An Advaita forum focusing on Realisation, enlightenment, non-duality, Real Love, peace, freedom, Your original nature, abiding naturally, the Oneness, the Nothingness, 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.: So, questions and comments in e-mails have revealed that the Nisargan teachings are misunderstood by some in regards to pleasure, pain, misery, suffering, and bliss as well as in terms of how the natural, post-Realization abidance unfolds.
While bliss has to do with the Realization of the nothingness, pleasure has to do with something…with something in the relative existence. The deer that pause in the front yard here can be seen enjoying the pleasure of grazing; they can be seen enjoying the pleasure of shade and rest during the heat of the afternoon;
they have been witnessed while in a clearing in the woods nearby this house as they enjoy the pleasures of sex. All of that is natural, and to avoid that which is natural is unnatural—even when done in the name of being “religious” or “spiritual” or “supernatural”—and is a part of the sickness that is addressed with the Ultimate Medicine.
Abuse yourself with a mace if you like in your efforts to be more religious or spiritual; accept the distorted view that suffering is an asset rather than something unacceptable that is to be addressed and removed and avoided;
eat your bitter herbs or tasteless roots; dip your food in salt water and vinegar; avoid sexual relations; but here, now that natural living is happening spontaneously, the pleasures of succulent meals will be enjoyed:
tasks that are to happen for sustenance shall happen, but the pleasures of rest will also be enjoyed; deprive yourself of the joys of sex if you want, but here, all natural things will continue to happen and be enjoyed.
Consider how truly sick and distorted and insane any teachings or beliefs are if they drive persons to abide in a painful, miserable, pleasureless manner. Functioning in either (A) the unnatural extreme of unfettered hedonism and “self”-indulgence or functioning in
(B) a manner at the opposite extreme of the spectrum that involves total deprivation in the name of being “religious” or “spiritual” or “better” or “better than” or “improved” might be (and is) considered supernatural living by many, but such a manner of living will not be considered natural by the sane and sound and stable and Realized.
Unnatural and supernatural living will only be mistakenly seen as a natural means of living by those functioning under the auspices of a warped mind and warped personas that are driven by personality (or personalities) and by the defects and disorders that personality always generates.
Finally, understand that pleasure and pain and misery and suffering and bliss are the “stuff” of NOW only—the “stuff” of the limited period of manifestation during the relative existence—and the relative existence will happen in a natural manner if Reality is overlaid upon it.
To make clear, there will be no post-manifestation pleasure or pain or misery or suffering or bliss. NOW, is the only time that pleasures can be enjoyed in a non-destructive and non-self-destructive fashion among the sane and stable;
NOW is the time that misery and suffering can be eliminated if you take the Ultimate Medicine that dissolves the "mind" but leaves the brain and consciousness and natural instincts in tact so that natural, spontaneous abidance can happen;
And NOW is the only time that the bliss can be understood. To that end, here are some pointers offered previously about bliss, which is probably misunderstood more than any of the other teachings:
Bliss is freedom from all thoughts
Bliss is a no-need state, a state where no needs are felt at any time, where nothing is useful for anything (Maharaj)
Bliss is being free of desires and fears though natural drives such as thirst and hunger and sex will continue to happen
Bliss is compatibility with nature, observable when freedom from anxiety and tension and discontentment are gone and when there is no drive or desire to harm or kill (be it birds or animals or pets or frogs or crickets or humans or entire species or entire races or all of the members of a religion that is not one’s own)
Bliss is freedom from the false sense of being split, divided, separated, incomplete
As Louise wrote: Bliss is what follows having been immersed in this “River of Truth”; bliss is having been exposed to the “bubbles of dissolution” that allow for identification with the nothingness until even that identity falls away; bliss is “the absence of the filter of a suffering individual”
Bliss is abiding as that original, natural state without any “trace of an individual”
Maharaj taught: “To know one's Real Self is bliss” and “Bliss is more of the nature of a great peace”
Maharaj said, “Don't say that you are an individual; just stay in the beingness. The whole problem is the sense of being a separate entity. Once that subsides, that is true bliss”
Bliss is not continuous, rapturous joy and has nothing to do with “birth and rebirth” or with cycle-after-cycle or “being better” or “getting better” or “being more and more pure”
Bliss is being Love while also being nothing.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
While bliss has to do with the Realization of the nothingness, pleasure has to do with something…with something in the relative existence. The deer that pause in the front yard here can be seen enjoying the pleasure of grazing; they can be seen enjoying the pleasure of shade and rest during the heat of the afternoon;
they have been witnessed while in a clearing in the woods nearby this house as they enjoy the pleasures of sex. All of that is natural, and to avoid that which is natural is unnatural—even when done in the name of being “religious” or “spiritual” or “supernatural”—and is a part of the sickness that is addressed with the Ultimate Medicine.
