupted state because the fiction-filled mind has been transitioned. An ignorant person living in a desert might become afraid when he sees a mirage for the first time.
It might appear to be some threatening, evil spirit. But when he understands that a mirage is merely an illusion, there is no more threat, no more fear, no more running away from mirages. Yet so many teachers recommend (1) “working with the mirage” or (2) doing something to divert your attention away from the mirage rather than reaching an understanding that ends any chance of being influenced by mirages.
Some suggest to their followers that they "move their focus away from" the mirage rather than seeing the mirage for what it is. For example, to find a brief respite from the mind's chatter of a thousand monkeys, some are advised to "focus on the sacred breath"…to "do your sacred breathwork" every day. (Some who have had direct dealings with your breath could tell you that there is nothing sacred about it at all.)
Yes, a brief respite might happen by diverting one's focus to her/his breath, but the exercise functions as does an aspirin which temporarily relieves the pain of a tumor; however, diverting the focus from the tumor for a short period of time does not address the tumor and only provides an opportunity for the actual source of misery and suffering to worsen.
Such “aspirins” that divert focus are not the “Ultimate Medicine,” especially when these teachings are not about “focusing on that in order not to focus on this.” These teachings are about being completely rid of “this” in order to abandon “that” and to function naturally.
If you could talk with a deer and say, "You know, breathing is a sacred (supernatural) process, and I focus on my sacred breath when I rise early each morning to do my breathwork in order to ‘be at peace’ or ‘feel more holy'," the deer would reply, “Say what!?!)
These teachings are an invitation to focus, but to focus on pointers in order to become fully awake and aware and conscious. Meditation is not about quieting the mind. It is about entering into the silence in order to consider thoroughly the pointers offered by a Realized teacher.
All other use of religious and / or spiritual “tools” is about diversion, about removing focus from “The Real Relative Problem A” by focusing on “Some B” for a while. As a result of such misdirection, persons can take something as natural as breathing and elevate it in their “minds” to something lofty and sacred.
It differs not at all from claims made by one assigned and assuming a role such as “dalai lama.” With the stature that persons give to that false ego-state, they will believe his claim that a hurricane destroyed a city "because of the negative karma of the people there."
In that process of misdirection, there is assigned a supernatural explanation for a totally natural event—a process that will prevent an understanding of true cause and natural functioning, trapping person in the darkness of learned, spiritual ignorance.
Of course, many over the years have reacted violently to these pointers, claiming that they have experienced the relaxing effects of breathwork. No argument there. But to put a band-aid on an open wound associated with a broken bone is an approach that would only be taken by fools, by those who have been fooled. The wise find the actual source of suffering and misery and treat the real cause(s) rather than ignore it via the use of diversionary tactics.
So no forms on the planet except non-Realized humans occupy themselves with the illusion of “things supernatural” to the detriment of living a sane and spontaneous and natural existence.
No form, save non-Realized persons who are all driven by the warped “mind,” pervert the natural movement of air into and out of bodies-cum-consciousness into something “supernatural” or “spiritual” and consider it “special.”
Only non-Realized persons will view the cycling of consciousness and deem that “special” and claim something supernatural is involved in the way that the cycling happens. The cyclings happen automatically and spontaneously, free of any "guidance" or "intervention" or any other magical factors that are believed in only by those trapped in their learned ignorance.
In the process of assigning supernatural status to events that are actually just natural happenings, then that which is natural is ignored as things thought to be “supernatural” are elevated to the highest rank.
Those who are deluded into assigning supernatural status to natural happenings—and thus take themselves to be supernatural as well—can consider breathwork to be noble and lofty while ignoring that, if it were not for the fact that the lungs expand and contract naturally, there would be no space that could focus on breath at all.
Some persons take themselves to be “virtuous and supernatural creatures” as evidenced by their bell ringing and genuflecting and humming and praying, but none of their "supernatural activities" could happen if the heart did not contract and relax naturally.
It is the natural processes that are necessary for the manifestation to continue, not any supernatural process or actions. It is the Realization of what is natural which allows peace and sanity to happen throughout the manifestation, not supernatural exercises that provide a temporary respite from dis-ease and self-destructive thinking and talking and behaviors, relatively speaking.
To claim that supernatural living in a far better way to live than natural living is to claim that seeing a mirage as something divine is superior to seeing it for what it really is: an illusion.
To claim that an aspirin is the “Ultimate Medicine” is to claim that band-aids are the proper treatment for cancer or broken bones. In reality, there is no such thing as “supernatural” living. There is, in reality, only natural living, though it does not happen among the non-Realized. "The supernatural" is a fool’s fantasy.
That said, there is no condemnation here for having been fooled. Here, there is only an invitation to awaken from the dream and to be fooled no more. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
“Don’t humans have to work to survive, Floyd?" Most do, yes, but work can happen as naturally as the “work” that happens among the deer that must graze and keep on the move and scratch a bed of leaves together for a night’s rest.
A bird with a brain the size of a pencil eraser manages to function throughout the entire manifestation more efficiently than persons (the non-Realized) who have a brain the size of 3-1/2 cups. Why these disparities?
Because the non-Realized do not function via the auspices of the natural, elemental brain. They are driven, instead, by the content of an unnatural / supernatural “mind.” Because the “mind” is never restful, the non-Realized try all kinds of diversionary tactics to focus on something other than the maddening noise generated by all of the traffic that constantly moves between their ears.