Abuse yourself with a mace if you like in your efforts to be more religious or spiritual; accept the distorted view that suffering is an asset rather than something unacceptable that is to be addressed and removed and avoided;
eat your bitter herbs or tasteless roots; dip your food in salt water and vinegar; avoid sexual relations; but here, now that natural living is happening spontaneously, the pleasures of succulent meals will be enjoyed:
tasks that are to happen for sustenance shall happen, but the pleasures of rest will also be enjoyed; deprive yourself of the joys of sex if you want, but here, all natural things will continue to happen and be enjoyed.
Consider how truly sick and distorted and insane any teachings or beliefs are if they drive persons to abide in a painful, miserable, pleasureless manner. Functioning in either (A) the unnatural extreme of unfettered hedonism and “self”-indulgence or functioning in
(B) a manner at the opposite extreme of the spectrum that involves total deprivation in the name of being “religious” or “spiritual” or “better” or “better than” or “improved” might be (and is) considered supernatural living by many, but such a manner of living will not be considered natural by the sane and sound and stable and Realized.
Unnatural and supernatural living will only be mistakenly seen as a natural means of living by those functioning under the auspices of a warped mind and warped personas that are driven by personality (or personalities) and by the defects and disorders that personality always generates.
Finally, understand that pleasure and pain and misery and suffering and bliss are the “stuff” of NOW only—the “stuff” of the limited period of manifestation during the relative existence—and the relative existence will happen in a natural manner if Reality is overlaid upon it.
To make clear, there will be no post-manifestation pleasure or pain or misery or suffering or bliss. NOW, is the only time that pleasures can be enjoyed in a non-destructive and non-self-destructive fashion among the sane and stable;
NOW is the time that misery and suffering can be eliminated if you take the Ultimate Medicine that dissolves the "mind" but leaves the brain and consciousness and natural instincts in tact so that natural, spontaneous abidance can happen;
And NOW is the only time that the bliss can be understood. To that end, here are some pointers offered previously about bliss, which is probably misunderstood more than any of the other teachings:
Bliss is freedom from all thoughts
Bliss is a no-need state, a state where no needs are felt at any time, where nothing is useful for anything (Maharaj)
Bliss is being free of desires and fears though natural drives such as thirst and hunger and sex will continue to happen
Bliss is compatibility with nature, observable when freedom from anxiety and tension and discontentment are gone and when there is no drive or desire to harm or kill (be it birds or animals or pets or frogs or crickets or humans or entire species or entire races or all of the members of a religion that is not one’s own)
Bliss is freedom from the false sense of being split, divided, separated, incomplete
As Louise wrote: Bliss is what follows having been immersed in this “River of Truth”; bliss is having been exposed to the “bubbles of dissolution” that allow for identification with the nothingness until even that identity falls away; bliss is “the absence of the filter of a suffering individual”
Bliss is abiding as that original, natural state without any “trace of an individual”
Maharaj taught: “To know one's Real Self is bliss” and “Bliss is more of the nature of a great peace”
Maharaj said, “Don't say that you are an individual; just stay in the beingness. The whole problem is the sense of being a separate entity. Once that subsides, that is true bliss”
Bliss is not continuous, rapturous joy and has nothing to do with “birth and rebirth” or with cycle-after-cycle or “being better” or “getting better” or “being more and more pure”
Bliss is being Love while also being nothing.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
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.