Some will go into and out of samadhi, but to paraphrase Maharaj: here, there is no going into or out of the samadhi state. It is the natural, uninterrupted state because the fiction-filled mind has been transitioned. An ignorant person living in a desert might become afraid when he sees a mirage for the first time.
It might appear to be some threatening, evil spirit. But when he understands that a mirage is merely an illusion, there is no more threat, no more fear, no more running away from mirages. Yet so many teachers recommend (1) “working with the mirage” or (2) doing something to divert your attention away from the mirage rather than reaching an understanding that ends any chance of being influenced by mirages.
Some suggest to their followers that they "move their focus away from" the mirage rather than seeing the mirage for what it is. For example, to find a brief respite from the mind's chatter of a thousand monkeys, some are advised to "focus on the sacred breath"…to "do your sacred breathwork" every day. (Some who have had direct dealings with your breath could tell you that there is nothing sacred about it at all.)
Yes, a brief respite might happen by diverting one's focus to her/his breath, but the exercise functions as does an aspirin which temporarily relieves the pain of a tumor; however, diverting the focus from the tumor for a short period of time does not address the tumor and only provides an opportunity for the actual source of misery and suffering to worsen.
Such “aspirins” that divert focus are not the “Ultimate Medicine,” especially when these teachings are not about “focusing on that in order not to focus on this.” These teachings are about being completely rid of “this” in order to abandon “that” and to function naturally.
If you could talk with a deer and say, "You know, breathing is a sacred (supernatural) process, and I focus on my sacred breath when I rise early each morning to do my breathwork in order to ‘be at peace’ or ‘feel more holy'," the deer would reply, “Say what!?!)
These teachings are an invitation to focus, but to focus on pointers in order to become fully awake and aware and conscious. Meditation is not about quieting the mind. It is about entering into the silence in order to consider thoroughly the pointers offered by a Realized teacher.
All other use of religious and / or spiritual “tools” is about diversion, about removing focus from “The Real Relative Problem A” by focusing on “Some B” for a while. As a result of such misdirection, persons can take something as natural as breathing and elevate it in their “minds” to something lofty and sacred.
It differs not at all from claims made by one assigned and assuming a role such as “dalai lama.” With the stature that persons give to that false ego-state, they will believe his claim that a hurricane destroyed a city "because of the negative karma of the people there."
In that process of misdirection, there is assigned a supernatural explanation for a totally natural event—a process that will prevent an understanding of true cause and natural functioning, trapping person in the darkness of learned, spiritual ignorance.
Of course, many over the years have reacted violently to these pointers, claiming that they have experienced the relaxing effects of breathwork. No argument there. But to put a band-aid on an open wound associated with a broken bone is an approach that would only be taken by fools, by those who have been fooled. The wise find the actual source of suffering and misery and treat the real cause(s) rather than ignore it via the use of diversionary tactics.
So no forms on the planet except non-Realized humans occupy themselves with the illusion of “things supernatural” to the detriment of living a sane and spontaneous and natural existence.
No form, save non-Realized persons who are all driven by the warped “mind,” pervert the natural movement of air into and out of bodies-cum-consciousness into something “supernatural” or “spiritual” and consider it “special.”
Only non-Realized persons will view the cycling of consciousness and deem that “special” and claim something supernatural is involved in the way that the cycling happens. The cyclings happen automatically and spontaneously, free of any "guidance" or "intervention" or any other magical factors that are believed in only by those trapped in their learned ignorance.
In the process of assigning supernatural status to events that are actually just natural happenings, then that which is natural is ignored as things thought to be “supernatural” are elevated to the highest rank.
Those who are deluded into assigning supernatural status to natural happenings—and thus take themselves to be supernatural as well—can consider breathwork to be noble and lofty while ignoring that, if it were not for the fact that the lungs expand and contract naturally, there would be no space that could focus on breath at all.
Some persons take themselves to be “virtuous and supernatural creatures” as evidenced by their bell ringing and genuflecting and humming and praying, but none of their "supernatural activities" could happen if the heart did not contract and relax naturally.
It is the natural processes that are necessary for the manifestation to continue, not any supernatural process or actions. It is the Realization of what is natural which allows peace and sanity to happen throughout the manifestation, not supernatural exercises that provide a temporary respite from dis-ease and self-destructive thinking and talking and behaviors, relatively speaking.
To claim that supernatural living in a far better way to live than natural living is to claim that seeing a mirage as something divine is superior to seeing it for what it really is: an illusion.
To claim that an aspirin is the “Ultimate Medicine” is to claim that band-aids are the proper treatment for cancer or broken bones. In reality, there is no such thing as “supernatural” living. There is, in reality, only natural living, though it does not happen among the non-Realized. "The supernatural" is a fool’s fantasy.
That said, there is no condemnation here for having been fooled. Here, there is only an invitation to awaken from the dream and to be fooled no more. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
Now you can receive for $40 a downloadable computer file version of the same 7-hour satsang that seekers receive when they visit for the Advaita Retreat with Floyd. You will be guided through the seven steps from identification with the false "I" to the Absolute (and beyond).
For more information or to order, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
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.)
For more information or to order, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
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.)
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.
